Being First Nations in BC comes at too high a price. We all know the statistics: dismal success at (white) school; endemic poverty on and off reserve; half the prison population despite being only three percent of the Canadian population; high incidence of sexual abuse; the too high a percentage of children in care; high...

By Lois Beckett in ProPublica.By the end of this year, the State Department will decide whether to give a Canadian company permission to construct a 1,700-mile, $7 billion pipeline that would transport crude oil from Canada to refineries in Texas.  The project has sparked major environmental concerns, particularly in Nebraska,...

A confidential report on BC Hydro Smart Meter Business Case by Horizon Technologies Inc. states that "BC Hydro will maintain the same rate structures when Smart Meters are first put in, and implement new rate structures afterwards; so that Smart Meters aren't blamed for higher rates."Read the full confidential report here.Rich...

Since early July my riding office has been flooded with calls and letters from worried Canadians across the country seeking information and advice on the new enforcement Initiatives for filing US tax returns and reporting foreign bank accounts (FBARs).   Frequently the first question asked is, "Will I be affected by this?" ...

This fall British Columbia’s Missing Women Commission will finally begin its work. It does so in under a cloud of suspicion: an inadequate mandate, a potentially compromised commissioner, and a refusal to financially support affected native communities, families, and Vancouver Downtown Eastside community groups to participate...

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 ...

On a cloudy Monday night, hundreds of Vancouver residents gathered at the ‘Vancouver Club’ to protest the visit of former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. This was Cheney's first trip outside of the United States on his book tour.The protestors came from a plethora of different backgrounds including anti-war, 9/11 conspiracy,...

I like the provincial government’s new job plan--not because they promised thousands of new jobs almost immediately, but because they didn’t.We all experiecned the hype before, provincially and federally, from every political party that has held office or wanted to: with the hype and promises skyrocketing in job numbers in ...

You may remember Henry — the ruthless industrialist who nonetheless refused to be hobbled by suicidal ideology when it came to doing business. He realized as his workers cranked thousands of new cars off the assembly line that none of those workers would likely ever own one, because he didn’t pay them enough. So he dramatically...

Xun Ke Lao has been a resident of Nelson for many years. His view on the issues and topics of Nelson are insightful, no-holds barred and cut through much of the political murkiness that cloud municipal events. His blog entries will be presented here as a regular feature of The Nelson Daily. The Transit Update in the Committee...