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According to Statistics Canada, there are approximately 6.2 million individuals with disabilities in the country, accounting for 22% of the national population. With growing demands for accessible facilities, the British Columbia government enacted the BC Accessibility Act in 2021. This legislation mandates over 750 public organizations to establish accessibility committees and feedback mechanisms to enhance accessibility within their institutions. The Rick Hansen Foundation, dedicated to advocating for the rights of people with disabilities, recently requested funding from the Vancouver municipal government to support the construction of accessible environments and facilities within the city. With the foundation's assistance, Vancouver achieved a gold level of accessibility, meeting the foundation's standards across various evaluation criteria. Richmond has also been selected as a beneficiary of the foundation's support. How are these two cities approaching the planning and implementation of accessible facilities?
The focus on accessibility demonstrates a significant step towards inclusivity and equitable access to public spaces and services for individuals with disabilities. The collaboration between municipal governments and advocacy organizations like the Rick Hansen Foundation is crucial in driving systemic change and ensuring that urban environments are designed to accommodate the needs of all residents, fostering a more inclusive society.
RED FM interviewed one such victim whose name was changed on his request. SD Singh shared how he fell prey to the exploitation at the hands of his employer and immigration consultant. Besides paying hefty $35,000 for LMIA document, he was not paid promised wages, and had to reimburse employee related deductions to the employer. He was promised Permanent Resident status by the immigration consultant and that too fell through. SD Singh said that LMIA abuse is a racket and should be stopped.
We spoke to a Surrey immigration consultant Jasbir Mahal who claimed that many times companies purposely don’t hire Canadians because they want to sell LMIA to foreign workers.
RED FM talked to Surrey Fleetwood MP Ken Hardie who agreed that his government has failed to take timely action against LMIA exploitation.
We interviewed Employment and Workforce Development Minister Randy Boissonnault who said that making this program less acceptable impacts businesses in a negative way, but more flexibility leads to exploitation. He said that the government is determined to catch bad actors.
Recently, a list of non-compliant companies was released, and 48 companies are Surrey based.
MP Hardie mentioned that that there are serious discussion happening in Ottawa regarding LMIA program after RED FM’s consistent effort to bring this issue to light.
This brings us to our question- has LMIA program become a necessary evil?
LMIA शोषण पीड़ित SD सिंह ने बताया की उनके एम्प्लायर और इमीग्रेशन कंसलटेंट ने मिलकर उनसे LMIA के लिए 35 हज़ार डॉलर्स लिए, वादे के अनुसार तनख्वा नहीं दी , और एम्प्लोयी समबन्धी कटौतियां इन्हे एम्प्लायर को वापिस करनी पड़ी . इमीग्रेशन कंसलटेंट ने परमानेंट रेज़ीडेन्सी का वादा किया जो पूरा नहीं किया. SD सिंह कहते है
LMIA एक रैकेट है जिसे बंद करना चाहिए।
एम्प्लॉयमेंट और वर्कफोर्स डेवलपमेंट मिनिस्टर रैंडी बोइसोनॉल्ट ने कहा की प्रोग्राम में सख्ती व्यपारों पर नकारत्मक प्रभाव डालती है। लेकिन कम सख्ती शोषण को जनम देती है। इन्होने कहा की सरकार शोषकों को पकड़ने के लिए वचनबद्ध है।
MP हार्डी ने RED FM को बताया की इस मुद्दे पर रौशनी डालने नतीजन LMIA को लेकर ऑटवा में गंभीर बात चित चल रही है।
Vancouver Chinatown, one of the oldest and largest Chinatowns in Canada, was once a bustling hub of Chinese shops and culture. However, changing demographics and environmental shifts have presented significant challenges over the years. Issues such as public safety, aging infrastructure, and rising rents have threatened the survival of many businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated these problems, leading numerous stores to close or relocate.
In response, governments and community organizations have launched initiatives to revitalize and preserve the unique culture and heritage of Chinatown. Among the resilient forces in this effort are the second-generation shopkeepers determined to maintain their family's legacy. In celebration of Canada's Asian Heritage Month in May, this documentary introduces four of these successors, showcasing how they are becoming a revitalizing force in this historic district. Discover their motivations and the reasons behind their commitment to stay and thrive in Vancouver's Chinatown.
