Maddi Dellplain
@maddidellplain.bsky.social
East Van reporter @ Vancity Lookout Former editor & health reporter @healthydebate.bsky.social //writing on civic issues, health, disability & drug policy// maddidellplain.journoportfolio.com
"I'm so glad I'm out of that." The property on Birch & Broadway that was once slated to become an Indigenous travel lodge moves ahead with more controversial changes, and is now in the hands of a court-appointed realtor www.vancitylookout.com/p/twists-and...
Twists and turns in Birch Street Property saga continue
The controversial property that was once slated to become an Indigenous medical travel lodge has been listed for sale by a court-appointed realtor.
vancitylookout.com
From AI data centres to delivery robots to "innovation hubs" - Vancouver city council is in the midst of a deepening divide on tech. Read about it in my latest with Vancity Lookout www.vancitylookout.com/p/tech-tensi...
A Tale of Two Cities: The tech-tension in council’s vision for the future of Vancouver
Two motions introduced before council’s summer break underscore the deepening divide in the city’s tech approach — and bring key election issues to light.
vancitylookout.com
‘This matters’: DULF and their recent trials explained. The Drug User Liberation Front has been making headlines for years. A look at the group’s history and legal battles, by @maddidellplain.bsky.social www.vancitylookout.com/p/this-matte...
‘This matters’: DULF and their recent trials explained
The Drug User Liberation Front has been making headlines for years. With their most recent constitutional challenge wrapping up, Vancity Lookout took a step back to chart the group’s history and legal...
vancitylookout.com
it's outrageous that every government ministry has a massive communications department and yet they refuse to provide information that the public has a right to know, even when asked directly.
Shannon Waters@sobittersosweet.bsky.social · 3w agoPlease note: the Ministry of Housing had nothing relevant to say for this story I sent them 5 specific questions based on issues that were coming up during the interviews Not only did the ministry not respond by deadline, the statement they sent answered exactly 0 of my questions 💁♀️
"There just wasn't anybody else like Trey." Fourth annual Never Grow Up Graffiti Jam gives artists, friends and neighbours a chance to express themselves and honour the memory of a community pillar. www.vancitylookout.com/p/huge-graff...
Huge graffiti event honours memory of DTES community pillar
Artists from around the world flocked to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside last week for the fourth annual Never Grow Up Graffiti Jam
vancitylookout.com
Vancouver city council voted to approve the redevelopment of Myron Manor for the construction of a tech hotel. Tenants say they plan to fight back. www.vancitylookout.com/p/council-vo...
Council votes to rezone Myron Manor, but tenants say the fight isn’t over
The rezoning of an affordable apartment in Mount Pleasant for a tech hotel has been approved by city council. But tenants say they plan to challenge the city’s decision.
vancitylookout.com
@pressprogress.ca is proud to join 100+ journalists, news publishers, academics and civil society groups in endorsing calls for anti-SLAPP legislation in Alberta Frivolous, abusive and politically motivated SLAPP lawsuits are a threat to free and democratic speech READ MORE: antislappalberta.ca
As demolition begins on the Imperial Theatre in Chinatown, I got to do a deep dive on the site's wild history. www.vancitylookout.com/p/the-end-of...
The end of an era: Saying goodbye to Chinatown's Imperial Theatre
As demolition on the Imperial Theatre at 319 Main Street officially begins and a new project prepares to take its place, Vancity Lookout takes a look back on the rich neighbourhood history the theatre...
vancitylookout.com
Got to work on this super fun story for Vancity Lookout recently: Vancouver has an underground robot combat league - and it's starting to draw international attention www.vancitylookout.com/p/vancouvers...
Vancouver’s underground robot combat league explodes onto the scene
A new underground robot battle league in East Vancouver is drawing international attention and bringing a new all-ages hobby to the city.
vancitylookout.com
"When you don’t stop to address those traumas, they trickle into child welfare… the real concern has never been to help the parents." For my latest with Vancity Lookout, I spoke with two Indigenous moms about their experiences with family policing systems www.vancitylookout.com/p/nothing-ha...
