Norm Farrell
Gwen and I raised three adult children in North Vancouver. Each lives in this community, as do our seven grandchildren. Before retirement, I worked in accounting and small business management. Since 2009, I have published commentary about public issues at IN-SIGHTS.CA.
War on coastal communities
Christy Clark’s Liberals seem dedicated to punishing residents of BC coastal communities, probably because all ferry dependent communities failed to return Liberal candidates in the last election. A few days ago, BC […]
Dis·in·gen·u·ous — [dis-in-jen-yoo-uhs]
Vancouver Sun Editorial Board Considers the Issues Earlier this month, the Vancouver Sun published an editorial titled, BC Jobs Plan figures don’t signal success or failure yet. In case you fail to […]
Propaganda presented as credible news
Were I a new arrival in Canada who relied on major media, I would believe, as Canadian Press reported, Northern Gateway is a project that, “…will put billions of dollars into the […]
The decline of journalism…
…It’s a fundamental existential problem for every society on earth today. That was in the opening comments of Dr. Robert McChesney when he was interviewed by Ian Jessop of CFAX 1070 radio. […]
Eyes still on the issues
Thanks for the good wishes these past few days. Surgery on my left eye went well and the doctor’s follow-up exam indicated a good result. In fact, within 24 hours I could […]
Blogs, bloggers and blogging
My December 9 session with Ian Jessop on CFAX 1070 covers the why and how of In-Sights, formerly Northern Insights, with a short end comment about BC Ferries. BTW, I’m working on […]
Lies, damn lies and statistics
In late 2012, BC Ferries published a 14-page self-promotion titled Fuel Strategies. It discussed alleged savings in fuel consumption achieved by BC Ferries’ brilliant managers. A centrepiece was this chart: I added […]
RCMP mess needs sweeping
This is one of the first articles I posted at Northern Insight, written in April 2009. By the time the fifth anniversary rolls around, the article count will be about 2,000. I […]
CKNW Orphans’ Fund Financial Recap
Based on T3010 reports filed by the charity with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA):
Fraying of social safety nets necessitates charity – REPLAY
First published in 2012: I listened to parts of Friday’s CKNW Orphans’ Fund Pledge Day, wondering if they would be more forthright about shifting over $1 million from the charity to pockets […]
CKNW charity boosts corporate profits – REPLAY from 2012
The article following this update was published Nov. 25, 2011 (the first chart is revised with 2012 figures). In 2012, I reviewed the most recent Registered Charity Information Return filed by the […]
Promises made, promises waived
From the 2013 platform of the B.C. Liberal Party: We need to do more to ensure coastal communities have access to a high quality ferry service that affordably meets the needs of […]
Christy Clark arrest may be imminent
Sunday, RCMP announced arrest of Qing Quentin Huang for attempting to communicate knowledge of Canadian ship construction to China. Huang is employed by an Ontario based subcontractor of Irving Shipbuilding. At a […]
Guess which photos come from Enbridge
H/T to Project-Pipeline.org
Investment in society and in human beings?
A paper published in the journal International Political Science Review considered if the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was “Democracy’s Friend or Foe.” It noted that reforms required by the American based IMF, […]
Diane, it’s even worse than you claim
Diane Francis is a writer from Central Canada whose typical view of the country is about 400 miles wide. So, it’s not surprising that in her New York Post expose, she ignores […]
An example of coastal ferry fares, 5x inflation
One of my readers lives modestly on Texada Island and comes to the city occasionally for shopping and medical treatments and to visit family and friends. He retired on this northern Gulf […]
Without fairness for all
Successful societies are based on equitable treatment of every citizen. That is not to say that individuals must be dealt with equally, rather that fairness should always be evident. Does the equity […]
in-sights.ca 
The Gordon Campbell/ChristyClarke years did not bode well for BC. The same Developer real estate views are still widely adhered…