Feb 5 2002
Spectacularly sordid, it's the largest-ever corporate collapse. Still trying to sort out all the Enron players, the connections, the smoking guns? Are there lessons here about "free market" economics
Feb 5 2002
A contract imposed. Education quality protections deleted. The agenda was packed when a representative assembly of British Columbia's teachers met over the weekend. All 200 delegates approved a plan
Feb 5 2002
In an intriguing role reversal, a coalition of environmental groups has filed a NAFTA complaint against the Canadian government. The groups say Canada is failing to enforce its own legislation by all
Feb 5 2002
"We don't think itâe(TM)s in the interests of the Canadian economy." U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci is cautioning Canada about ratifying the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions. But are th
Feb 4 2002
Debt relief is supposed to help developing nations. But its schemes more often just preserve equity for creditors. It's time to cut to the problem's root, says Lidy Nacpil, a panellist at Friday's Wo
Feb 4 2002
The Canadian Democracy and Corporate Accountability Commission laid down a steaming glove last week. The cross-sectoral group called for twenty-four new measures to make governments and corporations
Feb 1 2002
The dollar drops another notch, and another pundit wants us to adopt the U.S. greenback. But it's ironic, all this talk of merging national currencies. See, companies are winning big with their own <
Feb 1 2002
Where: Porto Alegre, Brazil. When: Until February 5. Who: 60,000 people representing diverse social movements from 120 countries. Why: to move past defining what they've against — to begin craft
Teachers Walk Out
Jan 31 2002
Teachers left their classrooms on Monday to stage rallies across British Columbia. Hours earlier, the provincial government had legislated an end to their contract negotiations. working TV captured s
Jan 30 2002
Are you afraid of another terrorist attack? Does fear mute your concerns about shrinking civil rights? About borders closing to refugees? Does fear deaden the horror of thousands of civilian deaths i
Jan 29 2002
Are captured Taliban and Al Qaida members "unlawful combatants?" Or are they prisoners of war? What's the difference, and why does it matter?
Jan 28 2002
At 3:55 a.m. this morning, after sitting all weekend, B.C.'s legislators laid down their scissors and handed the province's teachers a new collective agreement. Today's legislation "ends" the teacher
Jan 28 2002
Forcing a contract on British Columbia's 45,000 teachers was only part of this weekend's revelry at the provincial legislature. The province also killed contact protections for health care and social
Rape Relief Case Spurs Debate
Jan 25 2002
Vancouver Rape Relief must pay Kimberly Nixon $7,500 compensation for injured feelings — after refusing to train the male-to-female transsexual as a peer counsellor. Last week's B.C. Human Right
Jan 24 2002
Mere hours after B.C.'s teachers tabled a new contract proposal yesterday, the B.C. Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA) cast it aside. The teachers' union says the instant rejection shows t
Jan 24 2002
What's next for the New Politics Initiative (NPI)? The citizens group made waves at November's NDP convention — even if its resolution to remake that party was defeated. For a glimpse at the gro
Jan 24 2002
High school students across B.C. walked out of class yesterday. They're upset that extra-curricular activities have stalled since teachers withdrew volunteer services in their continuing job action.
Jan 23 2002
Federal Ethics Counsellor Howard Wilson addresses delegates to the Access Government 2002 conference in Ottawa today. His audience: lobbyists who could afford conference fees ranging from $1,595 to $
B.C.'s Punishing Cuts: Analysis
Jan 22 2002
Within three years, $1.9-billion will be carved from British Columbia's public sector — eroding vital programs and cutting almost a third of its workforce. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alterna
Jan 22 2002
British Columbia's teachers tabled a new proposal today aimed at settling their contract dispute with the B.C. Public School Employers' Association. The major concessions come in the shadow of Premie
Jan 22 2002
Forty Ontario special needs students haven't been to school since November 5. They're waiting on a dispute between the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board and around 200 striking support staff &#
Jan 21 2002
A B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruling contests the right to women-only space. That's the view of the rape crisis centre on the losing end of last Friday's decision. Vancouver Rape Relief must pay Kimbe
Jan 18 2002
It's an old political game: Prepare people to expect the worst ... then deliver something a little better than the worst — and people are relieved. Well, an old politician (Don Mazankowski) and
Jan 18 2002
The B.C. Teachers' Federation is "appalled" by massive cuts announced yesterday by Premier Gordon Campbell. The cuts will have devastating impacts on communities, seniors, children and families. "It'
B.C. Hacks Workplace Smoking Rules
Jan 17 2002
Big Tobacco is breathing easy. Health advocates are fuming. The B.C. Liberals announced new regulations today governing workplace smoking. The regulations veto new rules developed last year by B.C.'s
Jan 17 2002
Three Canadian groups are in court today to appeal their exclusion from a seminal trade dispute. A NAFTA tribunal has denounced a Canadian ban on PCB waste exports — ordering up to US$20-millio
Jan 17 2002
Canada is ignoring a request from the U.N. Human Rights Committee for more time to assess the risk of torture for a man about to be deported to Iran. Mansour Ahani may be deported as early as today,
Jan 16 2002
Thousands of teachers and supporters rallied in Vancouver on Saturday to demand a negotiated settlement in their contract dispute. Months into bargaining, talks remain stalled across the board —
Jan 15 2002
Child care advocates were feeling upbeat in 1986. The federal Task Force on Child Care had just released a report calling for universal child care by 2001. It was all about ensuring healthy child dev
Jan 15 2002
The environmental community is mourning the loss of a tireless campaigner and a friend. Irene Kock, 41, died in an auto accident on New Year's Eve. Irene recently joined the Sierra Club of Canada aft
