» Archive: West
April 09, 2004
Is there hope for COPE?
Georgia Straight: "Less Than Eighteen Months After Its Landslide Victory Over The NPA, The Party That Rules City Hall Is A Council Divided"
January 18, 2004
It's Mike Rowe, 17, vs. giant Microsoft!
Like any good fledgling businessman, Mike Rowe knew he needed a catchy name for his website design company.
And being possessed of a sense of humour and the cheekiness of a typical 17-year-old, and given his name, what better than to register his Internet domain name as mikerowesoft.com?
As in, but not quite, Microsoft Corp.
But the folks at the world's biggest software company aren't smiling -- they've demanded that he give up his domain name.
January 01, 2004
Attack on The Elk Creek Conservation Coalition
The deliberate destruction in the “Forest Protectors” area at the base of Elk Mountain, was a cowardly and reckless act. The Coalition is disappointed, but not surprised by Cattermole Timber’s recent antics.
This area of recent destruction that the “Forest Protectors” have called home for several weeks is the same area designated for a road under Cattermole’s “cutting permit amendment proposal”. As of Dec 23/03, this proposal was not confirmed to be approved by the Ministry of Forests, and this recent falling incident could constitute a trespass against the Crown. The road right-of-way was NOT included in the original controversial “Grozier Rationale” and the recent destruction has raised considerable concern in the community. Our members are scrutinizing these new developments closely.
December 11, 2003
Corporate Land Grab in BC
Legislation was passed on three environmental bills, secretly creating a land grab to the highest bidders...[Working Forest Act] opens up most all land to resource development and extraction...Combined, these acts ["Significant Projects Streamlining Act" and "Parks And Protected Areas Statutes Amendment Act"] will which see full scale resort development in public parks...The govt. will now allow directional drilling in public parks, but will not measure the impact this has on parks.
COPE (current municipal party) Organizer Nathan Allen:
"[Significant Projects Streamlining Act] legislation would enable the province to override local processes, allowing for deals to be made without any public transparency and without being subject to Freedom of Information legislation."
November 28, 2003
In a Brave New B.C., Even Kids Will Work for the Man
In the little world in which children have their existence, whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice.
-- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
Believe it or not, Premier Gordon Campbell and the B.C. Liberals are about to bring child labour back to British Columbia after it had been banned by the province since the Depression years of the 1930s.
In early December, the Liberals will put in place regulations filling in the details of Bill 37, legislation passed in October that amends the Employment Standards Act to allow children as young as 12 years to work full-time.
These regulations are, appropriately, being implemented as our thoughts turn back to the time of Charles Dickens, who not only penned A Christmas Carol but also wrote about the terrible conditions of child labour in the time of the Industrial Revolution in England.
The child labour that the B.C. Liberals intend to permit isn't the innocent sort, like a paper route or a little help for the family business. A child as young as 12 years old will be allowed to work full-time at any occupation under provincial jurisdiction, no matter how dangerous, with only the consent of one parent. That includes farm labour, and working in a paint plant, gas station, restaurant, or door-to-door sales.
November 25, 2003
Minister Murray Sells Out BC Parks with Bill 84
Vancouver, British Columbia - The introduction of the "Parks and Protected Areas Statutes Amendment Act" (Bill 84) by the Minister in charge of parks, Joyce Murray, has sent the surest signal yet that Minister Murray is unable -- or unwilling -- to stand up for the environment. Bill 84 is designed to sidestep environmental regulations for developments inside provincial parks.
Under the new legislation, which received first reading in the house Tuesday, November 18, discretion would be given to the Minister alone to decide if she is of the opinion that a proposed development is consistent with the recreational value of the park involved. The controversial Act also expands and clarifies opportunities for "directional" drilling under protected areas.
November 19, 2003
Saanich First Nations Prepare Action Against Commercial Fishery
Five Saanich First Nations are preparing to take "unarmed, nonviolent action" to stop a possible commercial fishery for chum salmon in Saanich Inlet or Satellite Channel.
The Douglas Treaty Tribes of Saanich, made up of the Malahat, Pauquachin, Tseycum, Tsartlip and Tsawout bands, are also planning to hold their own commercial chum fishery -- without the blessing of the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
The bands are conducting a food fishery in Saanich Inlet now.
October 31, 2003
Vancouver - Hunger Strike Against the FTAA Begins
VANCOUVER, BC Canada – Two local activists began a hunger strike today to protest plans to implement the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Two other activists are currently fasting in support.
The activists are currently maintaining a continuous vigil at the Peace Arch and have set up a small camp there. They plan on continuing the hunger strike over the weeks leading up to the FTAA’s Ministerial in Miami on November 20th and 21st.
The activists presented a series of principles that they would like the Federal government to take immediate action on (see below). They also asked Vancouver City Council to declare Vancouver an “FTAA-free zone.”
October 16, 2003
No More Squeeze For The Squeegee Kids
The creation of a squeegee council in Vancouver seemed to make a bit of noise, if we consider the number of journalists asking us for interviews...It seemed like nobody ever saw street people organizing. We decided to organize to fight the collection of tickets and court dates, and to create a power that will free us from police beatings and jailing. We unite as squeegee workers, but fight as a class, because we know they want us all, one by one. We know that washing windows has nothing to do with our repression, that the real reason is because we show the capitalist failure: poverty.
