December 2014

December 2014 Focus.pdf

4 Leslie Campbell | FROM ONE ELECTION TO ANOTHER…
Why do we spend more than twice as much on prisons as we spend on young children?

10 David Broadland | LISA’S LANDSLIDE AND THE ATWELL ATTACK 
Theories on why the region’s two most powerful mayors lost their jobs on November 15.

14 Judith Lavoie | TRANS MOUNTAIN PIPELINE HEATS UP
Critics complain the National Energy Board hearings are a farce; Kinder Morgan plays hardball and arrests begin.

16 Briony Penn | WHEN VOTER SUPPRESSION COMES CALLING
A new documentary and public forum in Victoria in January will shed light on election fraud in Canada.

18 Aaren Madden | NOTHING IS MISSED
A new book provides a glimpse into Godfrey Stephens’ remarkable life and art.

32 Amy Reiswig | GARTH MARTENS: PROLOGUE TO THE AGE OF CONSEQUENCE
A poet explores the oil sands through the eyes of its workers.

34 Roszan Holmen | E&N: MORE RED LIGHTS AHEAD?
Records recently obtained by FOI show that after explicit warnings about the condition of the E&N Railway tracks in 2009, the BC Safety Authority allowed 22 months of further deterioration before passenger service was finally terminated in 2011. Now, with $20 million in public money allocated to upgrade tracks and restart service, critics say the plan is under-funded, won’t provide long-term safety, and therefore isn’t worth pursuing. At the same time, impassioned advocates see rail as a low-carbon solution to the increasingly congested and accident-prone Island Highway—and a potential boon for tourism.

42 Gene Miller | HOW TALL IS GOD?
Belief in a Seven-Days-of-Creation God or any other fabulation bout beginnings is simply post-Paleolithic ooga-booga.

44 Briony Penn | COMMUNITY INTERVENTION FOR LOCAL PARKS NEEDED
Who knew? There are 42 provincial parks, from the southern Gulf Islands to Port Renfrew, that need your help.

46 Trudy Duivenvoorden Mitic | THE SOUL FELT ITS WORTH
Tailoring Christmas celebrations to your own sense of meaning.