The Tyee: Audio Edition

Dark fairy tales have replaced the shining myth of American nationhood. Steve Burgess writes. Steve writes about politics and culture for The Tyee. Published Sept. 15, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2025/09/15/Trump-Dark-Fairy-Tales-Sleep-No-Option/

Wild salmon lovers in the province are expressing cautious optimism as Fraser River sockeye returns significantly exceed expectations — something that’s being attributed, in part, to the removal of fish farms in the area. Amanda Follett Hosgood reports. Amanda reports on northern B.C. for The Tyee. Published Aug. 14, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/14/Fraser-Sockeye-Returns-Prompt-Fishery-Openings/

“This idea that we need to work harder and grow the GDP, or that we need to invest more in research and development, is really questionable to me.” The Tyee’s labour reporter Isaac Phan Nay interviews Jasmine Ramze Rezaee, director of policy and community action at Community Food Centres Canada. Published Aug. 14, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2025/08/14/Rethinking-Canada-Productivity-Problem/

A new front has opened up in the diplomatic battle between China and Taiwan: the small town of Hope and its welcoming central bus stop. Tyler Olsen, Tyee senior editor, reports. Published Aug. 14, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/14/Tiny-Flag-BC-Town-China-Taiwan-Tensions/

Alberta’s bizarre and dangerous experiment in vaccine rationing began Monday with the appearance of a website where Albertans can register to be considered for COVID-19 immunization sometime in the fall if any vaccine is left. You might get vaccinated, or you might not. David J. Climenhaga writes. David is an award-winning journalist, author, post-secondary teacher, poet and trade union communicator. Published Aug. 13, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/08/13/Alberta-Vaccine-Experiment/

“It’s that shock of recognition, where you can see yourself reflected back in someone’s eyes with love,” said U.S. author and artist Jessica Love. Katie Hyslop reports. Katie reports on youth and education for The Tyee. Published Aug. 18, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/13/LGBTQ2S-Books-Give-Kids-Feeling-Being-Seen/

The Tyee spoke to seven of Kaila’s co-workers, who all say they believe an excessive workload, strenuous working conditions and a lack of support for existing health conditions contributed to her death. Isaac Phan Nay reports. Published Aug. 13, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/13/Janitor-Died-SFU/

ICET’s funding supports projects led by local governments, First Nations, and not-for-profit organizations, that are often at a scale too small to interest larger provincial or federal programs but critical to community well-being. Adam Olsen writes. Adam, a former BC Green Party MLA for Saanich North and the Islands and a member of Tsartlip First Nation, is a regular contributor to The Tyee. Published Aug. 12, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/08/12/ICET-BC-Path-To-Prosperity/

Upcoming changes to B.C.’s Medical Services Plan could affect how thousands of long-COVID patients access care. Michelle Gamage reports. Michelle reports on health for The Tyee. Published Aug. 12, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/12/Funding-Changes-BC-Long-COVID/

They are some of Canada’s most important speed limits. They are also secret. Tyler Olsen, senior editor at The Tyee, reports. Published Aug. 12, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/12/Fast-Trains-Hot-Weather/

For months, former Edmonton Police Commission chair John McDougall has subjected Edmonton city council in general, and Rutherford and several other councillors specifically, to an online campaign of personal attacks that several have described as bullying, intimidation and an aggressive attempt to undermine their re-election. Charles Rusnell reports. Charles is an independent investigative reporter based in Edmonton. Published Aug. 11, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/11/Ex-Police-Watchdog-Insults-Go-Too-Far/

This Sept. 4-14, the Vancouver Fringe Festival returns for its 41st year — its biggest and most ambitious festival since before the pandemic. By Vancouver Fringe Theatre Society. This article is part of a Tyee Presents initiative. Tyee Presents is the special sponsored content section within The Tyee where we highlight contests, events and other initiatives that are put on either by us or by our select partners. Published Aug. 11, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Presents/2025/08/11/Step-Outside-Reality-Vancouver-Fringe/