‘Nothing has changed’: At Grandview Park, Indigenous mothers speak out about families torn apart
Two Indigenous mothers spoke at an East Vancouver vigil event last Thursday about the impacts of family separation and family policing systems.
vancitylookout.com
Learning that someone boarded a flight visibly ill during a suspected Andes hantavirus investigation is a reminder that airplanes are essentially Petri dishes of the sky. Wear a respirator on airplanes
🔎Looking for East/South Vancouver residents for a story! Have you/someone you know had to surrender a pet in order to find housing? Or have you experienced housing precarity due to a pet? I'd like to speak with you. Message me here or at maddi[at]vancitylookout[dot]com Cat photo as appreciation
IT'S ALIVE! I'm grateful to be a co-founder of De Facto @defacto-ca.bsky.social, a project born out of how difficult it is to make a living in journalism. Follow us for investigations into law enforcement, prisons, immigration and more. I've got one with @godfrey.bsky.social dropping on Monday!
De Facto Journalism Co-op@defactomedia.ca · 4mo agoThis International Workers’ Day, we're putting media back in workers’ hands. De Facto Journalism Co-op is a new non-profit of 6 worker-owners producing in-depth journalism focused on justice issues and systems of power. To get our first investigations next week, subscribe here: defactomedia.ca
Ignore longevity industry wellness woo BS. Genes = 50% lifespan wapo.st/4c6Q7L3 Key: "Healthy habits can add years, but the upside is less pronounced than bad habits, which can shear decades off a lifespan." #Longevity = luck (genes) + basic healthy lifestyle + luck (socioeconomics)
We may have even less control over how long we live than previously thought
A study resets the longevity discussion, after previous research focused on those born between 1870 and 1900, and shows genetics and environment play roughly equal roles.
wapo.st
"First Nations have had other projects where they get into trouble with big developers, then we’re left holding the bag...That’s why we’re very careful in making sure that we pulled back." Financial struggles put proposed Indigenous medical hotel in jeopardy www.vancitylookout.com/p/financial-...
Financial struggles put proposed Indigenous medical hotel in jeopardy
The Dunna’eh House of Healing, a medical travel hotel for rural Indigenous patients seeking care in Vancouver faces ongoing delays and significant financial setbacks.
vancitylookout.com
For my latest with Vancity Lookout, I dig into the financial issues plaguing a new Indigenous medical hotel and what repeated setbacks could mean for the future of the project. www.vancitylookout.com/p/financial-...
Financial struggles put proposed Indigenous medical hotel in jeopardy
The Dunna’eh House of Healing, a medical travel hotel for rural Indigenous patients seeking care in Vancouver faces ongoing delays and significant financial setbacks.
vancitylookout.com
Great story by @maddidellplain.bsky.social in the Vancity Lookout: The Dunna’eh House of Healing, a medical travel hotel for rural #Indigenous patients seeking care in Vancouver faces ongoing delays and significant financial setbacks. www.vancitylookout.com/p/financial-...
Financial struggles put proposed Indigenous medical hotel in jeopardy
The Dunna’eh House of Healing, a medical travel hotel for rural Indigenous patients seeking care in Vancouver faces ongoing delays and significant financial setbacks.
vancitylookout.com
Six years after the start of the pandemic, there are few clear answers for would-be parents with #LongCOVID. But amid the layers of uncertainty, there is some guidance that can be gleaned from ME, and potentially valuable research on the way. bit.ly/4uMFdCR
Pregnancy can be unpredictable in the best of circumstances. For those with Long COVID, the risks & uncertainties can feel insurmountable. In my first piece with @thesicktimes.org, I dig into everything we know (and don't know) about pregnancy and Long COVID. thesicktimes.org/2026/03/24/i...
