Dr. Mike Webster offers an interesting piece at Re-sergeance.net. Surviving the RCMP (?) talks to police members who see themselves as victims of toxic workplaces but Webster reminds that people are not […]
Survival skills
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.
Feet of clay
After Laura Robinson‘s September exposé in the Georgia Straight, John Furlong held a widely reported news conference where he defended himself categorically and accused the reporter of inaccuracy and “shocking lack of diligence in […]
Furlong should step aside from publicly funded group
Despite numerous sworn affidavits accusing John Furlong of inappropriate conduct, despite what the Toronto Star calls “explosive new allegations“, despite indications that Furlong has been incomplete or disingenuous in recounting biographical details, […]
The smartest guys in the room got it wrong
According to The Guardian’s George Monbiot, after each of the richest 100 people gained an average of $2.4 billion in 2012, they now hold wealth near equivalent to the United Kingdom’s GDP. […]
They held World War II in 6 years and a day
In 2001, the BC Liberal platform promised to improve administration of justice in the province through “determined leadership.” In 2005, Premier Gordon Campbell told the Canadian Bar Association, Improving access to justice […]
Conflict of interest: Not us!
Does government advertising affect the way media reports on political events? Maybe no, or not much, if the proportion of government advertising, compared to the total, is minor. However, when the taxpayers’ […]
The evidence mounts
In the Times Colonist today, Rob Shaw provides information that should result in every citizen, BC Liberal supporters included, demanding a formal inquiry into disposition of BC Rail. Unfortunately, that’s not likely […]
Good news
People using the Internet are familiar with scam, spam and phishing. For me, it seems to have accelerated in the last 2 weeks. Apparently, I’m a rich, respected person, even among people […]
Citizens, wake up please
I mentioned in a comment on another article that I’ve heard reports from people doing business with the province who say they are encouraged to kick-back part of what they are paid […]
When politicians aim to manage "freedom"
The federal Conservative government is creating an Office of Religious Freedom, intending to monitor and criticize religious persecution and to promote religious freedom around the world. Perhaps especially in Winnipeg, where the […]
Oppal inquiry: costly and unaccountable
To June 2012, Britain’s Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press had cost $6.2 million CAN. In a commission British citizens thought was unbounded and never-ending, Lord Leveson […]
Message to Christy Clark
Anita Roddick, billionaire businesswoman, activist and founder of The Body Shop, said that when leaders are not ethically sound, innovation coming from them, “Is only innovation on puffery.” Puffery, for people not […]
Enbridge: into the truth machine
In an extended campaign, advertising promoting the Enbridge pipeline has become incessant noise. One problem with this particular ballyhoo is that its words are not believable. Listeners don’t need sophisticated knowledge to […]
After millions spent on advertising
Today’s report from Statistics Canada: “In British Columbia, employment was little changed in December and the unemployment rate declined 0.3 percentage points to 6.5%. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment was little […]
BC’s slow ferry fiasco
Heading to Vancouver Island January 4, I noted something while checking BC Ferries schedules. Here are the vessels in service today on major routes to the island: Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo Queen […]
A message to Christy Clark and friends
An old Turkish folk tale teaches: The candle of someone who lies almost always burns just to midnight. After his candle goes out, nobody gives him any light. He remains without light. […]
Hard for First Nations to get out the real story
Jon McComb, doing the morning show on CKNW today, had this to say about Attawapiskat: “The housing crisis that has plagued her [Chief Spence] remote reserve of about 1,900 people has been […]
A road to inevitable unrest
Libs’ ‘Job Plan’ not enough to tackle poverty, Trish Garner, The Province, Dec 2012 …B.C. has the largest gap between the rich and the poor, and the highest poverty rate in Canada. […]
"Improved" PST will look much like HST
With less than 20 weeks before the BC election, our Liberal government continues spending tax dollars to promote themselves. It’s not the first time they aimed to influence the vote with government-paid […]
Five myths about charitable giving
From the Washington Post, follow the link for complete article. Of course it refers to American organizations but Canadian charities are not substantially different. 1. Charities are principally dedicated to serving the […]
in-sights.ca 
The Gordon Campbell/ChristyClarke years did not bode well for BC. The same Developer real estate views are still widely adhered…