Kim Carter, B.C.’s ombudsman, will be in Williams Lake today to discuss what has been called her “damning “report on seniors’ care. In two years of investigation, Ms. Carter found much wanting in the provision of residential, hospital and home care for seniors, and she has made numerous recommendations to the province for improvements. Older persons and those who care about them should attend this meeting, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Pioneer Complex.
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A number of people have told tell me they like lilacs and they wonder why they are so scarce on city property.
What bugs me about this is that we missed the boat. Merritt also has the lilac as its floral emblem, and Bill Vander Zalm donated scads of the plants to that city.
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The backlash against the Harper government’s 425-page Omnibus bill is growing as more people find out what is hiding in it. The Opposition parties and others (including one Conservative backbencher) charge that Bill C38 (aka the “Trojan horse bill”) with its 70 potentially harmful law changes is being given little opportunity for debate. The changes in health care, the environment, employment standards, justice, and the arts will affect almost every Canadian. Some changes may be OK but who knows? They are being sneaked in under the budget blanket. Critics (moi) see the bill as the erosion of our parliamentary democracy.
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Why have federal governments been so keen on selling our resources to foreign interests but wouldn’t allow domestic wine to cross provincial borders?
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Speaking of governments, a friend sent me a piece about collective nouns. We all know a herd of cows, a flock of chickens, a gaggle of geese, maybe even a murder of crows or an exaltation of doves, but I didn’t know a group of baboons is called a parliament.
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.