Dr. Victoria Lee, Fraser Health’s recently fired former chief executive officer, will receive about $600,000 in severance pay after leaving the health authority earlier this year. Tyler Olsen, Tyee senior editor, reports. Published Aug. 11, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/11/Payout-Fired-Fraser-Health-CEO/

Drug users and other marginalized people are often targeted by the far right, and the Alberta punk and hardcore scene seeks to be a safe place for them, explained PERRA’s vocalist Helen Arias, adding that the rise in punk and hardcore’s prevalence in Alberta is to create a communal voice against the UCP. Liam Hodder writes for the Weekender. Liam is a freelance journalist from Edmonton, Alberta. Published Aug. 8, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/08/08/Alberta-Punks-Taking-Over/

Dead Man’s Island rises, ghostly, from Burns Lake. Amanda Follett Hosgood writes. Amanda reports on northern B.C. for The Tyee. Published Aug. 8, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/08/08/BC-Tiniest-Provincial-Park/

"Filipino, Puerto Rican and Jewish, Mars exists in the liminal space of American racial discourse — neither Black nor white, and therefore free to move about the barrelhouses, so to speak." Harrison Mooney, Tyee associate editor, writes. Published Aug. 8, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/08/08/Bruno-Mars-Uncomfortable-Appeal-Blackness-Code-Switching/

The arts themselves have been forced into a battle for their very existence. This is not a problem for the U.S. alone, as the same forces exist in Canada. Culture editor Dorothy Woodend writes. Published Aug. 8, 2025, in the Weekender. https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/08/08/Trump-Culture-Reshape-Society/

So why choose more police as the solution? It’s been a failed approach for decades. Tyee senior editor Paul Willcocks writes. Published Aug. 8, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/08/08/BC-Gets-It-Wrong-Human-Trafficking/

A Canadian company is providing the muscle for a new Florida detention centre dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” — and the Canadian government isn’t ruling out working with the security giant in the future. Rachel Gilmore writes. Rachel is an award-winning journalist with extensive experience reporting on federal politics, human rights, disinformation and extremism. Published Aug. 8, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/08/08/Canadian-Company-Staffing-Alligator-Alcatraz/

A B.C. Supreme Court justice dismissed the Xatśūll First Nation’s request to overturn a provincial decision allowing the expansion of the Mount Polley mine’s tailings facility. Amanda Follett Hosgood reports. Amanda reports on northern B.C. for The Tyee. Published Aug. 6, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/06/Mount-Polley-Tailings-Expansion-BC-Supreme-Court/

Treating farmworkers with basic dignity, such as ensuring they can take water breaks to cool off during a heat wave, could actually stabilize Canada’s food security. Anelyse Weiler and Susanna Klassen write. Anelyse is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Victoria. Susanna is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Victoria. Published Aug. 6, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/08/06/Economic-Case-Farmworker-Heat-Protections/

While many Canadians might associate this strain of evangelical Christianity with the U.S., it’s also active in Canada — and some of those Canadians have been closely connected with U.S. political figures. Jen St. Denis reports. Jen is a reporter with The Tyee. Published Aug. 6, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/06/MAGA-Preacher-Tour-Canada/

“I mean, seriously, what could be more woke than bike lanes? MAGAnificent!” David J. Climenhaga writes. David is an award-winning journalist, author, post-secondary teacher, poet and trade union communicator. Published Aug. 5, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/08/05/UCP-Declares-War-Bike-Lanes/

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s radical new rules for COVID immunization pose a genuine threat to the elderly, the working poor and pregnant moms. Andrew Nikiforuk, Tyee contributing editor, writes. Published Aug. 5, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2025/08/05/Alberta-Perverse-Barriers-COVID-Vaccines/

No U.S. university or college, private or public, is likely to escape Columbia’s fate, where the Trump administration has deemed diversity, equity and inclusion efforts unlawful and demands an overhaul of rules for student discipline, protest and antisemitism. Crawford Kilian, Tyee contributing editor, writes. Published Aug. 5, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2025/08/05/Columbia-University-Conquered/

