LAST WEEK, I faced off in the legislature in Victoria with the NDP Minister of Health, Josie Osborne, over the future of the Kamloops cancer centre.The two of us went back and forth for about 20 minutes during of the course of the annual exercise known as budget estimates, where cabinet ministers take questions from ML...

WE KNOW THAT ACROSS B.C., people are struggling with global inflation and rising costs. British Columbians also care deeply about protecting our environment and they want a government who is focused on the climate alongside affordability efforts. One way we're helping is making sure people have affordable options avail...

IN 2024, we published the Kamloops Food Assets Index representing a list of local, culturally appropriate food options in Kamloops. This year, we developed a user-friendly map that showcases the locations of cultural food providers in the area. If you want to learn more about culturally appropriate food and the Kamloop...

THERE IS NO QUESTION that the carbon tax has been an important tool for B.C.'s fight against climate change. However, it has become a divisive issue across our country, and the debate about it distracts from the important work being done to address the climate crisis. Given the real cost-of-living pressures facing peop...

NATIONS RISE FOR THE SAME REASONS that they fall, as what once made them powerful eventually becomes a debilitating weakness which threatens their very existence!For Rome, it was their legions of seemingly invincible soldiers whose swords conquered an empire which predictably later turned inward, reducing that empire t...

IN NOVEMBER 2021, British Columbians watched as heavy rainfall caused catastrophic flooding in southern B.C.The damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure made the floods one of the most disastrous climate-related emergencies in B.C.'s history. While each community faced unique challenges, the City of Merritt was p...

FAMILIES IN B.C. DESERVE A BREAK. With the economic uncertainty of Trump's unjustified tariffs coming on top of rising global inflation, it's getting harder to get by. That's why the provincial government is finding ways to help put money back in people's pockets. For parents, and especially mothers, child care is one ...

WATCHING THE WORLD TODAY, it seems obvious that Trump is giving Putin Ukraine on a plate. Piece by piece. Almost like he's repaying a debt. Am I correct that a few years ago, the Trump organization was facing bankruptcy because U.S. and western European banks would no longer finance him? But then along came a Russian b...

I KNOW HEALTH CARE is top of mind for many people in B.C. As our province grows and ages, we, like many parts of Canada and the world, are facing challenges in our healthcare system. B.C.'s health care workforce is expanding, and more people are being connected to family doctors, but there's more to do. That's why our ...

AFTER NEARLY A DECADE of serving as a food commons, providing barrier-free access to nutritious fresh produce, educational opportunities and a sense of community for residents of Kamloops, the Kamloops Food Policy Council (KFPC) is closing our Butler Urban Farm (BUF) project as of April 1, 2025. The difficult decision ...

DEAR MR. EBY and Members of the Legislature, I write this open letter to you all concerning a topic that I feel is critically important - the archaic practice of Daylight Savings in British Columbia. In 2019, BC held a referendum to end the practice of Daylight Savings, which passed. Your predecessors' set up the legis...

BUDGET 2025 was delivered during the most consequential time in B.C. for many generations. The same morning we were hit by unjustified tariffs from our largest trading partner, we introduced a budget that meets the moment, protecting jobs and the public services people need while preparing the province's economy to wea...

CANADIAN CUSTOMERS LOOKING TO SUPPORT LOCAL BRANDS after the recent introduction of new US import tariffs will soon be able to buy products sold by domestic businesses through the e-commerce platform Temu. While the site has been available in Canada for the past two years, this expansion marks the first time that busin...

THERE'S A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. The time has come.The family apprehensively seated around the dining table has been waiting for this very moment, certain that today is the day that the Nazis have finally found out that they're a part of the Dutch resistance. Having already decided to face their fates together, they answer...

ANOTHER MONTH HAS GONE BY, and Premier David Eby, Forests Minister Ravi Parmar, Energy Minister Adrian Dix and Environment Minister Tamara Davidson have still not acted on the Atlantic Power Williams Lake file.The Atlantic Power Williams Lake biomass plant may be forced to cease operations later this year if they canno...

DONALD TRUMP HAS IMPOSED 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods and 10 per cent on energy, essentially declaring economic war. Now more than ever, we need to work together to support each other. I introduced a motion in the legislature so MLAs on all sides of the house could unite to support British Columbians by standi...

I CAN'T, AND WON'T, STOP THINKING ABOUT UKRAINE.When an unprovoked Putin led Russia to invade a peaceful, independent nation in order to violently expand his own interests (on brand), it left devastated Ukrainians fleeing for their lives. They were forced to leave their loved ones behind, many of whom have already died...

IT'S THE FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY when I'm sitting down to write this. We're in the middle of a cold snap - our first real cold spell of the winter. It's a little late coming this year, but here it is anyway. It feels like the warm days of spring are a distant speck on the horizon. It feels like nothing will ever grow ou...

DEAR EDITOR, I was deeply moved by the heartwarming tale of Valleyview, where apparently every resident is either a courageous firefighter, a beloved former mayor's relative, or someone who exchanges prized bush clippings. What a magical place where everyone has lived for generations, except of course for those "t...

I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE you to my community. My spouse grew up in the house we live in which we purchased from his parents years ago. Beside us, we have the courageous firefighter, his beautiful wife and their adorable children. They bought their home from her grandparents who were friends with my in-laws. On our oth...

RECENT CFJC EDITORIALS by James Peters and Joey Jack have suggested that Kamloops Citizens United (KCU) should be more transparent about our fundraising - who our donors are and how much they've donated. Fundraising is perfectly legal in Canada. People have every right to give money to anyone for any reason. This is ho...

GREEK PHILOSOPHER SOCRATES once said, "The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you desire to appear" - meaning credibility isn't just about branding or public relations. Credibility is about consistently living up to your values and nothing damages that more than hypocrisy.That's why I'm ...

MANY PEOPLE LIKE TO SET INTENTIONS at the beginning of the year to improve their lives in some way. By centering community ownership of the local food system in our lives, we can improve not only our own sense of fulfilment, health and happiness, but for everyone in our community. Here are four ways you can participate...

SMALL BUSINESSES ACROSS B.C. were struck by a 27 per cent increase in crime in 2024 - which surpasses the national average increase of 21 per cent and is the highest increase out of all provinces. That's according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business's recent report on the impact of crime on local busines...

Over 90 per cent of midlife women in British Columbia experience at least one significant physical symptom of menopause and those with more were also more likely to live with mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. These were just some of the conclusions drawn from questioning 2,000 participants in t...

AT EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT, female politicians are disproportionately targeted by violence and harassment. This is true regardless of party affiliation. Given the nonpartisan nature of this targeting, it's safe to assume it has little to do with policy. People say things about female politicians that they'd never dre...

MANY DEFINITIONS of food sovereignty emphasize the right to access culturally relevant foods, including the following from La Via Campesina: "Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define th...

Second Harvest (2024) reports that nearly 50 per cent of food in Canada is wasted, costing the country $58 billion yearly. Around 63 per cent of Canadians throw away food that could have been eaten, amounting to around 140 kilograms of wasted food yearly. The holiday season is particularly wasteful, since families ofte...