EXCLUSIVE: In 2023, Vancouver Police Department calls to border enforcement for immigration status checks increased 80% compared to 2022. Even without a pandemic-related drop in 2020-22, the 476 calls in 2023 mark a 40% increase compared to 2014-19. www.defactomedia.ca/vpd-immigrat...

Call to Action: Email the City of Vancouver to reinstate the Sex Work Social Planner Template letter: tinyurl.com/wtc-letter This position helps prevent violence, reduce vulnerability, and strengthen communication between sex workers, police, community organizations, and the City.

De Facto will be covering policing, immigration, housing, health, and more, with an eye towards scrutinizing authority and holding power to account. Our first stories drop on Monday. Subscribe to get them: defactomedia.ca

As WISH's ED Kara Gillies says, “The City committed to do better; it has now broken that commitment and done so without consultation or notice.”

WISH Drop-In Centre Society, PACE Society, @swan-vancouver.bsky.social, @livingincmnty-bc.bsky.social, and RainCity Housing are deeply disappointed to hear that the City of Vancouver has eliminated one of two Sex Work Social Planner positions. Full statement: swanvancouver.ca/sex-work-soc...

"Why aren’t the police and council asking what support women, and particularly mothers, need to survive instead of persecuting and criminalising them?" metro.co.uk/2026/04/11/a...

A man who was found guilty this week of sexually assaulting three vulnerable women, and drugging one of them, at a rural home east of Calgary will be back for a sentencing hearing in August.

"These changes will predictably reduce access to essential care, worsen health outcomes and increase pressure on already overwhelmed emergency departments and hospitals. They will ultimately increase public health-care costs."

Mobile STBBI Testing is now a permanent service at SWAN Vancouver! We successfully completed the pilot stage of the project, facilitating 177 tests with 94 community members. You can help sustain this program: Swanvancouver.ca/donate

SWAN is uniquely positioned to support im/migrant sex workers, and victims of trafficking, because we’ve built trust with the community. We speak with and visit women regularly, and we support them in the areas they want us to: immigration, safety, healthcare access, and criminalization.

I’d like to thank the RCMP for being incredibly candid about its anti-sex work stance, so we can all see more clearly how they’re not interested in stopping trafficking and just want to crackdown on sex work.

The B.C. Government would like to point out that while it doesn’t have sex work organization-specific grants, it does fund anti-trafficking very well. Vancouver Police say if a SWer calls 911, there’s a good chance they will be forwarded to the Human Trafficking Unit. thetyee.ca/News/2026/01...

More of our staff have been certified to facilitate Dried Blood Spot (DBS) testing after training with the National Laboratory for HIV Reference Services. Facilitating these tests is a key component of our mobile STBBI testing pilot project. READ MORE: thetyee.ca/News/2026/01...

"SWAN has been partnering with and supporting immigrant and migrant sex workers for nearly 23 years, so there’s a foundation of trust that helps women know they can use this health-care service and have their identity protected." thetyee.ca/News/2026/01...

“Aquino says Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s chief of staff Trevor Ford made — depending on your perspective — a request or demand. ‘We needed to issue a statement apologizing to the mayor,” said Aquino. “We needed to not only retract, but to apologize.’”

“Filipino B.C. had been meeting every quarter with city council and had their own dreams of a cultural centre. But by all accounts, the relationship turned sour around the period when they criticized the city’s proposed benefit concert at Rogers Arena…” www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

This #GivingTuesday, support Healthcare Without Fear, our campaign to raise $10,000 for SWAN’s safe, confidential, and language-accessible healthcare access programs. Donate today: swanvancouver.ca/donate

Leave Britney alone!

SWAN Vancouver has launched mobile STBBI testing in partnership with the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre (VIDC). As an alternative to in-person visits to clinics, our staff collect samples at women's workplaces, transport them for testing, and work with our partner clinic for follow-up.

