Greyhound to cease Western Canada operations Oct. 31
In a media release Monday, Greyhound Canada has taken the difficult decision to downsize its operations, halting both passenger and freight, effective October 31, 2018, in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Greyhound Canada said in British Columbia, all routes will cease except for Vancouver to Seattle, which...
Initiative Petition: 90 Days to sign against Site C
A BC voter has begun the next stage of an initiative petition process seeking to have the BC government cancel the Site C dam project; see this May 3 article first announcing the petition. The petition sheets were issued on July 3, so the proponent has 90 days to collect signatures. To move to the next stage of the process,...
Supreme Court green lights provincial trade barriers in ‘free the beer’ ruling
A recent Supreme Court ruling will limit the cross-country flow of beer — and other goods and services — for Canadians this Canada Day long weekend and beyond, confirms a report released Thursday by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian policy think-tank. “At a time when Canadians are particularly sensitive...
The case of the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation
The British Columbia Investment Management Corporation is a little-known financial institution. However, its actions are vital to BC’s and Canada’s ability — or inability — to address the climate change crisis, says a new Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Corporate Mapping Project report. As the steward of BC’s...
City of Victoria wins lawsuit over plastic bag bylaw
More action on single-use plastic bags? Rossland City Council has stated that it was waiting for the outcome of the court challenge against the City of Victoria’s bylaw to ban plastic “check-out” bags. The Canadian Plastic Bag Association challenged the City of Victoria’s right to regulate plastic bags. Now the Supreme Court...
Fraser Institute ranks 253 B.C. secondary schools in annual Report Card
The Fraser Institute today released its Report Card on British Columbia’s Secondary Schools, the most easily accessible tool for parents to compare the academic performance of their children’s schools. This year’s Report Card ranks 253 public and independent secondary schools based on seven academic indicators using student...
ICBC adds more estimators in response to higher claims costs
ICBC has hired 43 new estimators in response to the increase in vehicle claims costs, and to enhance oversight of autobody repair costs, as government works to bring ICBC back to financial stability. The new hires, brought on since February 2018, are the first estimator trainee group to be engaged with a full training program...
Kootenays’ employment growth outperformed other B.C. regions
According to the CPABC Regional Check-Up, an annual economic report by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC), 4,500 new jobs were created in the Kootenays in 2017, pushing overall employment to 71,900, the region’s highest level since 2013. “Our region’s employment grew by 6.7 per cent last year,...
Come on down to celebrate with I Heart Downtown Castlegar event this weekend
There’s never been a better time to head to downtown Castlegar than this weekend (Friday and Saturday), for the Second Annual I Heart Downtown Castlegar event. Organizer Shawna Tarasoff said it’s a two-day event intended to showcase the variety of diverse and dynamic businesses in the downtown core. “It’s to create some...
Who's minding the Site C store with all eyes on Trans Mountain?
Lost in the threats and counter-threats over the Trans Mountain pipeline is news that B.C. Hydro will be cutting a cheque to Flatiron/Graham, principal contractors on the Lower Mainland Transmission Line, for approximately $100 million following a semi-successful arbitration, depending upon your perspective. Announced in 2009,...
