Interest payments on government debt in Canada consume substantial shares of taxpayer dollars and come at the expense of other budget priorities, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. The study, The Cost of Government Debt in Canada, finds...

My wife and I saluted the recent passing of former Premier Bill Bennett and reflected on our good fortune to have connected with Socred Governments who were great believers in small “d” democracy. If you flew their colors and supported the party and had an issue it was always the same game plan; people, project, politics....

Newsletter December 2015 I am sending you sound bytes from hunters and outfitters that once again remind British Columbians that scientific driven wildlife management in our province has lost virtually every fight to the political game of maximizing hunting opportunity. To put the stories into scientific wildlife management...

'Tis the season of lists and stocking stuffers of economic forecasts. But instead of soothsaying over what could happen in 2016, a look back at B.C.'s economic performance over the past few years might be more illuminating. Deciphering economic forecasts is a murky task anyways, not that interpreting statistics is any less ...

Giving our students the tools and confidence they need to be successful in a rapidly-evolving global environment is our first priority as a Board of Education.  To assist us in achieving this goal, we will be engaging our communities in building and maintaining a school system that reflects local priorities, values and...

As I mark my first anniversary as Board Chair of Interior Health, I’m looking back on the highlights and challenges of 2015. From wildfires that blazed through much of our region, to major investments in surgical care, and a change in leadership within our organization, it has been quite a year. We saw the departure of Dr. ...

I have, in my political writing in Castlegar, only ever publicly called out one person. One. He reciprocated at length (and good on him, fair is fair). I say what I like in my personal dealings, but I often silence myself and rarely speak to any one candidate in any election or any individual in any issue when speaking as The...

As a teen the fantastical technology of Star Trek riveted me. The phaser weapon, universal translator, hand held computer and medical tricorder all found an ‘if only’ niche in my imagination.  A half century later my ‘if only’ has come closer to reality than I could ever have imagined.  Laser pointers and battleship mounted laser […]

Dear Editor, In response to Deb McIntosh’s recent letter re: the Community Harvest Food  Bank’s struggles to assist families and individuals living in poverty, we suggest it is high time that our wealthy province makes  some meaningful policy changes so that the families of one in five children in BC don’t have to be dependent...

There’s an insidious either/or mentality invading our political lexicon that I think is actually becoming an outstandingly effective camouflage for genuine evil, and it’s making me crazy to see how few people seem to realize how totally they are being manipulated by it. It starts off benign enough – in fact, in such a stupid...