溫哥華華埠是加國其中一個歷史最悠久和最大規模的華埠。曾經是華人商鋪的集中地。但隨著周邊環境變遷和人口改變。華埠多年來亦面對不少挑戰，華埠周邊的治安問題，區内建築物老化，整體商舗租金上升等等，威脅到溫哥華華埠商戶持續營業的能力，加上一場新冠疫情的衝擊，令不少華埠商店決定結業或遷離。
而爲了保存華埠的文化和特色，各級政府和社區組織，近年大力推動振興華埠的政策及行動。而希望守住華埠這一處地方，還有一班華埠老店主的第二代。在五月加國的亞裔傳統文化月期間，26分鐘見證實錄和大家認識四名華埠商店的第二代接班人，看看他們如何成為華埠這個承載着豐富歷史文化舊區中的新力軍。了解這些華埠第二代爲何願意繼續留守。
public”. The BC Review Board ruled in our favor - a victory for the victims’ family --they learned Schoenborn had legally changed his name to Ken John
Johnson. As a result of our coverage, the BC government put forward legislation to amend the Name Act - banning people, like Schoenborn, who was found Not Criminally Responsible Due to Mental Disorder from changing their names. The proposed legislation will prevent convicted criminals from taking on new
identities. These stories required digging to uncover what had actually transpired about the name change. Then the legal argument, hunting down similar case law from across the country. In an era of shrinking newsrooms these are not easy challenges to launch with significant cost. But it was imperative that media who acts and the eyes and the ears of the people to fight this ban.
We asked reporter Glenda Luymes to do a deeper dive into Heide’s background and to try to figure out how someone could rack up so many drunk-driving convictions.
Using court records, parole records, social media posts and interviews with people who knew Heide, Glenda was able to construct a story that detailed Heide’s lifelong disregard for the rules.
One acquaintance told Glenda: “We told him you’re going to kill somebody.”
Glenda’s story identified a variety of possible solutions, including harsher civil and criminal penalties, closing a loophole that allows drivers who are prohibited from driving to insure vehicles, and greater “certainty of enforcement.”
B.C.’s public safety minister was non-committal, saying only that he had asked ICBC to look at options to ensure convicted and prohibited drivers “remain off our roads.”
Sincerely,
Harold Munro
Editor-in-Chief
Vancouver Sun|The Province
Nothing came easy in Greer’s unauthorized examination of a toxic workplace at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. A single misstep in breach of the CSIS Act, which prohibits identifying covert officers, could have resulted in jailtime, not only for his sources, but Greer himself.
His sources’ stories were shocking – one officer said a superior decades older than her raped her nine times in security vehicles while on missions. Another said the same senior colleague later groomed and harassed her, before sexually assaulting her, too, in surveillance vehicles. Not only were these sources traumatized by their treatment, they risked severe punishment for revealing their identities -- it took Greer months to earn their trust.
The investigation had an instant and profound impact, bringing about significant policy changes at CSIS with lasting implications.
Within hours of publication, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the account “devastating” and the alleged behaviour “completely unacceptable.”
Within days, CSIS Director David Vigneault called a townhall meeting for all 3,000-plus CSIS staff to respond to the story, at what he called an “extraordinary moment” for the service. Vigneault announced the alleged rapist had left CSIS; he ordered the urgent establishment of an ombudsperson’s office to handle workplace issues; and he announced an annual reporting mechanism for harassment and wrongdoing.
Greer’s work on this file is an astonishing achievement by a tenacious reporter that I am sure you will find worthy of recognition.
“Unfit, abusive, unlawful.”
This is how judges have described the Peters band council when it comes to its handling of its band membership and finances.
The band leadership has been found guilty of unlawfully denying band membership and writing themselves blank cheques.
APTN gathered evidence, followed leads and recorded testimonials from a number of sources which all outlines the abuse of power perpetrated on members of Peters by their chief and council.
APTN followed the money and opened the books uncovering that of the funds doled out to membership over the years more than 90 per cent went to those who voted to keep the current leadership in power.
“I want my membership, my identity.” Carol Raymond.
This is just a small glimpse of what APTN uncovered leading up to the documentary ‘Peters' Indian Problem’ which aired on April 12th, 2024.
Journalists Kenneth Jackson and videographer/producer Cullen Crozier researched, wrote and filmed the story which has never been reported on in a long form documentary.
Jackson and Crozier were able to show the lasting impact of the financial mismanagement on Peters, as well as systemic failures and a pattern of abuse.
Over the years, APTN’s reporting on Peters triggered a financial audit by the federal government and the results of that audit are revealed in the documentary for the first time.
