Monday Mag

Reclaim PKOLS - Call to Action

Call to Action from Hereditary Chief WEC'KINEM On May.22nd, hereditary chief WEC'KINEM (Eric Pelkey), with support from Songhees and the WSÁNEĆ tribes, will lead an action to reclaim the traditional name of PKOLS (formerly known as Mt. Douglas).  Please support this action, and...

Enbridge's Failed Media Campaign

Research by Shane Johnson Enbridge is not only failing at convincing people in this province that their project is a good idea, they have also created an atmosphere of mistrust and have wasted millions of dollars on a flop media campaign....

Chevron Gas Stations Blockaded for Fracking Project

Activists in Victoria blocked traffic and rode bicycles to three Chevron gas stations, distributed flyers, and wrapped Chevron stations in crime scene tape. “Chevron is the latest corporation to sign up to commit colonial climate crimes in British Columbia. Fracking...

Racist Article in Nanaimo Daily News Shocks Readers

An article in the Nanaimo Daily News has shocked people across the province today. Don Olsen, a writer for the newspaper, wrote an article titled 'Educate First Nations To Be Modern Citizens' that has brought on protest directed at the...

Easter Ceilidh - March 28th

A SocialCoast Event On THURSDAY of the EASTER LONG WEEKEND, Victoria's most celebrated Scottish pilot, Bennie Aitken, will be hosting a community Ceilidh! For anyone not from Scotland, let us explain:this is a community party with a traditional scottish 'barn dance'...

Who profits from blasting away water resources and valuable ecosystems?

Another true horror story for water and the environment: open cast mineral sand mining. In very basic terms, this form of mining uses huge water cannons to send highly pressurized water to convert the soil to...

Rob Ford and the civic value of embarrassment

May 24, 2013 ...

Wildrose deftly defuses robo-call crisis while federal Cons suffer Scotch verdict

You don't have to agree with Alberta’s right-wing Wildrose Party to admire the skill with which it stick-handled yesterday's revelation it had been fined $90,000 by the federal broadcast regulator for a series of improperly identified...

New Union Project telephone town hall attracts thousands

The telephone town hall was part of a wide-ranging consultation for the New Union Project. ...

Slain cyclist's father still has serious concerns about the handling of his son's case

...

BCPSEA says 10-year teachers' deal "difficult to pull off" (in All)

BC School Employers Association says a 10 year contract with the BC Teachers' Federation will be "difficult for us to pull off" by June 30. Read more ... ...

Updated: Media tells BCTF of government's plans for 10 year deal by June (in All)

Media, not government, first to inform teachers' union of government's supposed alleged plans* for a negotiated 10 year deal by June 30. Read more ... ...

VSB issues first lays off notices ever for adult ed teachers (in All)

Layoff notices affecting 48 adult ed teachers are the first for the department thanks to thanks to Ministry funding cuts, says sub local president. Read more ... ...

UBC breaks record for aboriginal graduates (in All)

A record number of aboriginal graduates will be picking up diplomas during spring convocation in what First Nations House of Learning hopes is the sign of a turning tide in aboriginal education. ...

Many former mayors, councillors now in the Leg (in All)

Almost 40 per cent of the 85 elected candidates in last week's general election had previous experience in local governments. Twenty-two Liberals, 10 NDPs and one Independent elected had served at least one term as mayor or councillor before running...

Sasquatch Festival founder Adam Zacks talks developing artists, landing Sigur Ros

A lot of the focus at Sasquatch Festival this year will be put on its big-name headlining bands like Mumford and Sons, The Postal Service, The Lumineers, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. But it’s the smaller, up-and-coming bands playing the...

Noms!: Sticky Wicket delivers no-nonsense Victoria pub food

The Strathcona Hotel, located on Douglas in downtown Victoria, is quite the destination. Many of us would have been to the Rooftop in the summer for buckets night, gone downstairs to Club 9one9 for late-night clubbing, and maybe even stayed...

Comics: Pablo and Earth Council

Montreal psychobilly band The Brains lose makeup, gain notoriety

It didn’t end up working out for KISS, but it might be a permanent thing for Montreal’s long-running psychobilly band The Brains. We, of course, are talking about taking off the makeup and hanging up the costumes. For KISS, their...

Vancouver hostels cheaper student travel option, more social than hotels

Travelling is expensive, but it can also be socially challenging. For the typical “starving student” or “student stranger in a strange land” looking for a summer vacation with some new experiences along the way, lodging and transportation costs can be...

Different focal lengths, different perspectives

How changing your focal length can change the look of your image

Machete Avenue and Tortoise Boy

A pair of unconventional reviews, better late than never

This Week in Martlet History: May 17

In the May 17, 2001 Martlet issue, staff wrote an editorial piece that discussed the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) protests and their effect on the world and the provincial election.

Truth and fiction in photography

Reflections on Grenier’s Teenage Paparazzo documentary

One student’s frustration with elections

I urge you to stop giving a shit about your government, because I believe that they don’t care about you, your family or your ridiculous student debt.

Framing Senate-gate

Liberals focus on Harper while NDP attacks inherent corruption of non-elected Senate. by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard OTTAWA May 23, 2013 (Straight Goods News) — Stephen Harper is in damage control mode. He escaped Ottawa this week for South...

Dubai construction workers end strike

Labourers at construction giant Arabtec in the UAE complain of low pay, poor conditions and lack of annual leave. from Al Jazeera "A strike by low-wage workers at Arabtec – the construction giant building the Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi,...

