Columnists

A worker is seen closing the curtains at the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, March 25, 2020. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced Wednesday that the province’s latest death is connected to the Lynn Valley Care Centre, where a majority of deaths in B.C. have taken place. Another 42 residents along with 21 staff members from this care faculty have also been infected. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

B.C. VIEWS: Pandemic shows need for adequate care home staffing

Seniors in B.C. care homes face challenging times

A worker is seen closing the curtains at the Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, March 25, 2020. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced Wednesday that the province’s latest death is connected to the Lynn Valley Care Centre, where a majority of deaths in B.C. have taken place. Another 42 residents along with 21 staff members from this care faculty have also been infected. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
‘Puppers’ worked on his social skills at the new CARE animal shelter. (CARE Network photo)

CARE column: Be prepared for puppies

CARE recently helped two dogs regain their social skills

  • Apr 5, 2020
‘Puppers’ worked on his social skills at the new CARE animal shelter. (CARE Network photo)
Ucluelet Local Food Society president Jeanne Keith Ferris, right, helps beginner gardener Britny Scheuermann ready her garden plot for planting last week. (Nora O’Malley photo)

COLUMN: Gardening is balm for your soul

Some expert tips to help build your green-thumb this year

  • Apr 2, 2020
Ucluelet Local Food Society president Jeanne Keith Ferris, right, helps beginner gardener Britny Scheuermann ready her garden plot for planting last week. (Nora O’Malley photo)
Marcie Callewaert poses for a selfie with her Shitzhu is Yoda.

COVID-19: Stepping away from the ordinary

Freelance writer Marcie Callewaert talks about her self-isolation in Ahousaht

  • Mar 31, 2020
Marcie Callewaert poses for a selfie with her Shitzhu is Yoda.
Image West Gallery co-owner Courtney Johnson lends a smile beside her melodious door collage of hearts. As of March 20, the Ucluelet gift shop that has been in business for 30 years closed indefinitely. (Nora O’Malley photo)

B.C. VIEWS: Small businesses need our help

Just as integral in neighbourhoods in Vancouver and Surrey as they are in Prince George or Kelowna

Image West Gallery co-owner Courtney Johnson lends a smile beside her melodious door collage of hearts. As of March 20, the Ucluelet gift shop that has been in business for 30 years closed indefinitely. (Nora O’Malley photo)
Some of the hundreds of people queued in multiple lines wait to pay for their purchases at a Costco store, amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, in Burnaby, B.C., on Monday, March 16, 2020. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced the closure of Canada’s border to those who aren’t Canadian citizens or permanent residents to slow the spread of COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. VIEWS: The good, bad and the ugly of COVID-19

Hoarding doesn’t help anyone – it is unnecessary, selfish, and promotes fear

Some of the hundreds of people queued in multiple lines wait to pay for their purchases at a Costco store, amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, in Burnaby, B.C., on Monday, March 16, 2020. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced the closure of Canada’s border to those who aren’t Canadian citizens or permanent residents to slow the spread of COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Jessica Peters is a reporter at the Chilliwack Progress.

COLUMN: Navigating working from home during these pandemic times

This is a chance to work in the best conditions possible. In your sweat pants, on your couch.

Jessica Peters is a reporter at the Chilliwack Progress.
A hand sanitizer dispenser and a sign indicating steps to be taken to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 is seen at an entrance to the Vancouver Convention Centre, in Vancouver, on Saturday, March 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. VIEWS: Effects of COVID-19 pandemic will be long-lasting

A steep drop in tourist visits will hit hard, in particular, Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan hard

A hand sanitizer dispenser and a sign indicating steps to be taken to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 is seen at an entrance to the Vancouver Convention Centre, in Vancouver, on Saturday, March 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, blue/pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-NIAID-RML via AP

B.C. VIEWS: We can’t ignore the little things, lest they grow into a pandemic

COVID-19 can help us prepare for the major pandemic experts say is still to come

This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, blue/pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-NIAID-RML via AP
Jock Finlayson is executive vice president and chief policy officer of the Business Council of BC. (Submitted)

COLUMN: Higher tax bracket ‘a risky game’ in the 2020 B.C. budget

Jock Finlayson is executive vice president and chief policy officer of the Business Council of BC