A year and a half after a Gaza airstrike injured a three-year-old boy, his aunt continues to try to get him to Canada. Nariman Ajjur says her nephew is now showing “clear signs of malnutrition” as well as the psychological effects of living in a war zone. Jen St. Denis reports. Jen is a reporter with The Tyee. Published Aug. 5, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/05/Gazans-Starve-Families-Canada-Struggle/

Killing billions of starfish, sea star wasting disease has affected more than 20 species in waters from Mexico to Alaska, including the sunflower sea star found off the coast of B.C. It’s the largest epidemic to sweep through a non-commercial marine species. Kristen de Jager reports. Freelance journalist Kristen is a graduate student at UBC’s school of journalism, writing and media. Published Aug. 4, 2025. Published Aug. 4, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/04/We-Finally-Know-What-Killing-Starfish/

New research is calling for the federal government to implement policies that already exist in the U.K. and New Zealand, including a national sick leave policy and the right for all working parents to request flexible work arrangements. Isaac Phan Nay reports. Isaac reports on labour for The Tyee. Published Aug. 4, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/04/How-Can-Canada-Better-Support-Working-Parents/

If a 7.2 magnitude earthquake were to hit Vancouver tomorrow, an assessment report by the city predicts over 6,000 buildings would be damaged, about 300,000 residents displaced for three months or more, more than 1,350 lives lost, and an estimated $17 billion in direct damages. Alice Kassam writes. Alice is a writer and researcher focused on political narratives and transparency. Published Aug. 4, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2025/08/04/Is-Your-Building-Quake-Proof/

If you walked through this site just a few years ago, the land would have told a very different story. Hilary Angus reports the latest in our #WhatWorks section. Hilary is a Vancouver-based freelance writer and photographer. Published Aug. 4, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/WhatWorks/2025/08/04/Community-Farm-Rises-Brambles/

“All of our abilities to move and all of our ways of nonconformity, however we show up in the world, are under scrutiny.” Jeevan Sangha writes for the Wekeender. Jeevan is a freelance culture writer and senior editor at Shado Magazine. Published Aug. 1, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/08/01/Travelling-While-Trans/

“There’s a longstanding, if uneasy, truce between Christian and Nisga’a traditions, rooted in colonialism and cultural preservation.” Sean Robinson writes for the Weekender. Sean is an educational assistant in the community of Laxgalts’ap. Published Aug. 5, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/08/01/Christianity-Meets-Diverges-Nisgaa-Culture/

The Lafufu represents accepting mediocrity because we’re all too tired (or poor) to get the real thing. The Lafufu is the queen of slop. Mel Woods writes for the Weekender. Mel is an award-winning Vancouver-based writer, editor and content creator. Published Aug. 1, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/08/01/Summer-Slop/

As the Red Chris mine embarks on a new, riskier form of mining, it might not be the last time owners or workers are caught unprepared. Zoë Yunker reports. Zoë is a Victoria-based journalist writing about environmental politics. Published Aug. 1, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/08/01/Red-Chris-Mine-Expansion/

In a news release yesterday, Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure said his office has approved the petition for the “Alberta Forever Canada” citizen initiative launched by former Progressive Conservative deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk, who has long been a vocal critic of the Smith government’s separatist machinations. David J. Climenhaga writes. David is an award-winning journalist, author, post-secondary teacher, poet and trade union communicator. Published July 31, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/07/31/Alberta-Forever-Canada-Petition-Approved-Danielle-Smith-Blocked/

The Tyee interviewed Jonathan Blair, lawyer with the Community Legal Assistance Society’s community law program, about what it means to be mentally fit or unfit to stand trial, and, if someone is found fit to stand trial, what it would mean if they were then found not criminally responsible. Michelle Gamage reports. Michelle reports on health for The Tyee. Published July 31, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/07/31/What-Determines-Kai-Ji-Adam-Lo-Fit-Trial/

In internal documents provided to The Tyee, Employment and Social Development Canada proposed changing how migrant workers in the agriculture and fishing sectors are paid, housed and brought into the country. Isaac Phan Nay reports. Isaac reports on labour for The Tyee. Published July 31, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/07/31/Migrant-Workers-Program-Changes-Hurt/