Our work directly led to a number of lawsuits and court battles against the First Nation by its exiled members.
Soon after airing, the documentary was filed as evidence in a human rights complaint before the tribunal.
In recent weeks, more exiled community members have joined to file more human rights complaints against the band council.
Lori Culbert spent two months investigating the fentanyl poisoning death of 18-year-old University of Victoria student Sidney McIntyre-Starko.
Using security tapes and the recording of the 911 call, Lori painstakingly constructed the sequence of events, which showed campus security officers' response was so flawed that Sidney didn’t receive naloxone for 13 minutes or CPR for 15 minutes.
UVic officials initially said Lori's timeline was wrong, and the action of their officers was “commendable.”
Four hours after Lori's story was published, B.C. Premier David Eby announced a coroner’s inquest. Three days later, B.C.’s Mental Health & Addictions Ministry announced funding for nasal naloxone to replace the injection model, and agreed to Sidney’s parents’ requests for mandatory CPR training in high school curriculum. One week later, the post-secondary minister admitted “gaps” in the system led to Sidney’s death. She called an emergency meeting with the administrators of B.C.’s 25 universities and colleges, and created a post-secondary overdose prevention committee.
In June UVic, which initially denied any wrongdoing, admitted “mistakes were made” and announced campus changes by September, including the installation of 89 naloxone boxes in student buildings, the training of residence staff on how to use them, and distribution of harm-reduction materials to first-year students.
Sidney’s story has since inspired a grassroots organization of construction workers to lobby government for nasal naloxone on construction sites for trades workers, who are overrepresented victims of the toxic drug crisis. Also in July, the Ontario education ministry used the lessons from Sidney’s case to direct 50 universities and colleges to review their substance use and overdose prevention policies.
Sincerely,
Harold Munro
Editor-in-Chief
Vancouver Sun|The Province
Rather than focusing solely on numbers as reporting often does, I wanted to tell this story from a more human perspective. Statistics are still an important part of this story, so I gathered those and used them to guide how the project should look and who should be included. Our team spent many hours looking for people who wanted to talk about their loved ones and listening to their stories. We made an effort to ensure the stories were all different, so that at least one person would resonate with any given audience member. We sought out folks from as many age groups, backgrounds and parts of the province as we could to show the reach of this crisis.
Each second, a light — or dot — goes out, representing a life lost to toxic drugs in B.C. from the onset of the public health emergency in 2016 until the day the piece was published. Some of those dots link to stories of people who have died; their dreams, their passions, their contributions to loved ones and society as a whole. In telling these stories differently, the goal was for our audience to connect with these individuals and understand the human loss of this crisis.
Even before a warming planet brought new challenges, the ongoing impacts of colonization had already created food insecurity for First Nations. The onset of what became the hottest summer on record made our B.C. team wonder how exactly the climate crisis affects the communities working towards food sovereignty.
So we set out to publish a series called Nourish, taking a deep dive into food sovereignty for First Nations.
“Food sovereignty” refers to the right for people to create their own agricultural systems and to access healthy, culturally appropriate foods grown sustainably.
We believe our reporting on this topic is particularly resonant for Canadians at a time when many households are struggling to make ends meet and keep up with the rising cost of groceries and other goods.
Nourish dug deep into untold stories of hope, resilience and solutions. The project included three photo-rich, on-the-ground features, an in-depth data story, an analysis piece and a public webinar. It was produced largely by Steph Wood and B.C. Bureau Lead Lindsay Sample. The reporting, done mostly on the land following deep engagement with First Nations communities, represents a significant investment in resources, particularly for our small non-profit news organization.
Food sovereignty is critical for First Nations, who face significantly higher rates of food insecurity than non-Indigenous people in Canada and are more vulnerable to disruptions in global and national food supply chains. Many ancestral foods are at risk due to climate change, biodiversity loss, industrialization and over-harvesting. First Nations continue to fight for rights recognition, including stewardship of their homelands and conducting traditional practices such as cultural burns.
MacLeod learned Island Health had awarded Telus a contract to provide services for people with eating disorders, in a process that seemed designed to exclude agencies already working in the area.
And he found experts in the field were skeptical that a phone company with no local experience in eating disorders could provide patients badly needed support.
The contract was awarded while the B.C. government was battling the corporation, alleging it was breaking the law by extrabilling patients enrolled in one of its other health programs.