Grassroots greens challenge Environmental Defense Fund on fracking

Coalition criticizes organization for supporting Centre for Sustainable Shale Development, argues fracking can never be sustainable. from MotherJones "A coalition of grassroots environmental groups — plus a few professors and celebrities — issued a public message to the Environmental Defense...

Illegal construction, shoddy materials blamed for factory collapse

Report on disaster reveals that simple building inspections could have saved lives. from Salon "A government investigation into the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Sava,Bangladesh, found that cheap building materials and a series of other construction-related violations...

Council of Canadian criticizes bid to join Pacific Alliance

Says Harper is standing with mining companies, against human rights. from the Council of Canadians Stephen Harper’s executive decision that Canada should try to join the Pacific Alliance political and trading bloc should be as controversial as his taking a...

Raven Coal Mine Application Rejected by Regulators

Victoria, May 17, 2013 – The BC Environmental Assessment Office announced today that it has rejected the application for Compliance Energy’s proposed Raven Coal Mine, located near Fanny Bay in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. read more

BC Election Reflection

by Lauren Kaljur As I walked through Yaletown on election night, peering through a restaurant seated with well to-do clientele smiling as they sipped their fine victory wine, I was reminded that we are divided. With a popular vote split between...

Protecting Marine Species

by Jeff Hutchings PHOTO CREDIT: Bill Fisher What do Atlantic cod and BC’s canary rockfish have in common with the burrowing owl and Vancouver Island marmot? They have all declined by more than 80 or 90%. And they are all considered to...

Speaking Tour on CETA, FIPA, TPP Trade Agreements

May 15, 2013 - You are invited to a public discussion on "CETA, FIPA, TPP: The New Face of Corporate Power." This event will be part of an eight-city speaking tour in B.C. to build opposition to Canada's corporate trade...

Environmental Science Axed by Harper 2012-2013

Compiled by Joyce Nelson Fisheries & Oceans Discontinued: Species-at-Risk Program, Ocean Contaminants & Marine Toxicology Program, Habitat Management, Experimental Lakes Area (Northern Ontario), DFO Marine Science Libraries, Centre for Offshore Oil & Gas Energy Research   read more

Four More LNG Export Projects Proposed for B.C.

By Scott Simpson, April 10, 2013 British Columbia’s potential LNG production boom just got louder. Energy Minister Rich Coleman announced Wednesday that the provincial government has received four “new major international LNG project proposals” to develop liquefied natural gas export...

Same Company Building Keystone and Tennessee Pipelines

Two projects are currently being fought on the ground (and in the trees) halfway across the country from each other, and various sources (including an article in the Ecologist ) have confirmed that the same company is doing on-the-ground construction...

Alberta Natural Gas Liquids Pipeline Proposed: Keyera, Plains Seek Shipper Commitments for Deep Basin Connector

By Dan Healing – April 10, 2013         Two new pipelines have been proposed to bring petroleum liquids from the Deep Basin to the Edmonton area. Photograph by: Eric Hylden , THE CANADIAN PRESS CALGARY — Two...

Pipeline Rejection Bad for U.S.-Canada Relations, says Redford: Alberta Premier in Washington Again to Advocate for Keystone XL Pipeline

Apr 10, 2013 – CP If the Obama administration rejects the Keystone XL pipeline, it would be a significant thorn in Canadian-U.S. relations, Alberta’s premier said Wednesday. Premier Alison Redford was in Washington for her fourth trip to lobby on...

Province Pushes Keystone XL Pipeline With Another Round of U.S. Ads

By Bryan Weismiller, Calgary Herald April 7, 2013 CALGARY —  Alberta is releasing another series of advertisements in U.S. publications aimed at convincing Americans that approving the Keystone XL pipeline would benefit both sides of the border. The advertisements, which...

Has the CRD unintentionally pushed the reset button on the sewage treatment plan?

By Leslie Campbell and David Broadland, May 2013 Its $17-million purchase of property in a residential neighbourhood as a possible location for biodigesters has critics—and at least two NDP candidates in the BC election—calling for a rethink of the entire plan. The...

Is the law catching up to BC's police chiefs?

By Rob Wipond, May 2013 The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Registrar of Lobbyists are hot on their association’s trail. But a former BC police chief and solicitor general doubts they’ll ever be caught. There’s one thing the police...

The mayor's dilemma

By David Broadland, May 2013 Was Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin accurately briefed on the financial state of the City’s largest-ever infrastructure project before the last election? If he wasn't, as he claims, why isn't he concerned? Shortly after Focus went to press...

Going viral

By Katherine Palmer Gordon, May 2013 A new film is making sure salmon are on the menu of the provincial election. Here’s the good news: While the documentary Salmon Confidential is an incredibly disturbing exposé of government efforts to hide the truth...

The politics of nature (part 2)

By Briony Penn, May 2013 The Liberals have fumbled the biodiversity ball; so what are the alternatives offering, and what are they hedging on? As mentioned in last month’s article, the BC Liberals have left a perfect vacuum for other political parties...

Life is good in Linnyland

Local Artist’s perception of life focuses on the positive

Great Strides taken in support

People living with Cystic Fibrosis given hope through community

THE WEEK — May 23: A week to start walking

Walk A Mile In Her Shoes asks men to wear heels in a fight against violence, while the March Against Monsanto battles GMOs.

THE WEEK — May 16: Queer culture celebrated

Queer culture celebrated, time for a sobering survey, and one time, at Social Media Camp...

Chowing down Off the Eaten Track

New food tour group brings focus back to love of locavores