Reports about the behaviour of some Senators have once again unleashed a flurry of demands to either abandon or at least reform that venerable institution. Defenders refer to the Senate as the “Chamber of Sober Second Thought.” It is not how the Constitution defines it, although sobriety may have been a consideration in the...

Submitted by Grace McGregor, Regional District Kootenay Boundary Area C Director It has been my pleasure for the past four years to be involved in discussions with other elected officials, academics and numerous community leaders throughout BC in the creation of “The Rural BC Project.”  The article that follows is an explanation...

The West’s hypocrisy and oil-greed are coming home to roost with a vengeance in Libya as the Arab spring in that country turns into a nightmarish winter characterized by armed gangs, economic collapse, a decline in services by an incompetent government and increasing political domination by radical Islamists. Whether or not...

They're off. The start to B.C.'s official pre-campaign period for the 2013 election campaign is well underway.    Day one of the pre-campaign would have been an easy miss, coming as it did on the same day a meteor crashed to earth and the Canucks fell to the Dallas Stars.    Heck, Elections BC didn't even post a news release...

Caution: This columm not for the overly lady-like or prudish individual.             After a holiday season filled with copious amounts of chocolate, wine, carbs, multiple turkey dinners, and more chocolate and wine, I decided to take on a new years’ resolution in hopes of starting my year out right. And because I was feeling particularly masochistic, […]

Ed. Note: The following letter is a tribute to Twin Rivers teacher Brian Rigby, who died of a heart attack at the school on Feb. 12. Dear Editor,   My name is Terry, I am Ethan Wiebe's Stepmom. I wanted you to know that I went to Brian Rigby's Celebration of Life at the Nelson Covenant Church. There were so many people there,...

IntegrityBC has released a letter that it has sent all 24 registered political parties in the province detailing a series of recommendations on electoral reform and government accountability for each party to consider putting forward in their respective platforms for the May 14th general election. The letter has also been...

In my Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) column (Part I) I gave a general description of this Inter-Parliamentary Forum held in Vladivostok, Russian.  During the meeting, resolutions were adopted that will be presented to each of the countries represented at the APPF and it is possible that these statements will wind up...

Pope Benedict is retiring. Nelson is national news for its dog-ban bylaw. Tornadoes and blizzards have hit eastern regions of the continent. A fired L. A. cop commits suicide after a murder spree. BC’s Legislature is back in session. The Grammies have been awarded. The Canucks had a streak of wins but just lost it. This, if...

This might be hard to believe, but sometimes I get a bit full of myself. Get off on some track or other and before I know it, I'm preaching, proclaiming and other wise carrying on as if I had an inside scoop on the path to salvation. Frankly it can be a tad hard to take. So I've decided to give it up. At least for Lent....