N Bepple

Voting is only a very small part of democracy. The ability for groups to gather together to hear different viewpoints, discuss ideas, and raise concerns is another important part. It will never be that every single person in a community agrees with a decision, but having dialogue increases the chance of shared understanding and agreement...

I am part of the minority of Canadians who do not support a ban on the wearing of a niqab at the Canadian citizenship ceremony. The survey results, done earlier this year by Harper’s government, says the majority of people support having a woman remove her niqab during a citizenship ceremony. Harper and others are...

No news is good news, or so it seems. Things have been quiet over at Kamloops City Hall for the last while. After controversy over whether wine could or could not be sold at grocery stores (effectively no for now) or whether cosmetic pesticides can be used on lawns, flowers, bushes and non-fruit trees (again...

Let sleeping dogs lie. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is coming to Kamloops. Perhaps, a visit long overdue. As reporter James Peters of CFJC-TV quickly pointed out, Stephen Harper hasn’t visited Kamloops since he was the opposition leader. That’s way back to before January 2006. That means he hasn’t been to Kamloops for almost 10 years....

Syria must be hell on earth. Their own government drops barrel bombs on civilian areas. There is a civil war raging between the government, the Free Syrian Army and others. Meanwhile, ISIS controls areas of Syria and terrorizes everyone in their path. It is no wonder that of 17 million Syrians, over seven million are...

Business loves certainty. And that's what local businesses thought they had a few weeks ago when Kamloops city council defeated a motion to restrict the locations of stores selling alcohol to within 1 km of existing retailers. The motion, which Councillor Spina proposed, was defeated by a tie vote of 4 to 4. With the...

While the candidates for the upcoming federal election may want us all to believe the issues are all about national concerns, in reality many issues are rooted closer to home, at the municipal and local government level. Whoever gets elected October 19 to sit in parliament in Ottawa will have to work closely with local...

Kamloops’ Riverside Park is an amazing place. All through the year from early morning to late at night, there are people there. Some are running, playing tennis or lawn bowling. Others are watching their children play in the water park or playgrounds. People have picnics. Others sit on a bench and watch the river flow...

There are many different spiritual practices in Canada, and many people who act as spiritual leaders. Most religions are universal, so some of the spiritual leaders have been trained in Canada, and others received training elsewhere. Some Kamloops spiritual leaders were born in Canada while others immigrated. I have a friend who is a Buddhist,...

Oh the signs of summer. As soon as summer comes, women wear sandals and bare legs. Practical and sensible. Some men do too, but the majority, especially in the workplace, suffer vainly with long pants, socks and closed toed shoes. Men are as much slaves to fashion as women.  Some signs of summer happen year...

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is a not-for-profit group dedicated to ‘lower taxes, less waste and accountable government.’ The federation sends out press releases commenting on federal, provincial and local governments across the country. They also campaign against taxes. For example, they campaigned heavily on the ‘No’ side of the recently defeated Metro Vancouver transit referendum....

Politics, whether at the federal, provincial or municipal level, is all about theatre. That’s not to say that politicians are not genuine. It’s just that what people say, and how they say it changes dramatically when they are in the public eye. At least in certain circumstances. Take for instance this week’s council meeting. Council...