Calgary couple travelled over Riverside Bridge, parallel to the Washington I-5 bridge 30 minutes before collapse The four lane Washington I-5 bridge spanning the Skagit River near Mount Vernon, Wash. collapsed Friday evening, sending a number of cars into the river below. One section of the Skagit River Bridge completely collapsed, cutting off traffic on both sides [...]
Best evidence against Rob Ford is video of Rob Ford Poor Rob Ford. The Toronto mayor can’t get no respect, not in Canada and not in the United States after comedian Jon Stewart eviscerated him on Tuesday’s The Daily Show. I have to admit, it never gets old watching Ford walk into the lens of [...]
Parliament of Canada – time for online reporting of expenses? If the recent Senate expense scandals have taught Canadians anything, it’s that Parliament of Canada officials will take advantage of the rules to pad their pockets if they can. Senator Mike Duffy has become the poster boy for Parliament of Canada abuse of expense guidelines but [...]
Canadian economic and population growth affected greenhouse gas emissions By Ben Eisen and Romy Yourex Over the past century, there has been a slight increase in average global temperatures. Many scientists think this change is caused primarily by the actions of human beings, specifically the emission of GHG into the atmosphere. Further, some scientists warn [...]
Many indicators of Canadian environment pollutants have dropped By Ben Eisen and Romy Yourex Canadians care deeply about their natural environment and view the prevention of environmental pollution as one of the most important functions of their governments. Multiple polls taken over the years have shown that large numbers of Canadians view the preservation of [...]
Anti-smoking activist Barb Tarbox died in 2003 Ten years after she died of lung cancer, Barb Tarbox is still helping Albertans kick the nicotine habit, thanks to a new campaign launched by Alberta Health Services. Albertans are encouraged to share their stories of quitting or never starting tobacco use to mark the 10th anniversary of the [...]
Scandal surrounding Senator Mike Duffy’s expenses takes down PM chief of staff Surely the wrong man has quit! Nigel Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s chief of staff, resigned yesterday in the imbroglio that followed the revelation he gave disgraced Senator Mike Duffy $90,172 to pay back the Parliamentary expenses the supposed representative for Prince Edward Island in the [...]
Canadian politics promises to be turbulent as voters disgruntled For citizens from coast to coast to coast, this summer promises to be a time of discontent with Canadian politics. What most of us want, most of the time, is simply that our governments be competent: display a sense of where they’re going, and that as [...]
BC gasoline taxes among highest in North America By Jordan Bateman As Canadians, we have become conditioned to paying higher prices than our American neighbours for pretty much everything. Milk, cheese, clothes, electronics, books, airfares, sporting goods, cars, liquor: we know we’re being gouged, but we don’t know what to do about it. “Tax [...]
Charles Rusnell down-sized by Edmonton Journal before being hired by CBC You’d think it would be easy to run a petroleum-soaked, cash-rich jurisdiction like Alberta, but a day seldom seems to pass out here on the western edge of the Great Plains without our governing Progressive Conservative Party suffering another pratfall or embarrassment. But how [...]
Witnesses to Burnaby shooting not cooperating with police RCMP are asking for the public’s help after a Burnaby shooting involving about 10 people put one man in hospital with serious injuries. The incident happened early Friday morning on the front patio of a restaurant in the 7600 block of Edmonds Street in southeast Burnaby. Police say a [...]
Road rage suspect punched a senior several times through the window Burnaby RCMP are searching for a man involved in a violent road rage incident. Mounties say the incident began at about 8:30 Sunday night on the Lougheed Highway, just east of the Vancouver-Burnaby boundary. They say the driver of a silver Toyota Echo was [...]
Burnaby RCMP report apartment building unit had guns, explosives forcing evacuation Burnaby RCMP evacuated residents in a high rise building on Monday night after the discovery of a small arsenal of explosives and firearms in one unit. Police were conducting a search warrant in the 11th floor unit in the 39-storey building (in the 4200 [...]
BC NDP share of popular vote declining since 1979 By Dermod Travis The great thing about political punditry is the ability to be right and wrong at the same time and get away with it, which is why the pundits who were no better at predicting the outcome of the BC election shouldn’t be expected [...]
BC gasoline taxes among highest in North America By Jordan Bateman As Canadians, we have become conditioned to paying higher prices than our American neighbours for pretty much everything. Milk, cheese, clothes, electronics, books, airfares, sporting goods, cars, liquor: we know we’re being gouged, but we don’t know what to do about it. “Tax [...]
