BCTF teachers to strike, no school next Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
The following is a press release issued just after 1 p.m. today by the BC Teachers’ Federation: Next Monday, March 5, teachers across B.C. will begin a legal three-da,y full-scale withdrawal of services, as permitted under the Labour Relations Board interim essential services order. At 6 a.m. today, the BCTF issued notice of the escalation […]
Canada supports the dark side of international finance
You can say one thing for the powers that be in the banking industry. They’ve got a lot of nerve. This past week our own finance minister Jim Flaherty, along with Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, came out strongly in opposition to a modest proposal to regulate the US banking system. Their interventions followed...
Bahraini ‘reformers’ in Washington, courtesy of American spinmeisters
By Justin Elliot in ProPublica. Earlier this month, a group of three young Bahrainis arrived in Washington to talk about reform in the small Persian Gulf nation, which has been rocked by Arab Spring protests for the last year. The delegation, including an NGO worker and a tech entrepreneur, both Western-educated, represented...
Two Ways the Provincial Budget Will Affect Municipalities
Last week’s provincial budget includes two items that will directly impact municipalities: the increase in Medical Services Plan (MSP) premiums, and the creation of a new Auditor General for Local Government. MSP will increase local government expenses Increases to MSP premiums will amount to about $60 per year per person. This cost will be passed […]
OP/ED: Second-class status the status quo for Castlegar with IHA
I was encouraged, I really was, when Interior Health Authority (IHA) representative Linda Basran came to Castlegar to offer city council, and residents, an unqualified apology for the closure of Castlegar’s emergency ward for eight hours on Feb. 4. She acknowledged that communication around the closure was totally unacceptable,...
Cougar destroyed near Blueberry this morning
A local Conservation officer was forced to destroy a cougar this morning after a car accident left the animal injured near Blueberry, according to RCMP Sgt. Laurel Mathew. "At approximately 6 a.m., Castlegar RCMP responded to a motor vehicle accident in which a vehicle had struck a cougar on highway 22 in the Blueberry/Fairview...
Castlegar declines to send delegate to sister city Embetsu, Japan
In a rare split vote, city council decided 4 to 2 against sending a delegation to Castlegar’s sister city, Embetsu, Japan. Councillor Gord Turner, who serves as the chair for council’s Cultural and Civic Pride Committee, argued in favour of the expenditure at last Monday’s regular meeting, explaining that Embestu sent a large...
Canadians call for enquiry on alleged robocall election fraud
Over 20,000 Canadians have joined with online campaigning organization Leadnow.ca to call for a full and independent public inquiry into an alleged systematic voter deception phone campaign that targeted likely non-Conservative voters in key ridings during the May 2011 election. Since the campaign launched on Friday, 20,000...
IntegrityBC releases 2011 Broomstick awards
IntegrityBC has awarded seven broomsticks in the first of its annual Broomstick awards signifying the most egregious examples of ineptitude on B.C.’s political landscape from the past year. “Our choice of a broomstick is meant to symbolize that it’s time to clean up a mess,” said IntegrityBC executive director Dermod Travis. “Yet it’s easy to […]
First annual Broomstick Awards have seven new recipients
Integrity BC a non-partisan advocacy group championing accountability and integrity in BC politics, recently handed out seven broomsticks as a part of its first annual Broomstick awards. The Broomstick awards signify the most egregious examples of ineptitude on B.C.’s political landscape from the past year. “Our choice of a broomstick is meant to symbolize that […]
