Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
politics
History of the Okanagan Commonage Reserve
VERNON - With the impending sale of the discontinued rail corridor between Vernon and Kelowna, the Okanagan Indian band has revived a historic land claim on a large tract of land known as the Commonage Reserve. Formed in 1877 by the Joint Indian Reserve Commission (established by the governments of Canada and B.C. to create...
HELSTON: Our libraries are worth the money
As the Okanagan Regional Library looks for places to snip and save costs, one municipality has stepped up as a champion for its local branch. In the last few months, we’ve heard about cuts to staff positions and reductions in business hours as part of a process to improve equity at the regional library’s 29...
NEWSMAKERS 2014: Okanagan rail corridor makes history
THIS WEEK, INFONEWS.CA IS COUNTING DOWN THE TOP FIVE STORIES OF 2014. TODAY: NUMBER FIVE KELOWNA - Okanagan municipalities making history by signing a deal with the Canadian National Railway to buy a nearly 50-kilometer long corridor between Vernon and Kelowna. The scenic stretch of land came available after the Kelowna Pacific Railway announced bankruptcy...
Splatsin First Nation acquires portion of rail corridor
ENDERBY - There’s been a significant advancement on the discontinued rail corridor between Armstrong and Sicamous. Following lengthy negotiations with Canadian Pacific Rail and the federal government, the Splatsin First Nation has acquired 29.25 acres of land along the old rail corridor, which was shut down in 2009. Splatsin Chief Wayne ‘Wunuxtin’ Christian says the...
Okanagan Indian Band opposes rail corridor sale
BUYER BEWARE: BAND SAYS NO CLEAR TITLE ON RAIL CORRIDOR VERNON - The Okanagan Indian Band is speaking out against a recent deal between Okanagan municipalities and CN Rail to buy the decomissioned rail line between Vernon and Kelowna. Chief Byron Louis said Tuesday the band is advancing a land claim for the Commonage Reserve,...
Words of support in Ottawa for Kamloops RCMP officer shot on the job
KAMLOOPS – The RCMP officer shot and wounded in Kamloops has been praised in the House of Commons. Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod rose in the House of Commons Wednesday to speak about the “horrific event” in her riding. Cpl. Jean Michaud continues to recover from the gun shot wound he received on Dec. 3 during...
Okanagan municipalities ink rail corridor deal, now what will they do with it?
VERNON - A team of local governments has reached a multi-million deal with CN Rail to purchase nearly 50 km of discontinued track between Vernon and Kelowna, but just how the land will be used remains unknown. Doug Gilchrist, the City of Kelowna’s community planning and real estate director, says the group of municipalities are...
Native court workers protest for equal pay
OKANAGAN - Native court workers are standing up against the government asking for equal pay after being cut out of a deal five years ago that increased the wages of others but not court workers. Jack Kruger, a veteran native court worker and counsellor, has spent the past two days outside the Penticton and Kelowna...
Crowd funding websites weren’t on Elections B.C. radar
KELOWNA – When the B.C. Government introduced new regulations covering municipal election campaign donations in May it appears they didn’t take into consideration the latest, greatest way to raise money—crowd funding. Many candidates taking part in the civic election campaigns across the province have turned to crowd funding websites like gofundme.com or kickstarter.com. Sean Upshaw...
ELECTION 2014: Plenty of choice in Kelowna civic election
KELOWNA – With 29 candidates declared for Kelowna city councillor, the only thing for certain is... there will be a lot of election signs. Candidate nominations closed at 4 p.m. on Friday. Six candidates vie for mayor, 29 for city councillor and nine for school trustee. Former mayor Sharon Shepherd and councillor Colin Basran are...
ELECTION 2014: West Kelowna candidates finalized
WEST KELOWNA – Three candidates are confirmed for mayor of West Kelowna, including incumbent Doug Findlater. Challenging Findlater for his job are Stephen Johnston and Mary Mandarino. The nomination period for the Nov. 14 civic election closed at 4 p.m. on Friday. Thirteen people are seeking one of six seats on council: - Joanne Baker -...
