Columnists

B.C. Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy speaks to reporters at the B.C. legislature, Feb. 24, 2020. (Tom Fletcher/Black Press)

COLUMN: Helping those who use substances during the COVID-19 pandemic

B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Judy Darcy talks about both public health emergencies

  • Apr 18, 2020
B.C. Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy speaks to reporters at the B.C. legislature, Feb. 24, 2020. (Tom Fletcher/Black Press)
Home-sewn masks help people contain their own droplets, but before going out, ensure a secure fit and don’t fiddle with it or touch your face until you return and remove it. (Tom Fletcher/Black Press)

GUEST COLUMN: Take care with non-medical cloth masks during COVID-19

If you wear one, don’t touch your face, Dr. Bonnie Henry advises

  • Apr 11, 2020
Home-sewn masks help people contain their own droplets, but before going out, ensure a secure fit and don’t fiddle with it or touch your face until you return and remove it. (Tom Fletcher/Black Press)
Jock Finlayson is executive vice president and chief policy officer of the Business Council of BC. (Submitted)

COLUMN: Economic impact of COVID-19 will be enormous and difficult to estimate

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

  • Apr 9, 2020
Jock Finlayson is executive vice president and chief policy officer of the Business Council of BC. (Submitted)
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Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry presents B.C. Centre for Disease Control modelling on spread of COVID-19, March 27, 2020. (B.C. government)

COMMENTARY: Knowing where COVID-19 cases are does not protect you

Dr. Bonnie Henry explains why B.C. withholds community names

  • Apr 7, 2020
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry presents B.C. Centre for Disease Control modelling on spread of COVID-19, March 27, 2020. (B.C. government)
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
Connections shine through in our distance amid COVID-19

Connections shine through in our distance amid COVID-19

Physical distance does not mean socially ostracizing

Connections shine through in our distance amid COVID-19
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

Please do some basic research before sharing links on Facebook

Community group administrators have power in small towns. They need to vet what they share

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
Pipeline dispute rooted in centuries-old issues that we all need to learn about

Pipeline dispute rooted in centuries-old issues that we all need to learn about

Understanding Indigenous rights and title, and colonial violence is imperative for Canadians

Pipeline dispute rooted in centuries-old issues that we all need to learn about
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)
A little bit of self-consciousness in a small town goes a long way

A little bit of self-consciousness in a small town goes a long way

In rural communities, we’re quicker to see our impacts on others

A little bit of self-consciousness in a small town goes a long way
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)