2011 budget to be presented to public this Tuesday
The City of Castlegar will be unveiling its proposed 2011 budget and five-year financial plan next week, at a regular meeting of council and then through a special open house. The new budget, which includes a one-per-cent tax increase for commercial rate-payers and a three-per-cent hike for residents, will be brought forward...
MP advocates for schools
Honourable Margaret MacDiarmid Dear Minister MacDiarmid, As you are no doubt aware, there is a discussion in School District #20 about the possible closure of Rossland Secondary and Blueberry Community School. This is taking place as a result of some very difficult budget considerations that School District #20 is...
Castlegar talks tacky
Pop by City Hall Thursday and you’ll see a distressing lack of fashion sense … but don’t worry, it’s for a cause. Tomorrow is the city’s Tacky Sweater Day, when they lower the thermostat at City Hall by three degrees for a small but symbolic nod to environmental conservation. Kevin Chernoff, city councillor and chair of ...
CTF: BC budget disappoints as spending and borrowing rise
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is disappointed with the B.C. government’s management of the public purse and troubled by rising public debt forecast in today’s provincial budget. “This government would like everybody to cheer a $1.265 billion deficit for last year, because it’s lower than forecast. That’s not good enough. The real story here is $440 […]
MLA not impressed with BC budget
In Tuesday’s budget, presented by Finance Minister Colin Hansen, the Liberal Government tried to make the case that the last ten years of BC Liberal government has improved the lives of British Columbians however most people who live in rural BC are not agreeing with him, says Kootenay West MLA Katrine Conroy. “As the […]
Harper, Autocrat
As tens of millions of Egyptians celebrated their victory over a brutal dictator and began the task of creating democracy, the story from Canada was of democracy going backwards. For five years under Stephen Harper, Canada has been subjected to a systematic erosion of democracy (as I document here). Canada is not Egypt and Harper is […]
Nelson rallies to support democracy in Egypt
On February 11th, the community of Nelson held a rally to support the Egyptian people in their struggle for democracy and freedom from tyranny. The protestors were determined to make their voices loud enough so that Canadian leaders would hear and pressure Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down as President. Before the news of […]
Rousseau, Nasser and the Egyptian revolution
In watching the live streaming coverage of the Egyptian revolution on Aljazeera I am awe-struck by the incredible humanity of what is unfolding in that country. I imagine Jean Jacques Rousseau wandering amongst the throngs of people and being equally amazed and delighted. For the character of this uprising, this outpouring of frustration and joy, of kindness […]
Cemeteries full, Trail monorail unlikely: RDKB holds a town hall meeting
Finance-based gatherings can be dull. So kudos to the Area B gentleman who livened things up Tuesday night at the regional district’s Town Hall meeting held in Oasis. Among the enjoyable tidbits revealed regarding the region’s future: a monorail in Trail is unlikely, the district will not be proposing any new bridges, and Pacific Coastal […]
Ready, set, go! Federal spring election under way?
With all the attention focused on the BC Liberals and NDP leadership races, you may not have noticed: the next federal election campaign is already under way. The vote will take place in late April/early May. The first visible sign were those negative TV ads launched by the federal Tories a couple of weeks […]
