After 11 years of bringing you local reporting, the team behind the Vancouver Observer has moved on to Canada's National Observer. You can follow Vancouver culture reporting over there from now on. Thank you for all your support over the years!

Laura Kane

Laura Kane is a journalist for The Canadian Press.

B.C. Representative for Children and Youth Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond

Aboriginal girls most at risk of sexual violence in care: B.C. representative

Aboriginal girls are the victims of sexual violence more than twice as often as other girls in care of the British Columbia government, a "disturbing" new report finds. The report from the province's...

Vancouver proposes licensed short-term Airbnb stays to increase rental supply

Vancouver's mayor wants to ban Airbnb rentals for those who aren't living in the homes they are listing, while requiring everyone else to hold a business licence. Mayor Gregor Robertson has revealed...

Royals urged by First Nations to push governments for reconciliation

First Nations leaders have urged the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to encourage the British Columbia and federal governments to take their issues seriously, marking the second straight day of the...
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond

B.C. ministry to expand Metis commission's role amid high-profile toddler case

British Columbia will expand the role of its Metis representative in the child welfare system, amid criticism of the province's plan to adopt a Metis toddler to non-aboriginal parents in Ontario. A...

B.C.'s child watchdog asks Attorney General to intervene in Metis toddler case

British Columbia's representative for children and youth is urging the province's attorney general to intervene in the case of a Metis toddler being adopted to non-aboriginal parents in Ontario. Mary...

Vancouver empty homes tax to include secondary units that are used for Airbnb

Vancouver's proposed empty homes tax would include secondary properties being booked on the vacation rental website Airbnb, with the maximum fine for people who evade the levy set at $10,000. New...

Court dismisses B.C. First Nation's challenge of NEB review for Trans Mountain

The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed a challenge filed by a North Vancouver First Nation that claimed the National Energy Board's review of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion was unlawful...

Panel calls for major overhaul of UBC's approach to sexual assaults

An expert panel is calling for a sweeping transformation of the University of British Columbia's approach to sexual assaults, after speaking with survivors and campus members who said they lacked...
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould

Wilson-Raybould lays out vision for UN indigenous rights declaration

Canada must adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in a way that translates into real change for its aboriginal citizens, federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-...

Vancouver home sales fall 26 per cent in August as demand cools after new tax

Home sales in the Vancouver area tumbled 26 per cent in August compared to the same month last year, as observers say a new tax on foreign buyers accelerated a cooling trend in the market. The Real...