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!

Randall White

Randall F. White is a psychiatrist and medical writer in Vancouver. He has practiced medicine in Canada and the United States.

The demise of the African forest elephant as seen from Vancouver

UBC zoologist Dr. René Beyers explains the obstacles facing the conservation of Africa's most symbolic animal.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.’s outspoken advocate for children

In 2005, the B.C. child welfare system was in crisis, and the public was demanding change. The violent death of a child in foster care had exposed failings in the investigative process and left the...

Childhood is up for sale

Economists view the side effects of business activities that are not reflected in the cost of the end product as externalities. Pollution, in other words, is “external” to manufacturing, and the...

Canada is no longer at the forefront of cigarette package regulation

The United States government has just announced that cigarette packages will soon have to display graphic warning labels that cover 50% of the box. The media are abuzz about the “scary” and “gory”...

Tim Hortons emergency care and the nursing home connection

Two popular Canadian institutions, Tim Hortons and universal health care, recently had an awkward partnership. On February 28, doctors at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster were forced to...

Making sense of the BC Liberal candidates’ health care proposals

If two words can summarize the health care rhetoric among leadership candidates for the BC Liberals, they are “sustainability” and “innovation.” These are their fervent hope for BC health care....

Alberta bails out private clinic. Is Kevin Falcon paying attention?

On April 12, Kevin Falcon, Minister of Health Services, announced that the province is funding some hospital care in B.C. in a new way. According to ministry, several pilot projects using “patient-...

Good news about Canadian health care; and about that other country…

The health-care reform law enacted in the United States is a taxpayer-funded gift to the insurance industry, the most important social legislation in decades, or the end of freedom and liberty for...

Falcon to Palin: Forget Whitehorse, Come to Vancouver!

A long time ago, Sarah Palin’s family sought medical care in Whitehorse. Last month, Danny Williams, the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, had heart surgery in Miami. Maybe you don’t care about...

British Columbia Gets the Silver in Swilling (Nunavut Gets the Gold)

The crowds were in high spirits on Robson Street at 10:00 PM on February 18. Canada had just won its third gold medal of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. A line of RCMP officers stood at relaxed...