Those with political aspirations who realize their current position would conflict with their ambitions often resign their job in order to run in an election. For instance, the publisher of a newspaper may resign in preparation for a run at being Mayor. Not so though for Mac Olsen, reporter for the local Falher paper the Smoky River Express . Olsen was elected one of the Village of Donnelly's new councillors , and apparently, he kept his day job. Not only for the campaign, but since he won, too.  If ever you wanted proof that we still live in the wild west when it comes to journalistic ethics here in the Peace, this is it. The Village of Donnelly is part of the coverage area of the Express , and the Express regularly publishes the actions of the Donnelly council in its council notes. It's not as if Olsen is at least working for a paper that covers a different area than the one where he's on council. Words almost fail me in trying to explain why this is such ...

Since I wrote my first blog on mayoral candidate Jami Paras' failed attempt to get the Peace River Minor Hockey Association to launch legal action against the Town over the borrowing bylaw for the arena, one of the major questions that has emerged is whether or not candidates for council are truly running as independents, or whether there is some kind of voting bloc, coalition or coalitions operating behind the scenes. When I had first asked Paras in our interview about the leaked email whether he had mentioned any other candidates, he had stated he didn't, which was at best only partially true. While he didn't mention anyone by name, he did mention in the leaked email that he had “2-3 other candidates” and was looking for more of the “right people”. The implication seemed to be that if he won he would not be only a single vote on council, and had others who would vote with him. His public note of support for Bryon Schamehorn and Chelsey Friedt, posted to his p...

Peace River is just as passionate about hockey as you'd expect for a small northern Canadian town. That's why debates over the new multiplex , which is being built in town as we speak, have been raging across local Facebook forums. Some residents want a second ice surface; some wonder why more space wasn't allocated for the arts, or different user groups; some worry about increased taxes to cover the cost of the construction. With the municipal election upon us, the arena has become a bonafide election issue. The candidate who is perhaps the most responsible for stoking the controversy over the arena is mayoral candidate James (Jami) Paras , who has been publicly questioning the design of the new arena since at least 2014 and has suggested the old arena could still be used as a second ice surface . However, in the course of these public conversations about ice, a more important question has emerged. It's a question that deserved a fair hearing at the candida...