Friday is last day for nominations in civic election
KELOWNA - If you’re interested in running for Mayor, City council or school trustee in Kelowna – Oct. 10 is your last day to file the paperwork. The election will take place Nov. 15. Potential candidates are encouraged to call ahead in order to book an appointment to file before 4 p.m. Those interested in...
Prosper Kelowna: Second declared slate in municipal election
KELOWNA – A second slate geared towards younger voters has turned up in Kelowna. The two-candidate team of Prosper Kelowna hopes to revitalize the City’s job market if elected to City Council. Mike McLoughlin and Sean Upshaw, two former election candidates for the B.C. Conservatives, have geared their seven point slate so the Kelowna public...
Former NDP candidate running for council
KELOWNA – A controversial former NDP provincial candidate announced her return to Kelowna politics Tuesday. Dayleen Van Ryswyk says she will run for a seat on Kelowna Council in the upcoming November municipal election. Van Ryswyk, a former NDP candidate for the Kelowna-Mission riding, was forced out of the race after comments about First Nations...
A Penticton proposal getting support from unexpected places
PENTICTON - Penticton council has an unexpected supporter for its push to put oversight for large-scale events under the provincial umbrella—the Boonstock Music and Arts festival. All but one member of Penticton's councillors and mayor used the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention this week to lobby provincial government ministers hard to take on the regulatory...
Teachers vote yes, school back in session next week
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The teachers vote is in and school will be back in session next week. A total of 75 per cent of teachers cast ballots Thursday with more than 27,000 voting to accept the agreement. The number of teachers voting was up significantly from ratification votes in 2006 and 2012 and on par with...
Districts planning for back to school
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - As teachers make their decision today whether to ratify a contract agreement with the province, school boards are busy making plans in the hopes that students will be back in school next week. Several districts have already reached out to parents to let them know the plan for next week and most are...
Kamloops teachers, protesters welcome Clark and cabinet with loud rally
KAMLOOPS - The atmosphere was one of celebration as Premier Christy Clark and her cabinet sat in on a luncheon in Kamloops Wednesday, though outside teachers gathered to continue the rally for a better education system. “A lot of the issues around public education still remain,” David Komljenovic, president of the local teachers’ union and...
Unprecedented interest in Mayor’s chair
KELOWNA – It’s looking like voters will have an unprecedented number of choices for mayor this November. With the opportunity to file still a month away, the numbers are far from final, however outgoing Mayor Walter Gray says there does seem to be more interest this year than at any other time he can remember....
Fassbender: ‘It’s driving me crazy’
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The Education Minister kicked off a press conference Monday afternoon with not one, but two movie references (Groundhog Day and Back to the Future if you were wondering), following them with a counter proposal to the teachers’ union second request to enter binding arbitration. Since talks broke down just before school was set to...
UPDATE: General strike in support of teachers put on hold
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Plans to call for a general strike beginning Wednesday have been put on hold while B.C. residents wait for the results of a teachers' union vote on suspending the strike and whether the government will agree to binding arbitration. A group of concerned citizens originally planned a three-day general strike to begin Wednesday...
Teachers’ union continues push for binding arbitration
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Even after the B.C. government said no to binding arbitration this weekend, the teachers’ union won't give up hope. The union feels arbitration could end the strike and get its members a fair settlement. “Binding arbitration is a fair, practical and pragmatic approach,” B.C. Teachers’ Federation President Jim Iker said Monday morning at...
Teachers’ union has plan to get school back in session
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Just two days after saying the union would not consider a vote to suspend the current strike Jim Iker, the teachers’ union president, says they would recommend members vote to suspend the strike if the government is willing to agree to binding arbitration. The B.C. Teachers’ Federation president says this is another option...
Your kids aren’t getting an education so far this year, but international students are
VERNON - While B.C. students remain cut off from school during the teacher strike, some students from abroad are accessing educational resources through international programs in school districts. Vernon school district is one of the provincial leaders in attracting 200 international students this year. Supt. Joe Rogers says they are participating in field trips and other...