The New Faces of BC’s Old-Growth Activism
It’s not mom and dad’s ‘War in the Woods.’ Meet the forest rebels trying to decolonize direct action. Last in a series.
Lake Babine Nation Agreement with Feds, BC Hailed as Model for Future
The pact, developed with elected and hereditary leadership, provides land, cash and includes a process for implementing rights and title.
How Police Drug Seizures Are Making Life Worse on the Downtown Eastside
VPD claims not to target users. But officers seized small amounts of drugs more than 15,000 times in three years.
Right through Last Year, Vancouver Police ‘Carded’ a High Rate of Black and Indigenous People
The force says it’s sharply downscaled such checks in 2020, but critics raise rights concerns.
We Asked Smart People If the NDP Should Call an Election
Here’s what 15 politically savvy British Columbians told us.
Vancouver Police Board Pushes Review of Street Checks to Next Year
Mayor and council have asked the board to end the practice, which disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous people.
Horgan Unveils Economic Recovery Plan, Dodges Election Questions
Tax breaks, training and climate measures all part of $1.5-billion package.
Toussaint Louverture Refuses to Die
Why the Haitian revolutionary who liberated his nation from slavery resonates today.
A Dream of ‘Messing About in Boats’
Sail away from reality with this new book of painter E.J. Hughes’ best schooners, ferries, steamers and more.
Canadian Billionaires’ Wealth Is Skyrocketing in the Pandemic
While frontline workers cope with job losses, the richest are thriving. It’s time to tax that wealth.
Vancouver’s New Affordable Housing Plan Needs a Serious Tweak
It will accelerate land-price inflation, which drives our housing crisis. Here’s the math.
Misinformation Was Always Dangerous. Social Media Has Turned It into a Viral Sickness
Facebook’s reach is being used to create division, spread hate and harm democracy. And the corporation doesn’t care.
How OCD, CBT and a Therapist Inspired Charles Demers to Write a Mystery Novel
As Word Vancouver goes online this year, the Vancouver polymath talks about his new series.
‘Life-saving and Life-changing’: BC’s Safe Supply Program Gets Major Expansion
More drugs covered, more people eligible and increased access all promised as part of overdose crisis response.
BC Rights Commissioner Sets a Path for Collecting Race-Based Data
A legal requirement and ‘grandmother perspective’ are needed to ensure information is used to end discrimination and address inequities, says report.
Allow Me to Reintroduce Our Northern BC Reporter
The Tyee’s Amanda Follett Hosgood came aboard as a full-timer last week. Let’s get (re)acquainted.
The Deep Roots of BC’s Old Growth Defenders
As efforts to stop clear cutting old-growth forests in BC heat up again, veterans of early struggles offer inspiration. Part of a series.
Council Orders Tiny Homes Option Be Weighed for Vancouver’s Homeless Crisis
Also under staff’s microscope: hotel conversions and designated RV parks.
First Nations Launch Challenge to Government’s COVID-19 Secrecy
Indigenous leaders say the refusal to provide information on nearby cases is putting communities at risk.
A New, Huge Study on Public Trust in Vaccines. And More Science Journal News
The latest roundup of pandemic findings gathered by Hakai Magazine.
Tyee Insider
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And check this out...
Allow Me to Reintroduce Our Northern BC Reporter
The Tyee’s Amanda Follett Hosgood came aboard as a full-timer last week. Let’s get (re)acquainted.
John Horton’s Paintings Preserve History. His Seamanship Saves Lives
Meet the fascinating Order of BC winner who also happens to be a Tyee supporter.
Ten Friends Sent Us Notes of Support
As we streak to add 600 monthly Tyee Builders, meet some cool members.
Editor's Pick
This story is making waves.
The Big Smoke
‘A regular thing?’ Scenes from Vancouver, where air quality has been declared among the world’s worst.
Deep Dive
Get to the bottom of something big.
Dive into Wildfires
Where there’s smoke there’s the fact that wildfires now dominate our climate-changed summers. Why? And now what?
The Tyee several times has had the privilege of publishing Canada’s best journalist on the topic, Ed Struzik, who explained three years ago why "megafires" are here to stay, and how to create a better strategy for dealing with them.
In the meantime, as Brandon Wei reports, urban areas are increasingly vulnerable. And if you’re looking for a hot career, firefighter Nick Raeside details the dangerous art of preventive slashburning.