It’s not like there’s anything else going on. And you have to appreciate the rigour of this coverage. Steve Burgess advises. Steve writes about politics and culture for The Tyee. Published July 31, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/07/31/Please-Advise-Are-Justin-Katy-Thing/

PM Carney seemed to be tagging along rather than trail-blazing when he announced Wednesday that Canada will recognize the state of Palestine in September if reforms are made, writes Michael Harris. Michael, a Tyee contributing editor, is a highly awarded journalist and documentary maker. Published July 31, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2025/07/31/Canada-Finally-Reckons-Netanyahu-War-Gaza/

On Monday, the Cantilever Bar fire broke out 10 kilometres south of the village. One major factor slowing the blaze’s spread: the area’s history with wildfires. It demonstrates a key principle that provides hope for residents in the province’s fire-struck Interior, reports Tyler Olsen, new senior editor at The Tyee. Published July 30, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/07/30/Lytton-Faces-New-Fire/

Given the political ferment of the moment, here are three books that provide interesting and helpful insights into the world of civil disobedience and protests. Leo McGrady writes. Leo is a longtime Vancouver lawyer, author and law teacher. Published July 30, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/07/30/Thinking-Joining-Protest-Three-Books/

The announcement is being met with rage and grief, as it affects what supports are available for street-based sex workers, who are some of the most marginalized people in society, say women with lived and living sex-work experience. Michelle Gamage reports. Michelle reports on health for The Tyee. Published July 30, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/07/30/PACE-Closing-After-31-Years/

B.C. needs to invest $17 billion to make sure seniors in the province are properly cared for over the next decade, according to a new report. It’s an extraordinary cost, but not taking action will add up to an even greater impact. Michelle Gamage reports. Michelle reports on health for The Tyee. Published July 29, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/07/29/BC-Crisis-Long-Term-Senior-Care/

Governments should not bail out speculative development models but invest in non-market housing, preserve affordability and ensure public subsidies serve long-term public outcomes, write noted B.C. experts in this open letter. Published July 29, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/07/29/Memo-Carney-Robertson-Fixing-Housing/

Working from offices may contribute to a sense of workplace culture and unity for employees. But there’s evidence that flexible work can help a company’s performance and inclusivity, while hard rules on either in-office or at-home work can negatively affect employee health, reports Isaac Phan Nay. Isaac reports on labour for The Tyee. Published July 29, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/07/29/Employers-Back-Office-Mandates-May-Backfire/

The bird is a black and white relative of the crow that excels at opportunistic feeding. It will eat anything out of anybody’s trash can. It will even follow coyotes to carrion and then barge in. To understand Alberta’s chaos-making premier, consider the magpie, writes Andrew Nikiforuk, Tyee contributing editor. Published July 29, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/07/29/One-Bird-Danielle-Smith-Most-Like/

In northwest B.C., time warp can include symptoms of confusion, being chronically early and unnecessarily calling the local repair shop. Amanda Follett Hosgood reports. Amanda reports on northern B.C. for The Tyee. Published July 29, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/07/29/Time-Speeds-Up-Northwest-BC/

WorkSafeBC is more interested in saving money so it can minimize costs for employers than it is in helping them recover, claimed injured workers in B.C. who spoke with The Tyee. Andrew MacLeod, legislative bureau chief, reports. Published July 28, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/07/28/BC-Injured-Workers-Bureaucracy/

Waiting for hours alongside so many neighbours so their mom could vote at the polling station on election day flipped a switch in these B.C. twin brothers. Katie Hyslop reports. Katie reports on youth and education for The Tyee. Published July 28, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/07/28/BC-Twins-Want-Lower-Voting-Age/

As the New Democrats consider how to rebuild, the victory of Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist and tenant organizer, offers lessons about how a progressive party can reconnect if it’s willing to meet people where they are. David Gulliver writes. David is a senior consultant with Enterprise Canada. Published July 27, 2025. https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025/07/28/Lessons-Canada-NDP-NYC-Mayoral-Race/