There are hundreds of people languishing in prisons in BC, many being young people, who in many instances have only committed minor crimes but are repeat offenders with FAS. In cases I am aware of the judge gave no consideration to the person having FAS and he has been in and out of jail with no treatment available in prison and no sensible alternative on release from prison. Many of these people are vulnerable to use by others in carrying out illegal activities and become the "fall guy". They are often shunned by many and hence seek approval wherever they can find it. The result is we have more persons in society who do commit crimes as they are often unable to understand the consequences of their actions. The cost to tax payers for supporting hundreds, or more likely thousands, of such people in prison is huge. Hence the cost of status quo is both a public safety issue as well as an economic one. And lastly the cost and mental anguish for parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters is beyond belief unless you have walked a mile in their shoes.

It is important because climate change is a human crisis and we need humanity to combat this third world war of the climate on this earth for a safe and better environment for the next generation.Climate change will alter the Earth. But it could destroy humanity 'What we’re doing to the Earth has no parallel in 66 million years, scientists say'

Canada is known around the world for our commitment to peace. Now, we have a chance to lead the world towards peace again - by making it impossible for Trump to pursue a war of aggression with Iran. The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 is now widely regarded as a disastrous mistake. Warhawks like John Bolton lied to the world in order to pursue a war of aggression in the Middle East. And they made no secret of their desire to invade Iran as well. Today, many of the very same people are back in power in the United States - and it looks as though they may get their wish. But we can help slam the brakes on another disastrous conflict. A strong statement from the Prime Minister committing Canada to de-escalation and assuring that not a single Canadian soldier will be deployed to support an invasion of Iran will send a clear message to President Trump that even the United States' closest ally will not support him in his military adventures. Doing so will set an example for other traditional American allies in Europe and around the world. Left without partners for his ill-fated scheme, Trump could well be forced to abandon plans for an invasion. Somebody will have to be first - and Canada, long a leader in peace-keeping, can be the leader here too. Together, we can make it happen. If thousands of Canadians sign this petition, Trudeau will see that the Canadian public is against a war in Iran and know that we'll have his back when he stands up to Trump. We have the power to stop a war. Sign now and spread the word.

On December 4th, the AGM for the Nelson & District Women’s Centre will be held at the Adventure Hotel at 5:30pm. Many know the Centre to be a place of support and service to the community. What some members may not be aware of is that over the past several months, the staff have been working to the point of exhaustion -many to the point of resignation- due to a lawsuit filed by a group of so-called feminists who appropriated the name the Bread and Roses Collective. Over these months, effort and emotional energy have been diverted from supporting the community in full capacity to responding to a Supreme Court lawsuit filed by women who question if other marginalized genders should be allowed to be voting members of, employed at, engage with or utilize the support and services of the organization. This bullying tactic was used to execute a hostile takeover of the board and force others out through mental and emotional exhaustion. The pressure of this lawsuit on the volunteer board and part time staff led to periods of time where drop in services were closed, impacting some of the most marginalized members of our community. History shows us that that dividing and excluding the marginalized is in itself an act of violence. With the Trans Day of Remembrance passing on Wednesday November 19, we speak the names of transgender people, (particularly TPOC) who are killed each year (at least 311 this year) in acts of transphobic violence. It is also a time to reflect on other acts of violence against trans people, including emotional violence, micro-aggressions and the systematic exclusion of trans bodies in community spaces. If you care about the inclusion and the support of all marginalized genders, come to the Nelson District Women's Centre AGM on Wednesday, December 4th or send a proxy vote to elect board members who aim to build a longer table, not a higher wall. For more background info, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9staXcyOYKs

The people at the bottom of society have all but been forgotten, the middle class needs both parents of the family to hold full time jobs in order to maintain that stature. Their children are left to be raised by strangers lacking the love and focussed required to nurture a wholesome human being. The wealthy add to their riches by investing in other business enterprise while little of the prosperity filters down.

The Chilliwack city council rejected a proposal to support the LGBTQ community by painting a rainbow crosswalk in downtown Chilliwack. In response, a group of community members worked with community organizations and local First Nations to paint 16 rainbow crosswalks throughout the city in private property and on First Nations land! The whole world needs to know that even though the city council refuses to make the city a safe place for LGBTQ people, the local community is organizing to fight back.

We are deeply concerned about the lack of front-line supports and resources for our most vulnerable students. Teachers are expected to deliver various levels of the curriculum and assist children with behavioral challenges on their own. These children need proper assessments/diagnosis - they need more EA's, access to child and youth workers, social workers, school support counselors and psychologists. We have seen a significant increase in violence in our classrooms/schools. Teachers are injured to the point that requires medical intervention and often sick time. As a result of the lack in funding and cuts, teachers are faced with unsafe situations for them and their students. Research has shown that smaller class sizes support increased student performance yet this government wants to increase class size. Smaller class size improves student behaviour and relationships. Caps on class size are effective...averages are not! Public education is the foundation of a strong country and strong citizenship. Our entire future depends on the education of our children and any cuts to education hurts kids. Large class sizes hurt all students, but particularly those with special needs or behavioural issues. Teachers cannot teach without the supports that they need, and students can't learn without the supports that they need to be successful.

Every year wages and poor working environments are created over what a CEO feels they deserves in the form of a bonus every year, when workers are the ones that assist in the wealth of a company not the CEO.

This is important because once he’s deported I will be a single mother of 4. I won’t be able to support my family as my common law partner works two jobs to help support our family. My children are suffering because they have never been a part from their father.

This is a petition to change Doug Ford's job as Premier of Ontario to a 'part-time' position. He shut down Ontario Parliament for an unprecedented 4 ½ -month summer break. Winter break is another 2 months so it would appear he can do his job by working less than half the year in the legislature. As he is not working enough hours in the legislature to be considered full-time, his job as Premier should be reclassified as part-time with no benefits and no pension. This fits with Ford’s desire for improvements to government efficiency. Ford should lead by example on efficiency. It is an unbearable hypocrisy if a leader promotes efficiency but does not start by making his own job more efficient, and then make his cabinet and inner circle more efficient. Ford was elected to govern Ontario, not be a campaign poster boy or campaign worker for the federal election. Is it a form of theft to take a full-time salary as Premier but spend months on side projects for organizations external to Ontario? If you would like the job of Premier of Ontario during the Doug Ford regime to be reclassified as a part-time position without benefits or pension, please sign this petition.

DICTATORIAL corporations are dictatorial because of the dictation of the boards directors of majority shareholders. DEMOCRATIC equally owned enterprises are democratic because of the equal ownership of the enterprise by the workers-owners having equal voting in governance, equal receipt of profits and the worker-owners setting of the wages. Competition between dictatorships and democracies would obtain superior results to legislating the least desired kind of organization out of existence. Whichever that might be. With democratic firms competing with dictatorial firms the wages of corporations would match the wages of equally owned enterprises, lack of profit and governance would be compensated for or corporate profit would be shared and participation in corporate governance allowed. This would be an ending to gross enormous inequality in corporations, the beginning of the serenity of the populace and the inclusion of all in the economy.

The Vancouver Sun has always been a right wing voice, but lately it's been ordered to "be more right wing". We've seen them pushing the boundaries of how far you can go making a case for anti-immigration and racism in polite conversation. If they continue this way, the Vancouver Sun will complete it's transformation into a mini-National Post unless we show them locals won't tolerate this kind of garbage.