And while lobbyists for Telus — including former NDP insiders — were meeting with cabinet ministers and senior government managers.
The reporting uncovered another example of corporate ventures into health care, one that might never have been widely known without MacLeod’s work.
And it sparked an important debate about the future of health care.
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For these paddlers, dragon boating is an opportunity to escape their cancer diagnosis. Abreast in a Boat serves as a space to be defined by one’s strength and capability; all while finding comfort in a community of shared experiences.
A long-standing history of drastic physical limitations urged by medical professionals has and continues to leave many breast cancer survivors feeling as though their lives are over. In 1994, UBC's Dr. Don Mckenzie set out to challenge a notion that physical exercise would cause complications in those treated for the disease. With the help of 24 volunteers, Dr. Don and his study established the world's first breast cancer dragon boat team, changing the lives of survivors for decades to come.
Nearly 30 years later, over 16 thousand survivors across 39 countries compete under the International Breast Cancer Paddlers' Commission.
The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that approximately 1 in 8 Canadian women will receive a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. For many, this journey does not end with successful treatment of the disease. Through first-hand recount, Power of the Paddle shines light on the emotional complexity of surviving breast cancer. Balancing elements of empowerment, humour, grief and compassion, this documentary aims to spread awareness and amplify the voices of survivors.
The topic of Khalistan is seen as controversial with diverse meanings. With this story, we wanted to delve into the historical roots of Khalistan, its evolution and why it gained momentum in Canada.
Recognizing the complicated and divisive nature of the topic, we turned to experts specializing in South Asian studies to provide a more balanced understanding of Khalistan’s history, tensions, and nuances. We intentionally selected experts who represent the diversity of South Asia beyond being Sikh.
The piece combined insights from experts with CBC's extensive archival footage showing historical figures and tense moments. Maps also helped illustrate the vision for Khalistan.
This piece was carefully curated by a team with varied backgrounds and skills, some from the Sikh community, others who covered the Air India bombings or are connected to the local diaspora. We intentionally kept the reporter's voice and journalists’ names out of the story given the tension in India over the issue to best ensure our team’s safety.
Our aim was to create an educational experience so our entire audience might gain a deeper understanding of how tensions over this issue sometimes boil over into violence.
This everlasting piece provides the strongest foundation to CBC News local and national coverage of Khalistan, investigations into the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, and the subsequent accusations by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that India was involved in the death.
That's because many seniors in their 70s, 80s and beyond are choosing to keep working and volunteering, and even pursuing encore careers and brand new lives they'd only ever dreamed of up to now.
Our host Cathy Browne is one of those seniors living her best life. Legally blind and no stranger to ableism and ageism, she got her dream job at CBC Vancouver at 65. Approaching 70, Cathy's definitely not done yet. And, as she discovered, she's not alone.
Join Cathy as she meets other seniors who have also tossed out the traditional retirement rulebook and are approaching life after 65 with joy and curiosity and ambition.
Welcome to Better Late.
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In a masterful essay that reads something like a defense attorney’s summation to a jury in a court of law—indeed, MacKinnon starts with a medieval court case concerning rats—the writer explores the past, present, and future of our lives with rats. We are intertwined, and there’s no getting around it. By digging deep into historical accounts and modern scientific explorations of events like the Black Death, MacKinnon slowly peels back our layers our prejudice against the rodents. He mounts a defense for the creatures based on growing evidence that rats deserve societal reconsideration: they behave the way they do because of human behavior. It’s paradigm shifting idea that communities around the globe need to embrace. We will never rid or cities and towns of rats—is the problem really them or us?
MacKinnon took an assignment about making peace with rats, and turned it into a broader meditation on forming social relationships with the animals we live with on a daily basis. He questions how we draw hard territorial lines around species—some are good, some are evil, but like humanity, in general, that’s too black and white.
As part of the Climate Disaster Project, student Jordan Kovacs spent a semester combing through databases and government reports until a story came into focus: B.C. had had a chance to act on a 2009 coroner’s report about Brick’s death, which made a series of recommendations about how to prevent future deaths. But it didn’t.
Writer and editor Jimmy Thomson worked with Kovacs to sharpen the narrative. The result is a riveting feature that underscores the importance of acting on the lessons demonstrated by climate tragedy.
Of the piece, Scott Fleming, the investigating Coroner into Curtis Brick’s death, wrote: “As the investigating Coroner and author of the Coroners Report into the death of Curtis Brick, I read with great interest, and highly commend, this excellent piece of investigative journalism.
