Why Become a Tyee Builder? Hear from One Yourself

When we say that The Tyee is reader-powered, we mean it. As I write this, around 6,000 folks give recurring contributions to keep our journalism going strong. These Tyee Builders are the reason that our journalists can dig deeper into issues that matter. Their support is why we don’t publish clickbait for the sake of advertising dollars.

We’re on a mission this spring to raise $50,000 so that we can keep our team going strong. If we hit our target, we’ll devote more resources to do deep dives and convene conversations around topics like affordable housing, health care, education and a sustainable economy.

If you’d like to help us get there, join now.

In my job at The Tyee, I often have the pleasure of talking with the folks who make our journalism possible. I’d like to introduce you to one of them.

Meet Jack Derricourt, Tyee Builder.

Jack hails from Vancouver Island and his background is in community arts writing, which evolved to a career in tech and business media. Growing up in Victoria he appreciated the access to nature and incredible public education that were foundational parts of his development. He now lives in Toronto and has for the past decade, but he stays connected to issues on the West Coast via The Tyee and actively discusses issues with family and friends. He was kind enough to take the time to answer a few of my questions so you could get to know him a bit better. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

The Tyee: What is something that you find motivating or hopeful these days?

Jack Derricourt: Harm reduction work across the country is really positive to read about (thanks to The Tyee). It’s amazing to see such work being done by folks to try and counteract the drug crises that are impacting so many people in Canada. Those helping hands and hearts give me hope for a better world — even as we struggle to provide safe supply and proper services to folks dealing with substance use.

How does The Tyee form part of your daily or weekly routine?

I read The Tyee whenever I can make time in my day. I signed up for the daily newsletter. It’s great checking the stories as they pop up in my email, knowing that I’ll get a treat later in the day when I can sit down and read some high-quality journalism — ideally, with a cup of coffee in my hand. My oldest friends and I often trade stories of note back and forth in our longstanding group chat — three folks in three different provinces reading those stories.

Why do you take the time to share The Tyee with friends and family?

I just sent the recent Victoria longform piece by Tom Hawthorn to my mom. As a longtime resident of Victoria, I thought she’d be interested. Our family has always been politically minded, so it's wonderful to have such thoroughly written, community-inspired news stories to share and discuss.

Why is supporting The Tyee and independent media important to you?

Canada's corporate media interests have buckled journalism across the country. Hedge funds are peddling their investors' interests over the public good. But thanks to people like those at The Tyee, people-powered journalism isn’t broken. It’s incredibly exciting to see stories about the issues that matter to regular people — housing affordability, investigative insights on elections, the dark forces of health-care privatization and harm reduction — being crafted with such passion and skill. I only wish there were several more publications like The Tyee across the country that were publishing news that matters for those folks daily as well.

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Join Jack and thousands of other supporters by contributing to our award-winning newsroom. You choose the amount and the frequency, and you can cancel at any time.

We’re aiming to bring in $50,000 by June 26 to support in-depth journalism on issues that matter. We’re well on our way, but we still need around $20,000 more to hit our goal. If you value what The Tyee does and want to support it, join us now.