  • Mar 1, 2020
Jock Finlayson is executive vice president and chief policy officer of the Business Council of BC. (Submitted)
Protesters stand at a rail blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, near Belleville, Ont., on Monday Feb. 24, 2020, during a protest in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en Nation hereditary chiefs attempting to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline on their traditional territories. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

B.C. VIEWS: Pipeline dispute highlights need for clarity

As the B.C. treaty process grinds on, uncertainty remains

Protesters stand at a rail blockade in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, near Belleville, Ont., on Monday Feb. 24, 2020, during a protest in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en Nation hereditary chiefs attempting to halt construction of a natural gas pipeline on their traditional territories. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
COLUMN: March is a great time to be on the slopes, but it’s also the deadliest

COLUMN: March is a great time to be on the slopes, but it’s also the deadliest

Longer, sunnier days are one of the reasons why March has the most avalanche fatalities

  • Feb 21, 2020
COLUMN: March is a great time to be on the slopes, but it’s also the deadliest
Hundreds of demonstrators block access to the BC Legislature in Victoria on Feb. 11, 2020 in support of the First Nations hereditary chiefs who are fighting a natural gas pipeline in northern B.C. (Nina Grossman/News Staff)

B.C. VIEWS: Inaction on pipeline protests not a viable response

Columnist Frank Bucholtz on how the Coastal GasLink pipeline dispute got so bad

Hundreds of demonstrators block access to the BC Legislature in Victoria on Feb. 11, 2020 in support of the First Nations hereditary chiefs who are fighting a natural gas pipeline in northern B.C. (Nina Grossman/News Staff)
Jessica Peters is a reporter at the Chilliwack Progress.

COLUMN: Models of care have varied greatly between ICBC and WorkSafe

Fighting to prove serious injuries doesn’t help anybody

Jessica Peters is a reporter at the Chilliwack Progress.
Three major projects have taken centre stage in B.C.: the Coastal GasLink pipeline project (top), the Trans Mountain expansion project (left) and the Site C dam (right). (Black Press Media files)

B.C. VIEWS: The glacial pace of resource development

As delays continue, costs climb and confusion reigns

Three major projects have taken centre stage in B.C.: the Coastal GasLink pipeline project (top), the Trans Mountain expansion project (left) and the Site C dam (right). (Black Press Media files)
Cannabis buds lay along a drying rack at the CannTrust Niagara Greenhouse Facility in Fenwick, Ont., on Tuesday, June 26, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin

B.C. VIEWS: Cannabis challenges hurt B.C. economy

It’s a mishmash of rules for cannabis sales in B.C.’s municipalities

Cannabis buds lay along a drying rack at the CannTrust Niagara Greenhouse Facility in Fenwick, Ont., on Tuesday, June 26, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin
Passengers wear masks to prevent an outbreak of a new coronavirus in a subway station, in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. The first case of coronavirus in Macao was confirmed on Wednesday, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The infected person, a 52-year-old woman, was a traveller from Wuhan. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

B.C. VIEWS: New coronavirus outbreak an important reminder

Walking the line between cautious and alarmist

Passengers wear masks to prevent an outbreak of a new coronavirus in a subway station, in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. The first case of coronavirus in Macao was confirmed on Wednesday, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The infected person, a 52-year-old woman, was a traveller from Wuhan. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Laura Jones, Chief Strategic Officer of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (submitted)

COLUMN: Governments should modernize their processes, get with the times for 2020

Laura Jones is the chief strategic officer at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business

  • Jan 22, 2020
Laura Jones, Chief Strategic Officer of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (submitted)
Premier John Horgan leaves the podium following his first press conference of the year as he comments on various questions from the media in the Press Gallery at B.C. Legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Monday, January 13, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

B.C. VIEWS: Few clouds on Horgan’s horizon

Horgan’s biggest challenge in the remainder of his term will be to keep the economy humming along

Premier John Horgan leaves the podium following his first press conference of the year as he comments on various questions from the media in the Press Gallery at B.C. Legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Monday, January 13, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
B.C. VIEWS: Finding hope for B.C.’s salmon

B.C. VIEWS: Finding hope for B.C.’s salmon

Is enough being done to save the iconic species?

B.C. VIEWS: Finding hope for B.C.’s salmon