I quite frankly wondered when someone would determine that the death of Mr. Brick provided all levels of Government and society alike with an opportunity to move decisively to act and build upon the Recommendations which were made by me in 2009.”
CBC News had the opportunity to visit several parks and recreation sites on the West Coast of Vancouver Island under the stewardship of the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, to learn about how their increased presence in their traditional territories is key to reclaiming their traditional roles and authority over the land, and to protecting the territory against threats such as climate change and overtourism. Our story presents a snapshot of the complex history of Indigenous land rights and how they intersect with parks in traditional territories. It also highlights the the growing global movement by Indigenous communities to reclaim their ability to protect and grow sustainable economic opportunities from their land.
The B.C. government has since formally recognized environmental protections through conservation agreements for parts of the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht territories featured in our story.
Michael Guy had struggled with addiction since he was a teenager. He was homeless in Nelson, and relied on access to the provincial safe supply program as well as a federally funded social services site that provided a safe place to stay during the day.
But Nelson had its worst year for illicit drug fatalities in 2023, and Guy was among them. He faced multiple barriers to obtaining clean alternatives to street drugs, and his family decided to speak out after the federal site was shut down this spring due to a lack of funding.
This feature shows a family's failed efforts to keep their loved one alive, as well as a man let down by the provincial and community response to the drug crisis. It is not the first story about a person dying due to fentanyl since 2016, but what it does show is the gap between government programs and the day-to-day reality for people living with addiction in rural B.C.
Our reporting focused on a wide-range of issues including the state of the only detour, the need for alternative routes, the depletion of vital goods like fuel and food for residents cut-off, and the concerns from tourism dependent communities on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The closure presented significant challenges to our newsroom in terms of coverage. Like all residents on Vancouver Island, our news team did not have easy access to Port Alberni, Tofino and Uclulet using Highway 4. This meant our reporters had to travel extreme distances to access the only detour in place, which presented an added level of complexity to our reporting. Members of our news team spent weeks coming up with creative, and often time-consuming, alternatives to access affected communities.
Community reporting is critical in times of crisis. We believe our coverage of the Cameron Lake Wildfire exemplifies the best in community journalism.
As part of our submission, we’ve included our wildfire coverage from our 5pm newscast on June 8th, 2023. Supplementary videos show our continued coverage of the event over the following weeks, leading up to June 20th, 2024 when Highway 4 finally reopened.
Our submission for this year’s Webster Award for Business Reporting exposed those risks for the first time, dramatically demonstrating how toxic smoke from nearby wildfires and a toxic work culture are potentially causing long-term respiratory damage to these vital environmental labourers.
This deeply reported investigation was published by The Tyee and undertaken by three journalism students at the University of Victoria’s Climate Disaster Project under the supervision of director Sean Holman.
Aldyn Chwelos, Kristen de Jager, and Paul Voll conducted in-depth trauma-informed interviews with tree planters, spoke with world-leading experts, and used authoritative legal and peer reviewed scientific research to spotlight the need for labour law reforms that the governments of Canada’s three biggest tree planting provinces have not enacted.
As Chwelos, de Jager, and Voll reported, this lack of action stands in contrast to the United States where state laws have been introduced to protect tree planters and other outdoor workers.
In January, Black Press - the company that owns dozens of newspapers across BC and, in many places, is the only news outlet in town - filed for creditor protection. Its business issues left hundreds of employees fearing for their jobs and thousands of readers unsure of the future of their most-important news source. Despite the impact, community news industry is rarely covered by media in larger cities and the filing for creditor protection went largely uncovered. So Tyler Olsen, the editor of the Fraser Valley Current, decided to step in. Tyler is a former Black Press reporter and found his former colleagues and his own readers wondering about the fate of their local papers.
So Tyler used his personal connections and personal knowledge of BC's community news industry to write a fascinating, in-depth story on why a news empire went bust, and what it means for local readers and the company's own workers.
His initial story drew a huge readership both locally and across BC. In a series of follow-up stories, Tyler chronicled and explained the creditor protection process as it worked its way through the courts.
Francesca spent almost a year analyzing data and speaking with dozens of people working in the mining industry, reclamation work, policy research and environmental organizations. Many of them echoed similar concerns — that not enough is being done to ensure the environment and taxpayers are protected from the growing footprint of mining projects across the province.
