The Brazeau affair — sad, repugnant and bizarre all at the same time — shines a light on two aspects of Canadian politics that desperately need some exposure. One is what it reveals about the state of “official” aboriginal politics and its relationship to the Canadian state. The other, the almost exclusive focus of the media,...

In light of the current fiscal crisis and resultant school closures and reconfigurations being contemplated by our Board of Education to balance its budget we believe it is appropriate to revisit some of Murray Dobbin’s thoughts in his article about School Closures and the “Cult of Efficiency” written in 2008 when he was the...

Twenty-five years ago, after consensus on the reality and impacts of manmade climate change led to the formation of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, western governments had two choices. They could either stop subsidising fossil fuel industries and invest the savings in promoting energy efficiency and renewable...

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s gotten me thinking about love, and sex, and all sorts of gushy sweetheart stuff that you see in romantic comedies. You know, like, midnight phone calls, flowers, and how new couples just can’t keep their hands off each other … anyway, as I was reminiscing over all […]

When historians write the chapter on the current period of social democracy in Canada they might well conclude that the worst thing that happened to it was the 2011 election when the NDP got 103 seats it hadn’t really earned. It was such an unexpected event that the NDP could not cope with it. You could see it in the euphoria...

I had the opportunity in January to represent our country at the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) in Vladivostok, Russia.  This was the 21st annual Forum which hosted over three hundred parliamentarians from 23 APPF member states as well as representatives from other countries, the UN and other world organizations. Our...

Humanity ascends from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom– Friedrich Engels, in Socialism: Utopian and Scientific The meaning of Life is discovering our gift; the purpose is to give it away– chalkboard on Baker St. in Nelson My last column described the Baby Boomers at some length, so today I will sound off with ...

What does living faithfully mean? In my context, it means living faithfully to my understanding of God's call in the world. 'Call' being a pull into realizing there is much more than 'me' involved in the warp and woof of the universe. There are connections in many realms. Connections to the Divine Light pervading all Creation....

If the B.C. government is ever on the hunt for a new slogan perhaps “spending our children's inheritance” would be fitting.  Since 2001, British Columbians have been witness to the sale of key parts of B.C.'s infrastructure, transfers of its wealth to private interests and sweetheart deals for industries that can afford...

This is the time of year that finds us exploring the beginnings of Jesus' ministry. Each Gospel has a different take. Mark tells of teaching, casting out demons and healing. Matthew relates teaching, healing, and preaching a sermon from a mountain top. In Luke we hear a sermon preached in Nazareth that riled the assembly so...