“It felt like a life-or-death choice”: Pregnancy with Long COVID has many unknowns - The Sick Times
Little is known so far about how people with Long COVID experience pregnancy, but some insights can be gleaned from myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) as well as several ongoing studies in this area.
thesicktimes.org
Today @thesicktimes.org: @maddidellplain.bsky.social dives into how people with Long COVID experience pregnancy. There's relatively limited research on this so far, but we can learn from ME and more studies are underway. thesicktimes.org/2026/03/24/i...
“It felt like a life-or-death choice”: Pregnancy with Long COVID has many unknowns - The Sick Times
Little is known so far about how people with Long COVID experience pregnancy, but some insights can be gleaned from myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) as well as several ongoing studies in this area.
thesicktimes.org
And these aren’t “potential” conflicts of interest. The study authors: •donated > $7,000 to UCP •make money from private AB government contracts •all work for the AB govt, except one •have taken ‘speaking fees’ from govt-sponsored conferences •failed to report even one of these ☝️in the disclosures
Euan Thomson@drugdatadecoded.ca · 5mo agoMain issue with that RD News Now story and most other reporting on this study is they ignore the conflicts of interest. Yesterday's CBC piece mentioned them but didn't explain. Why focus narrowly on methodology when it's clear the authors had no business publishing on this? Media need to step up.
On Mar 11, AB government celebrated its ‘study’ it claimed found nobody was harmed by its closure of Red Deer’s supervised consumption site. On Mar 13, ON govt surprise-announced closure of all remaining sites. This is a manufactured disinformation crisis. 1/ drugdatadecoded.ca/centre-of-re...
Centre of Recovery Excellence manipulating health information of people who use drugs to undermine their safety
The Alberta government's Crown corporation has published its first study using personal health numbers of people accessing supervised consumption sites. While its findings fail to hold up, it offers ...
drugdatadecoded.ca
Bill S228 once passed, will criminalize forced and coerced sterilization. I spoke with several experts about what the bill might mean for victims, physicians, reproductive justice and the various marginalized groups historically targeted by the practice. healthydebate.ca/2026/03/topi...
Bill to criminalize forced sterilization sparks debate over reproductive justice and medical practice - Healthy Debate
healthydebate.ca
Join me and @friendsofmedicare.bsky.social tonight for this important webinar!
Canadian Health Coalition/Coalition canadienne de la santé@cdnhealthcoalition.bsky.social · 6mo agoWEBINAR: Alberta’s Bill 11 is a direct attack on public health care and could open the door to a US style system across Canada. Join the CHC and @canadiansorg.bsky.social to learn what this law means for public health care in Alberta and across the country. Thursday, March 12 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET
Bill to criminalize forced sterilization sparks debate over reproductive justice and medical practice By @maddidellplain.bsky.social healthydebate.ca/2026/03/topi...
Bill to criminalize forced sterilization sparks debate over reproductive justice and medical practice - Healthy Debate
healthydebate.ca
“Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security.” Well. For those of us wondering if he’d walk the walk of the Davos speech, this is a pretty big answer. Nope.
A few takeaways from the BC budget Real spending cuts in health care are here: Regional health authorities will only see a 0.7% increase in 2025-26 and a 2.5% increase in 2026-26—far below the 5-6% needed to maintain service levels, account for inflation, population growth and aging 1/ #bcpoli
Primary care access is declining in BC. With a new provincial budget on the way, how has spending on a new physician payment model affected it? #bcpoli #cdnpoli www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
BC residents have shrinking access to family doctors, despite more doctors - CCPA
Primary care access is declining in BC. With a new provincial budget on the way, how has spending on doctors affected it?
policyalternatives.ca
Manitoba slashes private nursing agencies: The path forward or a policy stumble? By @maddidellplain.bsky.social healthydebate.ca/2026/02/topi...
Manitoba slashes private nursing agencies: The path forward or a policy stumble? - Healthy Debate
Last month, Manitoba took the bold step in cutting nearly all its private nursing agency contracts. Was it the right move? Experts weigh in.
healthydebate.ca
