One Man's Opinion
COLLINS: Public safety is the Number One issue
THE DRUG CRISIS IS BAD. Shortages of nurses, doctors and teachers are at critically dangerous levels. Affordable housing is on the minds of everyone. But without a doubt, public safety is the Number One issue in Kamloops right now. Look at everything that has been happening over the past few months. People have been ki...
May 09, 2024
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SOUND OFF: Celebrating Child Care Month
MAY MARKS CHILD CARE MONTH in British Columbia, a time to honour and celebrate the invaluable contributions of childcare providers who offer care, connection and education to children in B.C. It's also a reminder that for far too long, access to affordable child care was either overlooked or deemed a luxury. That's why...
May 08, 2024
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One Man's Opinion
COLLINS: Governments need a change of plans to deal with the drug crisis
IT IS HARD TO FIGHT "expert" opinion. With the "truths" of scientific knowledge behind them, the experts can't be wrong. Can they? I don't often agree with the provincial government of David Eby. Too condescending, too arrogant, so full of promises with little substance. But I do believe the governm...
May 05, 2024
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SOUND OFF: Current trends in the Kamloops property market
IN KAMLOOPS, the property market is recovering fast. In February alone, 163 properties got new owners. This is a 4.5 per cent increase from the same time last year and nearly double from December's count of 87 sales. Though this spike in activity signals market health, price trends paint a more complex picture. The med...
May 04, 2024
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SOUND OFF: David Eby must scrap his failed decriminalization experiment
FOR THE LAST 15 MONTHS, the BC United Caucus has relentlessly called on the NDP to scrap their decriminalization experiment, pointing to the rapid increase of open drug use, chaos on the streets, and the devastating number of lives lost. Communities have been forced to grapple with a surge of drug-related activity, wit...
May 02, 2024
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One Man's Opinion
COLLINS: Lansdowne project a nightmare to deal with
WHEN I FIRST SAW THE PLANNED TRAFFIC DETOURS for the big Lansdowne sewer project, I thought, "This is going to be interesting." Some of the blockages and new routes required to get past the construction zone were awkward, and it was pretty easy to see some of the corners were going to be hard to navigate, esp...
May 02, 2024
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SOUND OFF: Feel good about growing food indoors
IT IS EASIER THAN EVER to grow food indoors. Imagine growing tomatoes in the kitchen, strawberries in the living room, bell peppers in the basement, mesclun greens at the office, herbs in the closet, and beets in the classroom year round - all with minimal effort and energy! Indoor gardening and food production technol...
May 01, 2024
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SOUND OFF: B.C.'s new industrial blueprint
AS WE LOOK TOWARD THE FUTURE, it's crucial that we grow our economy and create stable jobs for people while also reducing the impacts of climate change. Our new blueprint for BC's industrial future is called Clean and Competitive. It outlines a pathway to drive investment, create job opportunities, and embrace clean en...
May 01, 2024
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SOUND OFF: Collins off base by dismissing City of Kamloops staff safety concerns
IN RESPONSE TO Doug Collins' column on April 28, I believe he has missed the mark. A study from two years ago by Western University, the University of Toronto and the Canadian Labour Congress found that 71.4 per cent of workers had experienced at least one form of harassment or abuse in the workplace. Being bullied by ...
May 01, 2024
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One Man's Opinion
COLLINS: Celebration time for city staff
I HOPE THE STAFF AT CITY HALL have been enjoying this weekend. It's been a big couple of weeks.First, they get the council to bar the mayor (and council itself) from the inner workings of City Hall, such that the mayor can't get to his own office. It's supposedly all part of a security audit - which I'm not opposed to....
Apr 28, 2024
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