The Narwhal then reached out to The Globe and Mail and their team of visual, data and business journalists to help tell this story.
Our investigation found that British Columbia was short $753 million of estimated future cleanup costs, and some of the best-capitalized companies had not yet paid required securities to cover reclamation work. The story revealed gaps in policies and industry practices and highlighted the urgent need to address what happens if another disaster, like the Mount Polley mine collapse, was to strike.
The resulting story was published online in both outlets, on the cover of The Globe and Mail’s business section and featured in numerous newsletters.
The piece was shared widely by people working in mining and reclamation as well as by environmentalists. “I’m so glad to see The Globe and The Narwhal collaborating on this and bringing some attention to a topic that too often flies under the radar, so thank you,” economist and climate policy researcher Jason Dion said.
As British Columbia eyes a mining boom, the findings of this investigation will help us continue to cover this important issue and our work with The Globe will serve as a template for new partnerships with major newsrooms.
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This story drew international attention. Reporters flew into the territory from around the world. For us, reporting this piece was a labour of love, helped by some serendipity. From IndigiNews’s side, editor Cara McKenna was set to be in Scotland for a holiday and realized she would be in Edinburgh just a few days before the Nisga’a totem pole was set to depart the national museum. So she visited the museum to tell the story from that side. Meanwhile, The Narwhal’s northwest B.C. reporter Matt Simmons had been paying attention to this story as it unfolded over several years, given that he is based in Wet’suwet’en territories, near the Nass Valley, where the pole was set to be returned.
Matt was able to attend the event for the pole’s return, along with photographer Marty Clemens, and stayed in Nisga’a territories for a feast in the following days. Both Matt and Cara spent a lot of time painstakingly researching the history of this story and making sure everything was factually and culturally accurate — the collaboration between our outlets resulted in a very comprehensive article that wouldn’t have been possible without working together.
The research for this feature involved preliminary calls with Nisga’a leaders and follow-ups for cultural edits — fact-checking spellings, place names and other details. There were in-person conversations with curators at the museum in Scotland, poring through historical documents and articles, and a lot of time working together on the shape and flow of the story.
Everything involved in reporting this article resulted in beautiful connections
This feature Vodcast episode and journalistic investigation follows the journey of award winning journalist, producer and podcaster Tchadas Leo up to a remote northern reserve on the border between British Columbia and the Yukon. The journey shows the resilience of the small community as they rebuild their multiplex after the former residential school was demolished and burned to the ground.
This journey shows the burden the old residential school building has had on the community and what members are doing to rebuild their community for generations to come. Leo takes viewers on a trip that includes hot springs, a bison hunt and a look into a almost lost Indigenous gambling game.
This feature is a commentary that makes viewers and listeners understand the challenges that nations face across Turtle Island.
The commentator:
Tchadas Leo is an Indigenous TV Journalist, Podcaster, TV host, Actor, Producer and Documentarian based on Vancouver Island. His Indigenous lineage belongs with the Xwemalhkwu First Nation and the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians. He also has Peruvian & Argentinian ancestry.
Tchadas has been with the CHEK Media group with his multi-national award-winning podcast and TV show known as Our Native Land since 2020.
In 2023, Tchadas joined the CHEK News team as a full time Journalist and recently became the first Coast Salish person to Anchor a newscast on Coast Salish territory.
On top of several podcasts and local TV production projects, Tchadas works with Orca Cove Media as an Executive Producer to help create and develop Indigenous TV series for networks such as APTN.
https://thetyee.ca/Bios/Dorothy_Woodend/
Woodend brings empathy, humour and a grounded realness to her essays and cultural criticism. Her work holds a mirror to how we live now while inviting us to reflect on why we consume culture as we do — and what it could mean for us to do it differently.
Our five submissions showcase Woodend’s range, timely relevance, insight and skill. She addresses the state of press freedom, heightened tensions in the local arts community, and how to find solace in the natural world.
With verve and tenaciousness, Woodend writes with a depth of care that invites us to engage the world with fresh eyes and an open heart.
From pieces pushing back against an over-reliance on the market to address the ongoing housing crisis, even by political parties not traditionally associated with neoliberalism, to those challenging the growing moral panic around drug policy, I have committed myself fully to the old journalism adage: Comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.
Where the overarching narrative in media and politics has been to blame drug users for problems around drugs, I've fought to ensure context is considered, while avoiding the trap of denying that there are problems.