Expect energy, labour issues to dominate Christy Clark agenda The dust is beginning to settle after Tuesday’s stunning election victory for Christy Clark and the BC Liberals. Premier Clark still has to find a seat for herself, of course — and rumours are strong that she’ll choose to compete for one outside the Vancouver area. [...]
Wealthy Canadians ordered to pay $22.2 million in back taxes Wealthy Canadians with money stashed overseas have come forward in droves to confess their misdeeds after secret lists began circulating with the names of people apparently evading taxes in foreign banking havens. The Canada Revenue Agency has seen the number of voluntary disclosures of foreign, [...]
Entrepreneurs are not their companies, which sometimes have to fail By Warren Bergen Jody Sherman founded several companies. Some got bought out for modest success and others failed. Ecomom was his last startup. Management and staff tried hard but Ecomom didn’t work and it burned. When Sherman saw no hope for Ecomom, he saw [...]
Body language same for sighted and blind paralympic athletes For insight into the body language of pride and shame, scientists studied the behaviours of judo matches at the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The competitors represented 30 countries, including Algeria, Taiwan, Ukraine and the United States. The research report in the journalProceedings of the National [...]
BC First Nations economic growth good news for everyone By Roslyn Kunin, Troy Media If it bleeds, it leads. This old media maxim, that it is always the bad news that makes the headlines, is certainly re-enforced with respect to First Nations and the economy in British Columbia. First Nation Threatens to Shut Down Mine [...]
BC First Nations economic growth good news for everyone By Roslyn Kunin, Troy Media If it bleeds, it leads. This old media maxim, that it is always the bad news that makes the headlines, is certainly re-enforced with respect to First Nations and the economy in British Columbia. First Nation Threatens to Shut Down Mine [...]
Canada should concentrate on training its own citizens, not using temporary foreign workers Canada has become too dependent on the temporary foreign workers program and has failed to address the lack of skilled workers through domestic-made solutions, says a new report into foreign workers in Canada. Kevin McQuillan, the author of All The Workers We [...]
Best evidence against Rob Ford is video of Rob Ford Poor Rob Ford. The Toronto mayor can’t get no respect, not in Canada and not in the United States after comedian Jon Stewart eviscerated him on Tuesday’s The Daily Show. I have to admit, it never gets old watching Ford walk into the lens of [...]
Parliament of Canada – time for online reporting of expenses? If the recent Senate expense scandals have taught Canadians anything, it’s that Parliament of Canada officials will take advantage of the rules to pad their pockets if they can. Senator Mike Duffy has become the poster boy for Parliament of Canada abuse of expense guidelines but [...]
Pollsters are not to blame for Liberal victory in BC Election 2013 By Jean-Sébastien Rioux Another election; another “shockwave” and another round of mea culpas. The May 14 election in British Columbia caused consternation among the punditry and, coming just a year after a similar surprise in the Alberta election results, led to another round [...]
Alison Redford says construction company donations had no effect on awarding of contracts New documents that reveal large political donations to the Alison Redford Progressive Conservative party from a coalition of construction companies should be investigated as possible bribes, says a national democracy watchdog group. The correspondence, obtained by the Alberta Federation of Labour under [...]
Cal Wenzel video – Mayor Nenshi suggests election finance laws were broken The secretly taped video that shows Calgary home builders in a room listening to Cal Wenzel talk about supporting candidates they feel will vote in their favour was finally released in its entirety Tuesday night. Mayor Naheed Nenshi fought back Wednesday morning, calling [...]
Manning Centre denies $1.1 million donation to be used in next election As the fallout from the Cal Wenzel video continued Wednesday, the incoming chair of the Manning Centre for Building Democracy said the conservative training facility does not function to further their donors’ personal ambitions. On a secretly taped video released earlier this week, [...]
‘Revolution’ documentary is anticipated follow-up to Rob Stewart’s ‘Sharkwater’ Canadian filmmaker Rob Stewart was in Calgary yesterday promoting a follow-up film to his award-winning documentary Sharkwater. Stewart spoke to The Beacon News about his latest film Revolution. Stewart’s mission is simple, if a little ambitious – save humanity. The Canadian conservationist has expanded the scope of his [...]
