Canada is regarded as a country of spectacular nature, with magnificent forests. The boreal forest alone, stretching from Yukon to Newfoundland and Labrador, makes up 55 per cent of Canada’s land mass and is home to numerous plant and animal species and human communities. Listening to government, you could be forgiven for thinking that our […]

To The Editor: It’s hard to believe I’m writing this, but it’s 2024 and some politicians are still arguing that Canada can’t afford climate action. Climate chaos is already costing our communities too much. In 2023, the hottest year ever recorded, out-of-control wildfires forced thousands of Canadians from their homes and burned more than twice […]

British Columbia’s fish populations and freshwater ecosystems are facing threats from a parasite that causes whirling disease in trout and salmon and two species of invasive mussels. The B.C. Wildlife Federation is deeply concerned that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), FortisBC and BC Hydro are scaling back their support for invasive mussel surveillance in B.C. and […]

A media release arrived in my inbox, to publicize the message of a coalition of communities and businesses urging government to take more effective action to reduce crime. The coalition calls itself “Save Our Streets” — SOS.  Their message is a call “for all levels of government to coordinate their efforts and put an end […]

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? Anyone resolve to help overthrow consumer capitalism? If we come together and resolve to do better for each other and the planet, we could find a better path. It would be easier if the gas, oil and coal industries and their supporters would resolve to clean up their […]

By Stuart Phillips, Professor, McMaster University, Ontario Everyone can agree that exercise is healthy. Among its many benefits, exercise improves heart and brain function, aids in controlling weight, slows the effects of aging and helps lower the risks of several chronic diseases.  For too long, though, one way of keeping fit, aerobic exercise, has been […]

“I will be more myself in the next life.”                           —  Matsuko Matumaki This column asks the question: what is a sole person responsible for, and what is a society accountable for?   I’m fascinated by individuals’ “butterfly effect” in religious history. I’m distressed by Canadian society’s collective ignorance for understanding our history.  Crisis as opportunity […]

Dear Ministers: The B.C. Wildlife Federation has serious concerns about the proposed solar energy facility which has been proposed by Enterprise Renewables in Crown Land, File #4406427. As concerned as we are about the impacts of climate change and fossil fuel consumption, the downsides of this project far outweigh the benefits. The environmental values of […]

To The Editor: There comes a point in time when we are allowed to question just where and how our precious and scarce health-care dollars are spent – and why. Clinics and hospitals are shutting down intermittently, while the queues waiting for critical services and surgeries are getting longer and longer. Today many are travelling […]

To The Editor: Thank you to the Nelson City Council and the Village of Kaslo for passing motions in support of the establishment of hemodialysis treatment at the Kootenay Lake Hospital. We, renal patients, are asking our politicians, West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital Board, BC Renal, and Interior Health to make it possible for us […]