And despite a small subscriber base — grown organically over the course of the last year with about two posts a month — my work has been strong enough to gain relatively broad attention, including landing a spot on CHEK TV's This is Vancolour program.
year. Global BC was the first on both scenes with the most comprehensive coverage. Getting behind the line to show the real impact on the people. Many told us Global was their main source of information and often the only source of updates. Our field crews were inundated by members of the community seeking information. Homeowners using our cameras to ascertain whether their properties were still
standing. Global BC provided a platform for those demanding accountability. Our coverage played a significant role in BC Wildfire Service overhauling its communication response for the next wildfire season and improving its website. The community trusted us to share their emotional loss so the entire province could comprehend the magnitude of thefire.
Throughout the crisis, Chris reported on multiple platforms, providing critical local survival information and in-depth analysis on national CBC podcasts and news programs.
The reporting was urgent, vivid and personal, rooted in local knowledge and firsthand accounts. It was also calm and analytical, anchored in deep background and long experience.
The selected pieces showcase that reporting, led by a feature report on CBC’s national flagship show The Current. This is supported by three other items: an early interview with a local fire chief; breaking news reporting on Front Burner, CBC’s national news podcast; and a gripping interview with a local Indigenous leader.
The impact of Chris’ reporting was felt throughout the community. Fire chief Jason Brolund told CBC Kelowna that our early and urgent coverage saved lives. After Chris reported on tensions between residents and firefighters, the BC government launched a new training centre to bridge that gap. Chris’ explanations of the role of climate change was praised by forestry, policy, and climate change leaders across the country.
This email from a listener summed it up:
“Chris, your journalism was outstanding. Your choice of words told us carefully about unpleasant truths in a way that was respectful, supportive, and with deep feeling for the people who have lost so much. Your journalism has been, and continues to be, an anchor to truth and reality that we need daily and deeply respect. Your contribution to the community is immense.”
The Tyee first reported on publicly available audit reports that showed the region where the children were abused had the second-lowest compliance rate for basic safety measures in foster care.
Then, reporters Jen St. Denis and Katie Hyslop received a tip, leading them to obtain an exclusive: a special audit that had been done on the region shortly after one of the children died. This audit showed even worse compliance.
The Tyee’s reporting showed child welfare workers were regularly failing to perform basic oversight of foster care homes where vulnerable children are being placed. What’s more, the reporting showed that the government had been well aware of these safety compliance gaps for years, and these gaps affected every region in B.C., not just the region where the abuse happened.
St. Denis and Hyslop interviewed Indigenous social workers and community leaders to ensure they were centring those voices and perspectives.
Opposition parties then called for Mitzi Dean to step down, and she was eventually replaced.
I have spent several years reporting on the drug crisis as well as homelessness, and the last calendar year in Nelson has been especially newsworthy. Community backlash scrapped a proposed Interior Health safe inhalation site. A federally funded social services centre was shut down due to a lack of funds, which in turn led to a protest encampment on the grounds of city hall. A local inn purchased to be supportive housing has been mostly empty since last fall while BC Housing drags its feet on required renovations. And lives continue to be lost to illicit drugs.
I'm providing a number of stories that show a variety of sources and topics I've covered as part of this beat. These stories include hard news pieces on the topics mentioned above, as well as an interview with the addictions minister and a feature on a family's failure to keep their loved one alive. Thank you for your consideration.
After multiple, repeated instances of trucks striking overpasses and bridges, reporter Gord Hoekstra set out to determine if there was more to this story than just driver error.
The lack of public information on trucking errors, crashes and safety in B.C. was a challenge. While the U.S. has an online public trucking safety database, B.C. has no such information.
Gord had to scour hundreds of pages of court documents to compile information on motor vehicle offences and civil suits on individual companies. He also used freedom of information records that provided information on overpass damage and details of crashes, WorkSafe B.C. and other regulatory agency records, safety certifications in the trucking industry, independent reports on B.C. trucking safety and the publicly available U.S. trucking safety data.
Gord talked to drivers directly to hear what their challenges were — and posed tough questions to the B.C. government. His examination revealed the full extent of years-long infractions of the company with the most overpass strikes.
Less than two weeks later, the province permanently cancelled that trucking firm’s ability to operate in B.C.
The next month, B.C. announced new penalties of up to $100,000 and possible 18-month jail time for truckers who hit overpasses.
Sincerely,
Harold Munro
Editor-in-Chief
Vancouver Sun|The Province
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