The stoppage in negotiations between the province and the RCMP is the perfect time to begin looking at a provincial police force, says B.C. former solicitor general, the Vancouver Province reports. Kash Heed said the province should step back and look at what effective, efficient and accountable police service looks like for the province. The […]

 Two newcomers have thrown their hats into the ring for the  city council elections this fall, with two weeks still to go in the nomination window.  Sue Heaton, office administrator for BC Hydro, and Dan Rye, manager of Kootenay Market, have both committed to having their names on the ballot when Castlegar heads to the polls...

Mayor Lawrence Chernoff says Castlegar has much to offer the B.C. Mayors Climate Leadership Council, despite being the second-smallest participating municipality.   This, after, the group of mayors from across the province met with Environment Minister Terry Lake during the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) conference.   “It’s all about sharing best practices – you […]

It seems that the Conference Board of Canada (CBC), the voice of the big business community, is beginning to realize what progressive economists have argued for years – that income inequality is bad for everyone, not just the poor.  ”High inequality can diminish economic growth if it means that the country is not fully using...

The most interesting thing about those latest radio ads by the BC Liberals is the fact they were done at all … now … more than 18 months (supposedly) before the next provincial election.  And there’s an entire website set up just to attack BC Conservative leader John Cummins!  Congratulations, John! You’ve now officially made...

Friends and foes laid partisan politics aside for a moment Monday as the fall session of Parliament opened with a string of tributes for former NDP leader Jack Layton, who succumbed to cancer over the summer. Taking her place opposite Prime Minister Stephen Harper, interim NDP leader Nycole Turmel opened her remarks by acknowledging the […]

To the Editor, It is our Government’s long-standing position that political parties should rely on their supporters for financing, supporters who choose to fund the activities of political parties. The “per-vote subsidy” to fund political parties is, in fact, a tax-on-voting. Canadians should have choice over whether or not they want to fund political activities. […]

 So, I’m here today to nosh on a heaping helping of good, old-fashioned crow, as I totally reverse a passionate position I took in a similar column several years back. As long as said crow is locally-grown, I think I can choke it down. What on God’s green earth is she talking about? you may […]

 Stephen Harper is planning to do away with the per-vote subsidy to political parties. Brought in under the Chretien Liberals, this is the subsidy that, along with putting stricter limits on union and corporate donations, was meant to reduce political influence over Canadian elections.  Under current laws it is no longer...

Stephen Harper is planning to do away with the per-vote subsidy to political parties. Brought in under the Chretien Liberals, this is the subsidy that, along with putting stricter limits on union and corporate donations, was meant to reduce political influence over Canadian elections.  Under current laws it is no longer...