Editorials

SAR crews worked late into the night Tuesday to rescue an injured snowboarder in North Vancouver. (Facebook/North Shore Rescue)

Our view: Regular rescues should not be required

Still far too many incidents of people putting themselves at risk

  • Feb 25, 2021
SAR crews worked late into the night Tuesday to rescue an injured snowboarder in North Vancouver. (Facebook/North Shore Rescue)
Travis Price, whose random act of kindness started the Pink Shirt Day movement, was in Royston to speak to schoolchildren on Friday, Feb. 28. Many of the students from Royston Elementary wore pink shirts to school specifically for the presentation. Photo by Terry Farrell

EDITORIAL: Fight bullying every day

Pink Shirt Day is Feb. 24 this year

  • Feb 23, 2021
Travis Price, whose random act of kindness started the Pink Shirt Day movement, was in Royston to speak to schoolchildren on Friday, Feb. 28. Many of the students from Royston Elementary wore pink shirts to school specifically for the presentation. Photo by Terry Farrell
Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe speaks during a press conference at B.C. Legislature in Victoria, B.C., on February 24, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Our View: The other epidemic in B.C. has claimed too many lives

New measures beyond simple enforcement have to change the playing field

  • Feb 22, 2021
Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe speaks during a press conference at B.C. Legislature in Victoria, B.C., on February 24, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
The Cowichan Valley will need an additional 5,000 housing units by 2025 to keep up with demand, according to a new report. (File photo)

Editorial: Vancouver Island facing big housing shortage

New ways of thinking needed as the squeeze seems destined to get worse

  • Feb 19, 2021
The Cowichan Valley will need an additional 5,000 housing units by 2025 to keep up with demand, according to a new report. (File photo)
The Peace Tower is pictured on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021, as lawmakers return to the House of Commons following the winter break. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OUR VIEW: Maintaining a strong democracy crucial

Canada has placed fifth worldwide for the level of its democracy

The Peace Tower is pictured on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021, as lawmakers return to the House of Commons following the winter break. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
An Abbotsford women recently discovered a Valentine's Day card more than 75 years old written by her dad to his Abbotsford family. (Submitted)

Our view: Keep your expectations realistic with this weekend’s duelling holidays

Valentine’s and Family Days mark the long weekend by a quirk of the calendar

  • Feb 14, 2021
An Abbotsford women recently discovered a Valentine's Day card more than 75 years old written by her dad to his Abbotsford family. (Submitted)
House values are up in the Cowichan Valley, according to the latest report by BC Assessment. (File photo)

Editorial: Cowichan house prices increasingly unaffordable

Younger people have had no choice but to purchase ordinary homes at extraordinary prices

  • Feb 8, 2021
House values are up in the Cowichan Valley, according to the latest report by BC Assessment. (File photo)
A gas pump at a filling station. (Photo by Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Editorial: Island fuel price hikes continue to baffle

Demand certainly can’t be considered high during the pandemic to warrant big increases

A gas pump at a filling station. (Photo by Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
Science World will reopen to the public on Aug. 1, 2020, following four days of free admission for essential workers. (Science World)

Roden: Science is winning and that’s the way it should be

Rollout of vaccines is another example of what we can accomplish

  • Feb 5, 2021
Science World will reopen to the public on Aug. 1, 2020, following four days of free admission for essential workers. (Science World)
Gov. Gen. Julie Payette reads the speech from the throne in Ottawa on Dec. 5, 2019. She has recently resigned her role. (The Canadian Press)

EDITORIAL: Government officials held to high standards

Recent incidents at federal level show Canadians expect much from those in government

  • Feb 4, 2021
Gov. Gen. Julie Payette reads the speech from the throne in Ottawa on Dec. 5, 2019. She has recently resigned her role. (The Canadian Press)
Groundhog Club handler John Griffiths, center, holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 131st celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter weather. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Opinion: An early spring couldn’t be more welcome after this pandemic winter

A little sunshine can’t come soon enough — literally, or metaphorically

Groundhog Club handler John Griffiths, center, holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 131st celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter weather. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
An ongoing scam involves callers falsely claiming that people owe back taxes to the Canada Revenue Agency.

Opinion: Addressing income inequality imperative

COVID-19 is exacerbating the wage gap

  • Feb 2, 2021
An ongoing scam involves callers falsely claiming that people owe back taxes to the Canada Revenue Agency.
A sailboat heads west from Esquimalt in the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the 2020 B.C. Day long weekend. (John McKinley file)

Editorial: Vancouver Island community shows its resilience

Remarkable spirit shown amid COVID-19 pandemic

A sailboat heads west from Esquimalt in the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the 2020 B.C. Day long weekend. (John McKinley file)
Organ donation form from BC Transplant. (BC Transplant)

Editorial: Opt-out organ donation the way to go

In most places in Canada, including British Columbia, you have to sign up to be an organ donor.

  • Jan 29, 2021
Organ donation form from BC Transplant. (BC Transplant)
This coming Thursday, Jan. 28, is Bell Let’s Talk Day, and conversations about mental health would serve many of us well as the pandemic persists. (Zackary Drucker/The Gender Spectrum Collection)
This coming Thursday, Jan. 28, is Bell Let’s Talk Day, and conversations about mental health would serve many of us well as the pandemic persists. (Zackary Drucker/The Gender Spectrum Collection)
A sign for the B.C. provincial election is seen in Surrey. The election will take place on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (Katya Slepian/Black Press Media)

Editorial: Please, Prime Minister Trudeau, don’t call a spring election

Vancouver Island voters need a time out from all the election overkill

A sign for the B.C. provincial election is seen in Surrey. The election will take place on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. (Katya Slepian/Black Press Media)
Handwashing is one of the important COVID-19 precautions. (File photo)

Editorial: Time to knuckle down on COVID precautions

It would be a mistake for Vancouver Island not to bring this safely home now

  • Jan 22, 2021
Handwashing is one of the important COVID-19 precautions. (File photo)
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry poses with Nisha Yunus, who has been a residential care aide with Vancouver Coastal Health for 41 years. Yunus was one of the first health-care workers in B.C. to receive a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. (BC Government photo)

Editorial: Patience required in the vaccination line

SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations are proceeding in an orderly, ethical manner

  • Jan 21, 2021
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry poses with Nisha Yunus, who has been a residential care aide with Vancouver Coastal Health for 41 years. Yunus was one of the first health-care workers in B.C. to receive a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. (BC Government photo)
The Salvation Army’s 2020 Christmas Kettle Campaign includes a new $5 tap feature for pandemic-friendly donations. (Devon Bidal/News Staff)

EDITORIAL: Alberni Valley steps up in time of need

There are a lot of ways the outside world interprets Port Alberni…

The Salvation Army’s 2020 Christmas Kettle Campaign includes a new $5 tap feature for pandemic-friendly donations. (Devon Bidal/News Staff)
Rethinking shopping for a more resilient future. Black Press file photo.

Rethinking shopping for a more resilient future

The last year was a wake up call. The environmental crisis, systemic…

Rethinking shopping for a more resilient future. Black Press file photo.