Why Megafires Will Shape Your Future
Climate change, industrialization and forest mismanagement creating a perfect firestorm, warns new book.
Where Will the Next Wildfire Hit? No Matter Where, We’re Not Prepared
Little changed after Fort Mac blaze, despite the fact extreme events are the new normal.
Urban British Columbia No Longer Safe from Wildfire Threat
Areas like Vancouver’s North Shore are preparing for the worst as fire risk increases.
A Brief History of Slashburning
Setting trees on fire has been an essential forest management tool for more than a century. Naturally, the practice involves some risk.
Editor's Pick
This story is making waves.
Profits Before Patients? The Corporate Push into BC’s Primary Care System
Big business sees opportunity in replacing the family doctor with corporate clinics or virtual care. Advocates see peril. First in a series.
Editor's Pick
This story is making waves.
Squamish Ponders a Ban on Van Life. And Its Future
We talk to van dwellers about their choice, and a threatened way of life.
Culture
Toussaint Louverture Refuses to Die
Why the Haitian revolutionary who liberated his nation from slavery resonates today.
A Dream of ‘Messing About in Boats’
Sail away from reality with this new book of painter E.J. Hughes’ best schooners, ferries, steamers and more.
How OCD, CBT and a Therapist Inspired Charles Demers to Write a Mystery Novel
As Word Vancouver goes online this year, the Vancouver polymath talks about his new series.
Going for a Walk in a Pandemic Is Great, Except for...
The droplet spewers, the prolific poopers and other risks of the great and terrible outdoors.
Deep Dive
Get to the bottom of something big.
Tiny Homes for the Homeless
In Vancouver, a tent city of homeless people is Canada’s largest, yet city staff so far refuse to favourably consider an approach taken by many other cities. Tiny homes, installed quickly for a fraction the cost of current social housing, can be a “bridge” to safe, stable living for homeless citizens, research shows. Here is coverage by The Tyee on this potential short-term solution, including a visit to Seattle where 12 tiny home villages are slated to grow to 40.
‘Tiny Townhomes’ Could Fill Empty Lots across Vancouver, Says Builder
Bryn Davidson suggests this could be one solution to tent cities, and could be quickly and cheaply built.
As Tiny Homes for Homeless Flourish Elsewhere, They’re a Hard Sell in Vancouver
City staff dismiss the model, shown to be warmer and safer than tent cities, and ‘a bridge’ to stable living.
‘You Know God Didn’t Forget about You.’ What Tiny Homes Offer the Homeless
A visit to Seattle, whose many such communities offer proven solutions for moving people off the streets.
If We Care about the Homeless, We’ll Build Lots of Tiny Homes, Fast
Many US cities are showing us how. Vancouver and other BC cities can’t pretend they don’t know a solution.
Most Popular
Editor's Pick
This story is making waves.
Red Cedar: The Amazing Giving Tree
Its future in doubt, no other tree has provided such abundance and identity for northwest peoples, or such habitat and carbon storage in the forest. First in a series.
Reported Elsewhere
Today's links curated for you.
BC teachers ask Labour Relations Board to step in and help settle COVID-19 concerns
(via CBC)
New study shows dangers of in-flight COVID-19 transmission
(via the Hill)
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87
(via the New York Times)
ICE is planning to expand DNA collection of detained immigrants nationwide
(via BuzzFeed News)
BC wants this veteran English teacher to prove she knows the language. She feels targeted because of her African ancestry
(via the Star)
National strategy could reset urban Indigenous housing, but some say more is needed
(via CBC)
Indigenous family questions Mission RCMP’s investigation into son’s disappearance
(via the Mission City Record)
1,500 physicians sign letter supporting doctor blamed for COVID-19 outbreak in N.B.
(via CBC)
Summerland mayor to represent NDP in next provincial election
(via the Summerland Review)
Vancouver rents fell during COVID-19 crisis, Craigslist data shows
(via CTV News)
Make great journalism happen
The Tyee is a reader-supported publication. If you value what we do, help us make it.
Comment Noted
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Privilege Divides in a Pandemic
(click to read in context)
What does a city do with a problem that has been growing, and likely been being ignored, for years? Poverty, precarity and the problems of the marginalized in a globalized corporate world can only increase. How do we find solutions, and forms of caregiving, to take us to a better place?
COVID is revealing many of the cracks in our unsustainable culture and economy. Fighting and working desperately to preserve our bubbles of privilege are simply delaying tactics.