Over a very short amount of time, COVID-19 became a global health pandemic, spurring countries around the world to declare states of emergency and urge residents to stay inside. Here in Vancouver, the last week has been a whirlwind of federal, provincial, and municipal announcements, but citizens are feeling it on the ground too. Our... Continue Reading

When Camille Brereton was a little girl, she danced in a group called the Caribbean Singers and Dancers alongside her mom, a singer, and cousins. In elementary school, she started writing her own lyrics in a notebook that had Lola Bunny from Space Jam on the cover and eventually picked up rapping by borrowing friends’... Continue Reading

A recent Media Indigena episode by Rick Harp, Kim TallBear, and Candice Callison examined the debate between the media’s use of the term “protectors” versus “protestors” in reference to Indigenous people acting against the Coastal GasLink Pipeline. The episode opened with commentary about a story titled “War of words: Experts say the Wet’suwet’en actions are... Continue Reading

The announcement and release of the annual provincial budget marks an important time for determining how the government is keeping up with its commitments. It’s also a great time for gauging which kinds of changes they want to commit to in the future and how they plan to implement them. Though it’s not necessarily a... Continue Reading

Picture a journalist. Who do you see? Most minds will conjure up a Walter Cronkite type — white, male, cisgender, probably straight. Likely wearing a stiff tie and a button-up, nearing their fifties, semi-decrepit. Embarrassingly enough, that image isn’t far off from the truth. Much like politics, journalism has long been overwhelmingly dominated by white... Continue Reading

Feeling isolated as a queer Chinese-Vietnamese man in Vancouver was getting old for DJ On by the time he decided to spend a year in Taiwan, where he hoped life would be gayer, more fun, and less white. In retrospect, On says, that wish was granted. When he left Canada, he was a bored, seventh-year... Continue Reading

It seems as though everywhere you go these days there’s a story pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community — whether it’s here, in the U.S., or beyond. And typically, with these stories comes a predictable onslaught of wannabe comedians making jokes about “the alphabet people” or identifying as an attack helicopter, as well as numerous keyboard... Continue Reading

Last week, after a nine year struggle, the CBC was finally granted the right to gain access to documents related to the largest penalty fine ever issued to a provincial gaming corporation. In 2010, FINTRAC, the federal agency which investigates and prevents money laundering, issued a $695,750 “Administrative Monetary Penalty” to the B.C. Lottery Corporation... Continue Reading

According to Historica Canada, the first named Black person to set foot on Canadian soil was Mathieu Da Costa, a translator hired by European explorers to communicate with Indigenous people in 1605. Fourteen years later, the first ship of African slaves to reach British North America docked in what is now Jamestown, Ontario, and systemic... Continue Reading

It seems as though everywhere you go these days there’s a story pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community — whether it’s here, in the U.S., or beyond. And typically, with these stories comes a predictable onslaught of wannabe comedians making jokes about “the alphabet people” or identifying as an attack helicopter, as well as numerous keyboard... Continue Reading

Paloma Pendharkar really likes oatmeal. Specifically, she likes rolled oats cooked with chia over fresh banana and walnuts, topped with hemp seeds, cinnamon, and soy milk. Her name’s origin story is as simple as that. She’s a queen who loves her oatmeal. Her origin story as an artist, however, is longer and more complicated. Pendharkar’s... Continue Reading

January is always an exciting time for The Runner staff. Having just come back from Canada’s annual student journalism conference, NASH, our newsroom usually kicks off the new year full of passion and ideas. This year is no different. And although 2020 marks my fifth year with the paper — as well as my fifth... Continue Reading

This will be the first of many “Spectrum” columns highlighting LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies in Metro Vancouver, including Surrey, Langley, Cloverdale, and Richmond. If there is a member of the Metro Vancouver LGBTQ+ community you would like to see featured, contact The Runner. While cities in the Metro Vancouver region have started becoming more... Continue Reading

Three days into the new year, U.S. President Donald Trump approved of an operation to assassinate the highest profile military general in Iran, Qasem Soleimani, leader of the Quds Force. Mere days afterwards, the Iranian army responded by firing rockets towards U.S. assets in Iraq. However, in the heat of the moment, a civilian airliner... Continue Reading