GP Brewing president Matt Toni and head brewer Jim Lague in their newly opened tasting room.Grain Bin Beer and GP Brewing Company both opened early this year into a market previously untested for its appetite for local craft beer. Both teams did what research they could to make sure there was enough interest to sustain a business, but ultimately opened their doors on faith. Both have already surpassed early sales expectations.“We’re where we thought we’d be one to one and a half years in,” said
Features
Paddle for the Peace takes on new political urgency

Green leader Elizabeth May calls Site C ‘a monstrosity,’ says Trudeau must seek new advice on damDipping a paddle in the Peace River, the red-orange canoe glides down the water. Hundreds of other boats float beside, behind and ahead towards Bear Flat, where BC Hydro is working to purchase farmland to realign Highway 29 in preparation for the Site C reservoir.It’s cold and quiet, this peaceful river, but powerful currents boil from under the surface, rushing from the Rocky Mountains all the way e
Q&A: Dr. Harry Swain, former Site C panel chair becomes outspoken opponent

Dr. Harry Swain knows more than most about the Site C dam. With a Ph.D. in economic geography and 22 years of federal civil service under his belt, Swain spent two years as chair of the federal-provincial joint review panel tasked with evaluating the environmental, economic, and First Nations impacts of the largest public works […]
Spirit of the Peace Pow Wow unites young and old

Young dancer initiated On Sunday, 13-year old Trevor Penner, stood at the edge of the Taylor arena waiting. As a circle of drummers beat on one large drum, singing together, Josh Matwiy stood with him, ready to accompany Penner through his initiation into pow wow. “It means a lot to me because I’ll be recognized […]
Caribou calves give hope for dwindling population
A caribou maternal penning project in northeastern B.C. has seen the numbers of a herd increase from just 16 animals to over 50, three years after the program began. I spoke with Harley Davis, a Saulteau keeper of the caribou, and Roland Willson, chief of the West Moberly First Nation. Saulteau and West Moberly manage […]
Vaisakhi celebration starts well before the parade
Youth at the Guru Nanak Darbar Sikh temple in Prince George spend the week leading up to Vaisakhi at the temple, learning from Bhai Harinder Singh. Singh travels from England with his band to lead worship and preach in the week leading up to the Vaisakhi parade. Elders at the Prince George temple are glad for his influence […]
Indigenous doula collective to support mother-centred birth care in B.C.
‘For Indigenous people, birth is supposed to be a ceremony,’ says doula from Squamish Nation A woman from the Squamish Nation is leading a resurgence of mother-centred birth care in B.C. by helping start a new Indigenous doula collective which aims to support women in the powerful experience of giving birth. “For Indigenous people, birth […]
Women in aviation work to change gender imbalance
Aircraft mechanic Kelly Lamarche rummages through her old, blue toolbox filled with a mishmash of screwdrivers, ratchets and flexible wrenches. It was in this small, old helicopter hangar – which her dad has owned since she was about six months old – that Lamarche first considered a career in aviation. One day, while with her […]
The business of knitting
Hipsters do it. Students do it. Boys do it. Activists do it. Lovers of sustainability do it. The nooks and the crannies of Vancouver are united in their love of knitting. Experts praise the mental health benefits from knitting. The Vancouver School Board has promoted its’ success in helping a kindergarten student work through his […]
All-Star Wrestling
The story of Melvin Berry, an aspiring fighter at the All Star Wrestling league out of Surrey, B.C.