Giving value to the arts and culture By Shawna Stirrett Traditional arts groups such as orchestras, ballets, operas and theatres that neglect to think about how they fit into the broader social context and respond accordingly will fail. This might not happen today or the next day, but the writing is on the wall. While [...]
Barkerville exhibit captures Chinese experience during Cariboo Gold Rush An exhibit depicting the lives of Chinese immigrants during the Cariboo Gold Rush will travel to China next year thanks to a $20,000 grant from the B.C. government. The Barkerville exhibit is put together from archives kept in the historic gold rush town, which capture the [...]
Easter tradition evolves as children grow By Kelly McKenzie It’s my late husband’s fault. Little did he know that his two simple trails would blossom into a 20-year Easter tradition between the two families. On the morning of the first occurrence, I awoke to a sunlit bedroom and the sensation of John falling into [...]
BC seniors can expect new locations in First Nations communities as well The United Way’s Better at Home program is adding 38 new locations to its network, more than tripling its size in a move that will help BC’s seniors. Expansion will take Better at Home to some remote locations including several in First Nations [...]
Anti-bullying app makers claim to have prevented 11 suicides Beacon Staff Reporter A new smartphone anti-bullying app called TipSoft has found a user-friendly, confidential way for students to provide information to authorities regarding bullying, drugs, weapons, potential suicides, and other issues at school. The TipSoft app allows administrators to easily manage incidents in a single cloud-based application. Some [...]
Corporations are discovering that First Nations are ready to do business By Frank Busch Most, if not all, Canadian large-scale resource development projects are situated on or pass through the traditional territories of First Nations. In fact, in B.C., most of these territories remain subject to Aboriginal land claims. That fact was a recurring [...]
New First Nations institutions will reform financial transactions By Frank Busch As transparency and accountability in First Nations have taken centre stage in the Canadian public eye, many politicians and decision makers on both sides are still grasping at age-old arguments over treaties and land claims. The question is; what do we do in the [...]
Judge orders money repaid to Poundmaker First Nation school A judge has sentenced the chief and seven members of the Poundmaker First Nation for stealing treaty land entitlement money. Chief Duane Antoine and his brother, former chief Teddy Antoine, of the Poundmaker First Nation were handed 20-month suspended sentences, and were ordered to pay back $2,500 they stole. [...]
Anti-smoking activist Barb Tarbox died in 2003 Ten years after she died of lung cancer, Barb Tarbox is still helping Albertans kick the nicotine habit, thanks to a new campaign launched by Alberta Health Services. Albertans are encouraged to share their stories of quitting or never starting tobacco use to mark the 10th anniversary of the [...]
Big Pharma sales reps generally don’t discuss harmful side side effects By Alan Cassels It sometimes takes a long time to discover environmental hazards and, once discovered, even longer to do something about them. The dangers of second-hand tobacco smoke, leaded gasoline and asbestos were all deemed bad for our health many years ago, [...]
Obese airline passengers shouldn’t be discriminated against By Arya Sharma Last week the wires were active with suggestions that people with obesity pay more for airline travel. This discussion was prompted by a Samoan airline announcing that they would begin charging passengers by the pound. It was also stimulated by Bharat Bhatta, an economist [...]
Sam’s World is a one-panel web comic featuring characters from the imagination of Calgary-based artist Tony Blocker. Tony shows life’s situations in a laid-back, wicked literal, and humorous approach. Visit Yelling Rabbit Artworks to learn more.
Surrey Party for the Planet is BC’s biggest celebration for Earth Day Surrey styles itself as a green city and to prove it takes environmental protection seriously, it will be hosting the huge Surrey Party for the Planet on Saturday. In celebration of Earth Day, Surrey will kick off its free-for-all Surrey Party for the Planet [...]
SnowDays Festival celebrates winter with a fun-filled month of new activities Beacon Staff Reporter The second annual SnowDays Festival of the Banff National Park will be held from Jan. 12 to Feb. 10 and it is time to grab skis, skates and scarves. The SnowDays festival will welcome visitors to celebrate the winter with a [...]
PURE Philanthropy attracts global fund-raising and social change strategists Beacon Staff Reporter Toronto will host PURE Philanthropy in February, bringing in some of big names in philanthropy for this unique summit-style conference. Speakers from Canada and the United States, including John Tory, Mallika Chopra (founder of Intent.com and daughter of Deepak Chopra), Hugh Evans (recently [...]
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