October 10, 2003
Georgia Straight Targeted?
From the Georgia Straight's own explanation:
QUESTION: Why does the Straight have to pay $1 million in provincial sales taxes on its printing costs?
ANSWER: This is a good question, because the Social Service Tax Act says that newspapers do not have to pay sales tax on printing costs. The B.C. Liberal government recently claimed that the Straight is not a newspaper, which is why the revenue ministry imposed a $1-million penalty.
Publisher Dan McLeod says this re-interpretation of the rules is a politically motivated attempt to silence a persistent critic.
"We're the only paper that is consistently critical of the government in our editorials week after week, and we're the only paper that's being fined a million dollars," he says. "So I put two and two together."
September 30, 2003
Green Electricity
Sixteen independent power producers have won bids to supply power to BC Hydro. They will increase B.C.'s independent power supply from 10% to 15% of the province's electrical grid. Fourteen of the power producers will be hydroplants. One will be a landfill gas plant and the other will be the first windfarm in B.C..
"These projects will be financed with new private-sector investment that will create 800 to 1,000 construction jobs across the province and enough electricity to meet the needs of 180,000 homes," said Premier Gordon Campbell. He is calling the initiative the largest purchase of green electricity in B.C. history. It will set in motion $800 million for the construction of the hydroplants and $90-million for the windfarm.
Adriane Carr of the Green Party said:"It's taking a step in the right direction," and urged the Liberals to make further commitments to green power.
September 18, 2003
B.C.'s Pot Law Doesn't Exist, Judge Rules
A B.C. judge has ruled the law prohibiting the possession of marijuana does not exist.
Provincial court Judge Patrick Chen found the pot possession law went up in smoke three years ago when Ontario's top appeal court found the law invalid.
Once declared invalid, the law prohibiting pot possession ceased to exist, the judge concluded.
September 17, 2003
Armstrong Cheese Plant Closing
The one hundred year old cheese brand, Armstrong, will lose its milk-production plant in the Okanagan community of Armstrong. The closure will be effective February 2004 and cost 73 workers their jobs.
"I'm very, very disappointed with the decision," said Armstrong mayor Jerry Oglow. "Once again you see a corporate conglomerate from Central Canada rationalizing their fiscal bottom line at the expense of rural BC and that's disheartening."
The closure was announced Monday by Quebec-based Saputo Inc., who said it was part of their ongoing effort to be as efficient as possible.
September 10, 2003
Canada's Safe Haven For Junkies
Vancouver hopes to save hundreds of lives by opening street clinics where heroin addicts can shoot up safely. But the White House is accusing Canada of going AWOL from its war on drugs.
It's 11 o'clock on a busy Wednesday night inside 327 Carrall St. A dozen junkies nod on ragged couches and chairs lining the downtown storefront's cluttered front room, where one handwritten sign on the wall declares: "End the war on the poor."
August 30, 2003
HaidaBucks Takes The Day.
For Starbucks executives and lawyers, it may have been simple: force HaidaBucks, a small, under-funded business in a tiny Canadian village on a remote island, to change its name. Unfortunately for Starbucks, it has turned into a "David vs. Goliath" legal and PR nightmare that won't go away, with thousands of people across Canada and the US boycotting the company because of its tactics.
August 28, 2003
Mel Hurtig Coming to Greater Vancouver
Author and Canadian Patriot Mel Hurtig will be coming to the Vancouver suburb of New Westminster.
The author of the stirring read, The Vanishing Country - Is It Too Late To Save Canada? - will be speaking at the Justice Institute of British Columbia.
The event is being hosted by the Council of Canadians on September 12 2003 at 730 PM. Entrance will be by donation and there is plenty of parking available.
Leading off the evening will be a speech by BC Regional Coordinator Claudia Medina-Culos. A live to tape presentation by Maude Barlow from the Cancun round of the WTO meetings will be an interesting addition. Mel Hurtig will then round out the evening, including taking questions from those in attendance.
Address:
Justice Institute of B.C. 715 McBride Boulevard, New Westminster
August 15, 2003
BC Liberals Concerned Over Ethnic Enthusiasm
When the three quarters of the BC population that is referred to as caucasian votes "en masse," as it did for the Liberals in the last federal election, it isn't considered an event in itself. But the caucasian portion of the BC population only represents 20% of the BC Liberal membership. If the minority population of BC that consists of Indo-Canadians and Chinese-Canadians were to vote as an "ethnic block," this would be a cause for concern. At least, according to the four prominent BC Liberals who issued an open letter scheduled to appear in the National Post yesterday. This is because these ethnic groups now represent an estimated two thirds of the Liberal memberships in BC.
One of the letter's authors, Matin Collacott, a former abassador to Sri Lanka, said " there was no reason to gather so many votes in ethnic communities because the Liberal party is in no danger of losing its majority in the House of Commons." Is there cause for concern over the negative implications of this statement? The Vancouver Sun
Update: Here's the original letter to the National Post and Liberal Party President Stephen LeDrew's response, which appeared today.