Residents riled over post-midnight train
Many Castlegar residents got a rude awakening at roughly 12:40 a.m. this morning when CP Rail’s new nighttime train whistled its way through Castlegar. City councillor Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff, who lives directly adjacent to a train crossing, said the new schedule is a source of great frustration. “I’m extremely upset –...
Local governments 'fragmented', need control: Report
The relationship between local governments and the provincial government reached a new low this week, said RDCK area D director Andy Shadrack, when a provincial review on government wages was leaked to the public. The report prepared by Ernst and Young claimed that salaries and wages in local government are now higher than...
Government provides $11 million for health research
Patients and researchers will benefit from a new $11-million grant from the provincial government to the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR). "This funding will help the foundation maintain the global competitiveness of B.C.'s health-research sector," said Health Minister Terry Lake. "The Michael Smith...
Minister Bill Bennet comments on Columbia River Treaty 50th anniversary
Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett issued the following statement today to mark the 50th anniversary of the Columbia River Treaty: “On September 16, 1964, B.C. Premier W.A.C. Bennett, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson and United States President Lyndon B. Johnson met at the International Peace Arch Boundary at Blaine ...
BC Finance Minister says province on a balanced-budget course
Despite challenges to the fiscal plan from wildfires and flood-related costs, B.C. is currently on target to balance the 2014-15 budget, Finance Minister Michael de Jong announced Tuesday. The year-end surplus for 2014-15 is now projected to be $266 million, up by $82 million from Budget 2014. Revenues have improved by $515...
UPDATED: Minister of Education calls BCTF vote 'widely expected and understandable'
Education Minister Peter Fassbender released the following statement today in response to the BCTF vote on binding arbitration: "The results of this vote were widely expected and understandable. "We know BC teachers want schools re-opened. That is a goal we all share. "As we have consistently made clear, binding arbitration...
1040 job postings...a good sign for the Lower Columbia!
The Lower Columbia Region is thriving! The most recent economic statistic in a series of published metrics highlighting our thriving economy is the number of jobs posted in the Lower Columbia Region. From January through August 2014 there has been 1,040 different employment opportunities posted at the Community Skills Centre!...
Kimberley’s Diamond in the Rough
Mining and the sun link the three cities with the same name — Kimberley — in British Columbia, Australia, and South Africa. After 92 years of active mining, producing more than $20 billion worth of lead, zinc, and silver, Kimberley, B.C.’s Sullivan Mine closed in 2001. The Kimberley region of Western Australia accounts for ...
Canada Pension Plan costs triple as investment board spending skyrockets
The Fraser Institute The cost of running the Canada Pension Plan has more than tripled, the result of transaction fees and external management fees, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. The study, Accounting for the True Cost of the Canada ...
Partnership fuels expansion of University of Northern B.C.'s bioenergy system
Students, communities and the environment will benefit from the expansion of the University of Northern British Columbia’s award-winning bioenergy heating system, thanks to a $1.1-million contribution from the Government of B.C. The funding partnership was announced by Advanced Education Minister Amrik Virk at UNBC’s...
