You can’t have Housing First without having housing first
Finland is the only country in the European Union where homelessness has been decreasing. The small Nordic country is hailed as a model for homelessness work and Finnish expertise is…
Norman Farrell
TV commercial like no other
Recording TV programs, and then skipping through commercials during playback, I don't often watch live television. Today, a 30-second version of this video caught my attention:
Canada’s dangerous neighbour
American companies own more than half of foreign-controlled corporate assets in Canada. How long before Donald Trump decides to "protect" his country's interests and security? The Trump administration may blame…
Theo Moudakis!!
A century ago, an American advertising executive popularized the phrase, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Toronto Star cartoonist Theo Moudakis proves that a few pictures are worth much…
Housing the unhoused, or enriching the already rich… it’s a choice
The 21st century has seen an explosion in the number and wealth of billionaires, driven largely by financial market surges, deregulation, and favourable tax policies. It is no coincidence that…
A bad neighbor
In fewer than 365 days after taking office Donald Trump would threaten to invade Panama and Greenland, launch a global trade war, bomb five countries, and invade South America —…
Scalable geothermal energy
Permitting and transmission-connection hurdles face renewable developers broadly. Raising money to gain expertise and moving systems to a commercial stage is also challenging. With geothermal energy, the potential rewards are…
Naked imperialism
"Most of the Americas have suffered from interference from their powerful northern neighbour – and are usually the worse off for it."
Wag the dog
The movie "Wag the Dog" takes the stance that American public policy may be founded on fraud in high places, and that there is no public outpouring too spontaneous-looking to…
U.S. violates U.N. Charter
On January 3, the United States launched a “large-scale strike” on Venezuela, captured President Nicolás Maduro, and flew him to a military base in New York. The American President says…
What others do that we don’t / can’t / won’t
Innovation? There’s a lot our media never seems to notice succceding elsewhere. A dam blocks salmon from reaching spawning grounds. Back in 2014 inventors employed a clever workaround. . Education?…
Growing old is better than the alternative
I normally discard content suggested by unknown organizations, but issues of aging have growing importance to baby-boomers like me. When Andrea Needham of Elders Day offered an article, I reviewed…
A Reader contributed again
Sorry, but I can’t show you a recent federal government ad. But you're likely to see it. It’s a shocker…
Unusual calls to 911
E-Comm releases its annual top ten list reminding the public to keep 9-1-1 lines free for emergencies only:
Watershed Watch Salmon Society
Watershed Watch Salmon Society is a small non-profit organization working hard to protect fish habitat in BC's rivers, lakes, wetlands, and the Pacific Ocean. This five-minute video explains their recent…
Party control of municipal councils?
Ken Boon, a respected citizen of northeastern BC, is a regular contributor to the newspaper based in Fort St. John. He is concerned about provincial political parties dictating local government…
BC was deaf to cautionary tales
Many people are to blame for Site C, a facility that will produce electricity at a multiple of the cost of other clean power systems. No persons in positions of…
BC Hydro customers paying for “doublespeak masterpiece”
In the Times Colonist, Les Leyne reacted to a recent BC Hydro report about Site C: B.C. Hydro has written the blandest, most blameless account possible. When it comes to…
Nincompoops ranting in their underpants just might have been right
Thanks to RanD Hadland at Facebook's Say "NO" to Site "C" Dam! for drawing my attention to a recent Vaughn Palmer column. The Sun's pundit mentions BC Hydro's "pathetic" excuse…
Above and beyond the rule of law
Gordon Wilson should have been Premier of British Columbia. Instead, Vancouver power brokers of the 1990s wanted a more tractable person waiting to be Premier. Gordon Campbell replaced Wilson as…