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Opinion General
LOEWEN: True Canadians and ‘sunny ways’ ahead
In recent months and years, much has been made in the media about what constitutes a true Canadian. Under the federal leadership of now former-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the whole debate veered into increasingly dangerous territory. It began with bellicose projections of xenophobic fantasies about dark-skinned terrorists in our midst, and eventually settled upon the...
PARKER: Practice, not perfect, what you preach
The phrase “preaching to the choir” has been uttered through my lips so many times it has begun to sound like the word spoon does when spoken repetitively — meaningless, void of any substance and flippant. The phrase “practice what you preach” has similarly gotten some good use over the past 28 years. It is...
HELSTON: Light a candle and remember Taylor this Halloween
Whenever a rainbow paints the sky, Marie Van Diest is reminded of her daughter Taylor. Rainbows, particularly doubles, seem to appear during significant moments, often when Marie needs them the most. “Whenever I see the sun breaking out from the rain, I start looking and wonder if she’s saying hello. I know she is,” Marie...
BEPPLE: How Cavers just made his job harder
I can't remember when I have received an email with from a coworker, let alone a superior containing swear words. No matter how tense these things get, there are other ways to say things. Respectful workplaces are important everywhere, including in politics. In August Coun. Donovan Cavers was sending multiple emails to City of Kamloops...
POULSEN: Crime and punishment in our politically correct schools
The outlaw Aliya Nigro - a.k.a. the Carrot Kid - is the latest victim of crime and punishment in a school system. In the annals of school kids run amok, 14-year-old Aliya may be the first student ever charged with criminal assault by a small vegetable, to wit, as her prosecutor might say: a weaponized...
LOEWEN: ‘You could run a dog in this riding as a Conservative and it would get elected’
“They always said you could run a dog in this riding as a Conservative and it would get elected. Well, I proved them wrong.” Thus spake Ron Cannan, recently-defeated Conservative MP for Kelowna-Lake Country, in these virtual pages just yesterday. The popular local MP echoed the jest that has been repeated in these parts for...
ANDERSON: Election post mortem
Well, now the election is over and it's time to look at the dynamics involved. First, let's put the results in perspective, because I've heard the term "collapse" applied to the Conservative Party's (CPC) loss, and that's just plain silly. In point of fact the Conservatives emerged from this election with approximately the same number...
PARKER: To Scream or not to Scream isn’t the question
In October, 1998, a 10-year-old girl decided the Wes Craven film, Scream, was a good fit for her Halloween themed birthday party. As both her parents were out until 10 p.m. and her older sister was being a typical 16-year-old chaperone, no one was there to advise the wiser. Fifteen Grade 5 girls gathered under...
STAHN: More questions should be asked before we vote on the performing arts centre
When it comes to referendums the city has a stake in the outcome. Council has already decided a project should go ahead and is lobbying the taxpayers to agree. Council, and therefore city staff, are essentially asking the public to agree with them, to sign the deal and move forward. And just like any contract,...
JONESIE: How Kelowna-Lake Country went from Conservative blue to Liberal red
To understand how a traditionally right-wing riding like Kelowna-Lake Country turned from Conservative blue to Liberal red this week, you cannot ignore the issues imposed on the riding from afar. Former UBC political science instructor Wolf Depner says in many ways, the election came down to a referendum on Stephen Harper and the riding was swayed...
HELSTON: Bed bugs aren’t such a cute nursery rhyme anymore
I travelled across South East Asia for six months, bunking in cheap backpacker’s hostels and bungalows with dirt floors, and not once did I encounter the globetrotter’s worst nightmare: the dreaded bed bug. I was warned repeatedly before my departure to watch out for the nasty insects, to check linens for the telltale brownish stains...
BEPPLE: Boundary reform needed in Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo
Congratulations go out to all the candidates of the last election. Win or lose, political candidates represented their parties and gave people the opportunity to choose the direction they wanted things to go. Best wishes to Conservative Cathy McLeod. The hard work has just begun. As a country, the choice was resoundingly the Liberal Party....