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 [...]
More evidence needed before convicting Rob Ford in court of public opinion Schadenfreude is all very well, but this whole Rob Ford video scandal has me feeling just the tiniest bit hinky. It’s a due-process thing, and I recognize that there can be no due process in politics, as unjust as that may seem. No, realpolitik demands that [...]
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. [...]
Canadian housing market show 0.6% growth The Canadian housing market has slowed its decline to 3.1 per cent year over year, with a 0.6 per cent increase in home sales last month, according to BMO Chief Economist Doug Porter, citing recent data from the Canadian Real Estate Association. Porter notes that since the implementation of new mortgage [...]
Lavoie, Codilla and Yager triump at WBC Western Championships Friday night the Cascades Casino in Langley played host to the WBC Western Championships. When the dust settled, three more B.C. pugilist qualified themselves for the first-ever WBC Canadian championships in July. In the light middleweight (154 pounds) WBC Western Championships, Remy Lavoie from North Burnaby Boxing [...]
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 [...]
Earl Silverman committed suicide Friday in Calgary In the end, Earl Silverman lived for nothing and died for something, the way he wanted it, I guess. That was always his tag signature at the end of emails: Live for nothing; die for something. Those emails were sent to comfort male victims of domestic violence, to [...]
Earl Silverman operated only safe house for men in Canada Earl Silverman, the tireless crusader for the rights of abused men, died Friday of apparent suicide. Silverman, who himself was a victim of female perpetrated-domestic abuse, founded the only men’s shelter in Canada. The Men’s Alternative Safe House was forced to close last month after [...]
Imam says comments made at Edmonton Islamic school were taken out of context An Edmonton Islamic school is receiving criticism for controversial comments made last fall by an imam about homosexuality. In an exchange posted to YouTube, the imam was allegedly speaking to a group of students at the publicly-funded Edmonton Islamic Academy after regular school [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
CBC TV is a mess and no longer fulfills original mandate The CBC popped back on Canadians’ radar last week. A Harper Government bill to give it more control over crown corporations has upset defenders of public broadcasting. Infographics exhorting me to join the fight to “save” the CBC are flooding my social media networks. [...]
The least Ambassador Gary Doer can do is pick up the phone The working stiffs of Canadian diplomacy, members of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, were walking a picket line in Washington, D.C., yesterday – which raised some eyebrows in the Imperial Capital and must have created some minor discomfort for the Canadian ambassador, a former [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Students’ educational outcome in poorer countries as good or better with one parent A new global study says children achieve a better educational outcome in the developed world if they have two parents, but that doesn’t hold true in poorer countries. The World Family Map Report found that in the majority of middle- and higher-income [...]
Provincial grants to fund several programs to help the elderly West Vancouver is one of 27 B.C. communities receiving an Age-friendly BC grant this year. Funding of $20,000 from the provincial government will be used in various programs for the elderly. “Many of these programs are supporting seniors to remain socially active,” said seniors minister [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
