As someone who has enjoyed a long media career, including 44 years hosting CBC TV’s The Nature of Things, I understand how important robust media is to a thriving democracy. An informed public makes better decisions about everything from health care to voting. Some, unfortunately, see an informed public as a threat to their agendas. […]

To The Editor: The BC mining industry just hit a brick wall, and it’s time for BC to wake up and engage. Premier David Eby does not have the moral or Constitutional right to arbitrarily award 6% of the people of our province unfettered use and control of our Crown lands and resources. The truth […]

To The Editor: It’s unbelievable our health care system refuses to take pity on our dialysis patients. Three times a week I drive seniors in my small car to Trail. These patients should be getting the treatment they need here in Nelson. To qualify as a driver for the West Kootenay Volunteer Driver Program, I […]

I was trained to be a scientist. A book I cowrote with Tony Griffiths became the most widely used genetics text in the United States. But as I was beginning my career in Canada, I was struck by the priorities of newspapers and television. Whole sections and programs were devoted to politics, business, sports and […]

“We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than story-telling.” — J. N. Smith Reconciliation, after Truth is taught I have written in this column before about Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, most recently in the last Arc in December. I feel it’s a subject that I might […]

Winter is a great season for staying cozy and taking some extra time to reflect on what is most important. This month I’ve had a chance to reflect on 2023 and everything we accomplished for people, here in the Kootenays and across the province. I wanted to share some of those reflections with you. In […]

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 […]