Kootenay-Columbia MP Rob Morrison stood with his Conservative Party to vote against the federal budget implementation bill Thursday in the House of Commons. By a vote of 177 to 146, Bill C-47, the Budget Implementation Act, 2023, No. 1, passed the final stage in the House as both the sitting Liberals and NDP voted in favour....

Last August, a dozen teenagers with shovels and pickaxes dug a meter wide “non-combustible” layer around Kaslo City Hall. It was difficult, dusty physical labour in the August heat, but they were passionate about protecting such a gorgeous building from wildfires. Kaslo City Hall is an historic Kootenay gem with a stone...

West High Yield (WHY) continues its efforts to further its application for a permit to go ahead with the next phase of its proposed magnesium mine on Record Ridge.  The Ministry has accepted the WHY application for a permit, but has not approved it.  The review process has just begun. Local residents should be aware that...

Decriminalizing hard drugs is not a solution. On May 30th last year, the federal government announced it would grant the BC government’s request for an exemption from the Controlled Drug and Substances Act. What followed was less enforcement, more opioids (heroin, morphine, and fentanyl), crack, meth and cocaine on our streets...

Support for oil and gas projects is often justified on economic grounds: they fuel the economy and create jobs. But do those arguments hold up? Even leaving aside the enormous costs of climate-related disasters such as flooding, drought and increasing water scarcity, and pollution-related health impacts and premature deaths,...

Despite the challenges that the pandemic had on our businesses, communities, and our province, BC bounced back quickly and continues to have one of the strongest economies in Canada. The result is a one-time budget surplus of over $5 billion dollars from the last fiscal year. It is an advantageous situation for a government...

The BC Electoral Boundaries Commission has published its final report with recommendations to the Legislative Assembly for changing British Columbia’s provincial electoral districts. The Commission’s recommendations include a proposal to create six additional electoral districts in areas of rapid population growth, bringing...

The 16th round of Canada-U.S. negotiations to modernize the Columbia River Treaty took place on March 22 and 23, in Washington, D.C. During this latest session, conversations between Canadian and American negotiators focused on strengthening co-operation to support aquatic life and biodiversity in the Columbia River Basin, ...

People in B.C. can be confident that money services businesses they use will have greater oversight by the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) as a new provincial regulator. Money services businesses that deal in foreign exchanges, wire transfers, money orders, traveller's cheques or similar services outside of traditional...

On February 3, a 150-car train carrying toxic chemicals derailed near East Palestine, Ohio. Close to half the town’s 4,700 residents had to evacuate as deadly gas and smoke fouled the air and chemicals contaminated waterways. Fortunately, no people were killed (although at least 3,500 fish perished), unlike in the devastating...