NATIONAL NURSING WEEK takes place from Monday, May 8 to Sunday, May 12 - Florence Nightingale's birthday.This year's theme is 'Our Nurses. Our Future.' According to the Canadian Nurses Association website, the theme "showcases the many roles nurses play in a patient's healthcare journey. The pandemic brought to li...

MAY 1-TO-7, 2023 MARKS Mental Health Week in Canada. This year's theme is #mystory, which is aimed at encouraging people to share their mental health experiences because, after all, mental health is part of our overall health."Storytelling is a fundamental part of being human. Stories help build connections and st...

THIS WEEKEND, Tk'emlups te Secwepemc (TteS), the City of Kamloops and the provincial government hosted the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) delegates to tour our world class facilities and amenities. The delegates were greeted at Kamloops Airport by enthusiastic community leaders from both TteS, the City of Kamlo...

THE NEW COUNCIL CODE OF CONDUCT Bylaw No. 53 being presented to Council Tuesday (April 18) is intended to add a resolution process for handling complaints and add some specificity around some actions over and above what's already included in the Community Charter. This includes more language around how to handle possib...

THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION about public involvement in city issues and the ability of the public to have a voice or say in many important issues.What seems to be missing from some of this discussion is the fact there are several fairly established ways to get involved and to raise issues of community concern.It's...

WALKING THROUGH RIVERSIDE PARK THIS WEEKEND, signs of spring were everywhere. I walk Rivers Trail frequently and this weekend the trail and park sprang to life with activity.Pickleball, tennis, bicycles, scooters, walkers and rollers, all signs of what's to come over the next few months. The first really nice weekend a...

THE SPRING EQUINOX, also known as the vernal equinox, came yesterday, March 20 at 2:24pm in the northern hemisphere. This is the moment the sun's rays shine directly down on the equator equally on both halves of the Earth. The equinox is also when we have roughly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. (There's ...

AT A RECENT THOMPSON-NICOLA REGIONAL DISTRICT (TNRD) meeting, Director Bill Sarai raised the idea of forming a youth board of directors similar to the Junior Council established by the city of Kamloops.I think this is a great idea and kudos to Sarai for starting the discussion. I am a bit biased as the former appointed...

THE THEME FOR INERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, (March 8, 2023) is #embraceequity.I'm all about alliteration, but what does this theme really mean and why is it important?Women make up just over half of the Canadian population yet continue to be underrepresented in political and professional leadership positions. Barriers to l...

I WANT TO PREFACE THIS WEEK'S TOPIC by stating I unequivocally support public discourse and the ability of the public to engage in discussion with elected officials.What I don't support, is the fear-mongering, sky-is-falling narrative being shared in a recent editorial by Mel Rothenburger. Sure, editorials are by their...

ON THIS VALENTINE'S DAY, Kamloops city council will be discussing two very different, but important items - budget and conduct.Both of these items are in the best interest of all of us taxpayers to get right. Setting the annual budget is really the heart of the job of a councillor.Let's start with the 2023 budget. Toda...

LAST WEEK, THE PROVINCE OF B.C. announced the launch of the Passenger Transportation Accessibility Program. The goal of the program is to help offset extra costs taxi owner-operators face when providing wheelchair accessible taxis. Approximately $3 million is available for the first funding stream under this program, w...

THIS WEEK, CITY COUNCIL will consider a request for $10,000 to support the 2027 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). The request is a small amount in comparison to the $500,000 approved by council in September 2022, which would come in the form of facilities, staff time, and a potential cash contribution. This appro...

WE WEREN'T A HUGE SPORTS-CENTRIC FAMILY but most of us played a team sport at some point. I played soccer and volleyball, my sister and I both played softball, one of my brothers played hockey, and at one point my parents played beer-league slo-pitch. I consider this to be the average sport experience for most kids, es...

I DON'T THINK I WAS THE ONLY ONE hoping the January "new year, new me" vibe would also apply to city council. The first couple of weeks of 2023 have shown the holiday break did nothing to shift perspectives and attitudes toward working as a team.It appears the rest of the council is finding its way together a...

WHEN I OPENED THE ENVELOPE containing my 2023 Property Assessment Notice from BC Assessment last week my jaw dropped and expletives came out.While the average change in property values across the city of Kamloops is an increase of 13 per cent, my property value increased by 73 per cent. My spouse's response was similar...

THE BEGINNING OF A NEW YEAR is a natural time for people to reflect on the last year and on what they may want to leave behind, change, or keep going forward. Reflection is a good practice in general, but I do think having a temporal marker to set aside time for reflection is important, it's really easy to get caught u...

FIVE DAYS OUT from Christmas, I thought I'd use this week's column to explore a few holiday traditions from around the world. This idea was inspired by a recent conversation I had with a friend of mine from Mexico about her family's holiday traditions.In Mexico, New Year's Eve is a big celebration with numerous traditi...

CITY HALL CERTAINLY GAVE the community and media plenty to talk about last week. I've heard many opinions, some speaking against the mayor and others encouraging patience as he learns this very new role. I think there's validity in both, but I do struggle with using being new as an excuse for everything. Keep in mind, ...

DECEMBER MARKS THE SEASON of giving and receiving. Traditionally, the first weekend of the month is when people put up the Christmas tree and start to prepare for the holidays.But this time of year isn't full of cheer for everyone - for a variety of reasons. Celebrations and holidays can be very challenging for those w...

TO ME, COMMUNITY SAFETY is a sense of confidence in our ability to go about our daily lives without worrying about threats to our property or personal safety.What this means to others likely depends on their own perspective. Some people always lock their doors no matter what. Others never lock their vehicles. How it's ...

AT THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION (SILGA) meeting in Salmon Arm at the end of April 2022, writer, storyteller, broadcaster and Indigenous rights activist Jesse Wente shared his thoughts on trauma and healing during his keynote address. His presentation gave many local electeds pause for thought abou...

TODAY, THE NEWLY MINTED CITY COUNCIL will get to work with the first business meeting since the inaugural meeting two weeks ago.I'm genuinely curious to see how the meeting unfolds with so many newbies on board, many who have little-to-no experience with Robert's Rules of Order, including the mayor who chairs the meeti...

THIS WEEK IS VETERANS' WEEK and today is Indigenous Veterans' Day - a day intended to mark the incredible service Indigenous officers provide to our country. Veterans Affairs Canada states the exact statistics for Indigenous veterans are difficult to determine, but the rate of Indigenous participation in Canada's milit...

IT SEEMS FITTING TO HAVE MY FIRST COLUMN debut the same day as the inaugural meeting of the new Kamloops City Council. I'd like to thank CFJC for offering me the opportunity and space to share my thoughts with the rest of the community. It might surprise you to know this is far from my first column. Over my 20-year wri...