RUSSIA: "Why are Russians protesting now?"
On Saturday December 10, 2011, the world watched the biggest protests Russia has seen since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. It has been almost exactly 20 years since Christmas Day in 1991 when power passed from Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. It is believed that Yeltsin did not...
OP/ED: Clark and Bond wrong on public, wrong on electoral finance reform
The BC Liberal government may have committed itself to transparency, new ideas and engaging with British Columbians in its October 3rd Throne speech, but according to IntegrityBC the memo doesn't seem to have quite reached every minister. The non-partisan organization was reacting to a letter it received from Attorney General...
Government introducing new passports in 2012
Passport Canada will start issuing higher-security electronic passports, or ePassports, to Canadians next year. With the ePassport, Canadians will have the option of getting a new, security-enhanced passport that is valid for five years, starting next year, or a 10-year passport, starting in early 2013. Today, in accordance with the User Fees Act, Passport Canada […]
Dix ratified as NDP provincial leader
VANCOUVER - Leader Adrian Dix told the BC NDP’s 50th Anniversary Convention that inequality is the defining issue of our time and outlined the NDP’s priorities for when it forms government in 2013.“Growing inequality has been the defining feature of a decade of Liberal rule,” said Dix. “We’ve had years of slow growth that is...
More than 50 scientists protest BC Hydro closures/lay-offs in Castlegar and Nelson
A group of more than 50 scientists is publicly lobbying BC Hydro to reconsider its decision to close the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP) office in Nelson, and to lay off staff in Castlegar, Nelson and Prince George. The offices are to be closed by January 2012, and the program consolidated in Burnaby […]
Standing committee appointments announced for city council
At Dec. 5th’s first meeting of the newly-elected city council, Mayor Lawrence Chernoff assigned each council member to the standing committee roles they’ll be playing for the following year – a practice not employed in all municipalities. “There are lots of cities where councillors stay on the same committees for years and years,” he said, […]
MP wants bottled water banned
Alex Atamanenko, MP, rose in the House of Commons Wednesday to introduce a petition on behalf of the BC/Yukon Region Canadian Catholic Development and Peace organization. Signed by 1,200 people from the Dioceses of Nelson and Victoria, the petition calls on the government to ban the purchase of bottled water in federal...
Huge weekend for food bank: Miracle marathon, toy drive, and Holiday Train on tap
It’s a critical weekend for Castlegar’s Community Harvest Food Bank, as they push to raise what they need to provide Christmas hampers to the city’s less fortunate. The drive begins today, with Mountain FM’s Miracle Marathon at Safeway. “I think that started about six years ago, to raise food, donations and awareness for food...
Castlegar debt-free after paying out loan 2.5 years early
It's a black day for the City of Castlegar - black ink, that is, according to a report offered at Monday’s regular city council meeting. In the report, city director of finance Andre Buss told council that the city’s only remaining long-term loan (issue 58, which the city undertook to build the RCMP detachment as well as...
IntegrityBC releases first of four videos by Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson
As part of its mandate to foster a dialogue between British Columbians and their MLAs, IntegrityBC today released the first of four videos by Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson (Independent).In the first video [attached], Bob Simpson discusses the impact of money on B.C. politics.“Social media is an ideal way for British Columbians...
