US reduces claim against alleged B.C. Softwood timber violations
Madison's Lumber Reporter has learned that the United States' claim against Canada, for alleged subsidies on British Columbia's timber stumpage rates, has been reduced from US$499 to US$303.6 million. In the American rebuttal of Canada's defense, which was filed on Dec. 23, 2011 but only made public this week, the U.S. Trade...
Bow down Canadians, corporations are king
Two recent stories out of Ottawa underline the ongoing political and economic assault on ordinary Canadians. More Canadians are now working for low wages than at any time in decades, continuing a trend that began in the early 1990s, and Stephen Harper has announced major changes to retirement benefits — including delaying Old...
Healthy forests dialogue publishes results
In 2009 and through 2010 a growing concern was voiced among professional foresters and biologists, conservationists, academics, community leaders, forest industry support companies and First Nations that British Columbia (BC) forests are in need of greater attention to meet societal expectations over the long-term. This concern generated the Healthy Forests-Healthy Communities: A conversation on BC […]
Celgar launches $250-million NAFTA claim against Canada over alleged discrimination by BC Hydro
Mercer International, the parent company of Castlegar’s pulp mill, Zellstoff Celgar, is filing a $250-million claim indicating discrimination on the part of BC Hydro is costing the company about $19 million of incremental energy sales every year. The claim, according to a Mercer press release issued Jan. 26, is against the government of Canada for […]
How Swedes and Norwegians Broke the Power of the ‘1 Percent’
While many of us are working to ensure that the Occupy movement will have a lasting impact, it’s worthwhile to consider other countries where masses of people succeeded in nonviolently bringing about a high degree of democracy and economic justice. Sweden and Norway, for example, both experienced a major power shift in the ...
Lions Club calls on Chamber of Commerce to explain eviction
Letter to the Editor: Last Thursday, four of the Lions executive waited for our turn to visit the Chamber of Commerce board meeting. In the closed meeting of the chamber board, a discussion of how to proceed with the eviction of the Lions Club. For 41 years, the Castlegar-Selkirk Lions have been involved in Castlegar. Shopping...
Inside Romney’s tax returns: A reading guide
In response to growing pressure from voters and competitors, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released 550 pages of tax returns Tuesday, covering two years of income. As one of the richest men ever to run for President, Romney's filings are enormously complex, and the subject of close scrutiny. News organizations...
Stephen Harper and the Big Oil Party of Canada
Where will you be and what will you be doing when the first giant oil tanker, (there will be two plying the waters every three days) carrying over 200,000 gallons of tar sands goop diluted with solvent, spills its load into the pristine waters of the northern BC coast? We often remember catastrophic events by recalling exactly...
The wedding of MLA Mungall the Best Feast is Within 100 Miles said B.C. Bridal Guide
The marriage of Nelson-Creston MLA Michelle Mungall to her partner Zak caught more than the eyes of invited guests. The B.C. Bridal Guide liked what it saw so much the magazine requested the former Nelson City Councillor contribute her story to the 2012 Guide. “I think the most successful planning incorporates the ability to...
$2.3-million Phase Two to service airport lands sent out to tender
The City of Castlegar is putting out an early tender for the roughly $2.3-million Phase Two of the airport-lands-servicing project, after an unanimous vote at council’s regular meeting Monday evening. “This is where we connect the pipe (recently installed spanning Kinnaird bridge during Phase One) at either end – on one end to the city’s […]
