Opinion

It was the dominant issue in the legislature for the entire week, for two different reasons. The Opposition devoted the entire half-hour question period to the quick-wins ethnic-outreach scandal from Monday through Wednesday.

How much do you know about Canada’s population? British Columbia’s? Does it matter? A recent survey by the Royal Statistical Society and King’s College London suggests that the British population is “wrong about nearly everything,” according to the h

The victory by Green party candidate Andrew Weaver in May’s B.C. election was certainly significant, though not for the obvious reasons. Weaver won the first riding captured by any Green representative in a provincial election, Canada-wide.

New Democrat Leader Adrian Dix made it clear Wednesday what’s driving the Opposition’s zealous pursuit of details about the ethnic-outreach scandal that B.C. Liberals insist is over and done with.

There they were again this year, justifiably excited teenagers in caps and gowns finally making it across the stage in front of you, their proud and somewhat relieved parents. Graduated at last. You wondered if you’d see this day.

My sense of outrage at the Lac Mégantic tragedy just keeps growing. While the facts are still being uncovered, it appears that an unmanned train with a volatile cargo was routinely parked on a hill above a town with only brakes to avert disaster.

Stephen Harper has done what all prime ministers do when their governments are in trouble: rearrange faces. Historically, cabinet shuffles are more style than substance, and here the prime minister honours a venerable tradition.

The B.C. Liberals were proud of themselves for putting the ethnic-outreach scandal to bed just before the election. They issued profuse apologies for the attempt to meld partisan ethnic vote-grubbing with proper government outreach efforts.

The death of Cory Monteith on July 13 shocked the Glee community and fans worldwide. With the cause of death attributed to an overdose of heroin and alcohol, his long struggle with drugs is more evidence of a generation in trouble.

Everywhere we turn these days, it seems there is nothing but tragedy. Not just in Canada, with its floods and fires, but all across our fragile planet.