All posts by Guest Post

Indigenous Nations

Trudeau did more towards reconciliation than all of his predecessors, First Nations Leader says

By Andie Mollins, The Williams Lake Tribune, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In remembering Justin Trudeau’s leadership, the Tŝilhqot’in National Government (TNG) says it intends to continue working with Canada’s political leaders towards reconciliation.  

In a press release dated Jan. 7, Nits’ilʔin (Chief) and TNG Tribal Chair Joe Alphonse said Trudeau has done more towards reconciliation than all his predecessors combined.  

“From the day he took office, Trudeau made Indigenous issues a national priority, and, for that, he will always be honoured.” 

Continue reading Trudeau did more towards reconciliation than all of his predecessors, First Nations Leader says →
Sports

Pemby Pounder trail race set for June 21

Luke Faulks,  Pique Magazine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Pemberton’s premiere trail race is back… with a re-brand. After crowdsourcing a new name, co-owners Charlotte Paul and Kristian Manietta settled on “The Pemby Pounder” to signify the “heart-pounding climbs” and the “leg-pounding descents” of their event.

The Pounder has a nine-kilometre and 22-kilometre course. Both courses start at Den Duyf Park, before setting out down the Mackenzie Basin access road and into the Basin’s network of trails.

Continue reading Pemby Pounder trail race set for June 21 →
Poverty

From pessimism to hope in a three-course meal

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Amy Romer, works as a mentor for Megaphone’s peer newsroom called The Shift in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.The Shift is made up of a diverse group of individuals with lived experience of poverty, who are reporting from the DTES instead of being reported on

Story by Jules Chapman, Michael Geilen and Amy Romer, Megaphone Magazine, Local Journalism Initiative

When one first arrives for Plenty of Plates outside of the iconic Save On Meats at 43 W. Hastings St., there are already people lined up wearing smiles and drinking hot chocolate. 

Some have little tickets in hand. They’re the most excited because they’re guaranteed to be served a delicious and nutritious three-course, sit-down dining experience with all the coffee, Shirley Temples and sodas they could ever want. Those without tickets cross their fingers and hope there’s space.

It’s a new system created by Ash MacLeod, executive director of A Better Life Foundation and the creator of Plenty Of Plates, in response to the meals’ popularity. MacLeod is on a first-name basis with most of his patrons, and as a way of encouraging new faces, he’s begun distributing tickets, valid for specific days, to targeted organizations in the Downtown Eastside (DTES).

Continue reading From pessimism to hope in a three-course meal →
Business

Canada’s top CEOs make 210 times more than the average worker

Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Canada’s 100 richest CEOs made 210 times more than the average worker in 2023, a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) reveals.

Continue reading Canada’s top CEOs make 210 times more than the average worker →
Health

Tips For Saving A Life From A Former Manager of Vancouver’s Overdose Prevention Society

By Amy Romer, Megaphone Magazine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

For anyone who spends any time in the Downtown Eastside, or sadly any community in B.C. these days, you’ve likely walked past someone in public who looks unconscious, as though they might need your help. But as each step brings you closer to this person in need, you soon find yourself looking back at them, already convinced they’re just sleeping something off, that this person surely isn’t overdosing. Before long, something distracts you, your phone probably, and your day carries on. Until the next person. And so it continues. 

Every few months, members of 312 Main in the Downtown Eastsie are privileged to receive naloxone training from Trey Helten, former manager at the Overdose Prevention Society (OPS). Naloxone (brand name Narcan) is a fast-acting medication that temporarily reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

Continue reading Tips For Saving A Life From A Former Manager of Vancouver’s Overdose Prevention Society →