Your gift goes twice as far this #GivingTuesday! For the second year, Blackbird Fabrics is matching donations up to $1,000 to our "Healthcare Without Fear" campaign — supporting healthcare access designed to protect im/migrant sex workers’ safety and privacy. swanvancouver.ca/donate/

“To build something worthy of our community, any proposal brought forward in our name must be grounded in transparency, sound planning, and accountability.“ filipinobc.com/fbc-news/202...

“Court records show that the property at 1940 Main is tied up by two separate foreclosure proceedings initiated by lenders. In one case, Reyes and his companies were ordered last month by the B.C. Supreme Court to pay $2.7 million to a lender called MIB Enterprises after defaulting.”

Reporters dropped the "sex slave" narrative while covering the Boston brothel sting, and Journalism Professor Elizabeth Nolan Brown says it finally cleared the air for the public to ask, What's the point? reason.com/2025/04/09/c...

How do Canada’s sex work and immigration laws affect massage parlour workers? Im/migrant women who are simply trying to earn a living face arrest, detention and deportation when police enter their workplace. Learn more: swanvancouver.ca/resources/

“Audiences see the patterns: who is interviewed and who isn’t, which words are chosen, whose humanity is recognized. If journalists want to rebuild trust, the solution isn’t to retreat into false ‘balance’ or further police their language. It is to show that journalism can be a force for justice.”

Community honours Lapu Lapu Day Festival tragedy victims through mural www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

Filipino BC is looking for volunteers for the re-launch of the Kapwa Centre for Community Resilience. As a volunteer, you’ll help prepare spaces for gatherings, share information about upcoming programs, and welcome folks with respect and compassion. APPLY NOW: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

After a fulsome and productive meeting on Monday, Filipino BC is confident and reassured that the City of Vancouver is committed to prioritizing the interests of victims and their families and will take thoughtful and deliberate action to address their concerns. filipinobc.com/lld-x-fbc-co...

"What we're seeing here is a gap. […] we're going to be asking the same questions whether it's a temporary memorial or this memorial event or benefit concert — have you spoken to the families yet?" www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

What happened here is not a natural disaster. It is a social disaster, one that exposes deeper harms and systemic gaps. When the crisis is emotional, communal, and psychological, it’s harder to name. You cannot see a fire burning inside someone. filipinobc.com/lld-x-fbc-co...

Filipino BC continues to advocate for the memorial to be treated with cultural sensitivity and deep empathy, especially as many feel that the grieving process is still ongoing. filipinobc.com/lld-x-fbc-co...

In Filipino Catholic tradition, there is a 40-day mourning period. On the 40th day, it is believed that souls ascend into the afterlife. So for many, our beloved community members are still with us. vancouversun.com/news/vancouv...

Today, we met with Latincouver and Consul Generals from Latin American. We recognize the profound loss to the community and we will develop a plan to work closely with them moving forward. Community Update | May 13, 2025 filipinobc.com/lld-x-fbc-co...

We honour the lives lost in the recent tragedy and hold their families close in our thoughts. May their memory live on in the hearts of those who knew and loved them. Community Update | May 8, 2025 - filipinobc.com/lld-x-fbc-co...

RJ Aquino, Chair of @filipino-bc.bsky.social steps into the temporary Resilience Centre for victims and anyone impacted by the April 26 tragedy. Nearly 100 hundred people were already there.

In Tagalog, we say, magpahinga, which means to rest. And the Resilience Centre is made for people to do just that. When it reopens today from 5 to 8 PM, anyone who has been affected by the tragedy can gather for a meal, connect, learn about resources and rest. filipinobc.com/lld-x-fbc-co...

Filipino BC is now on BlueSky, follow @filipino-bc.bsky.social for the latest updates and subscribe to the newsletter here: form.jotform.com/BCFilipino/f... #KAPWASTRONG

We encourage families—including parents, grandparents, caretakers, and children—individuals, vendors, volunteers, staff in nearby businesses, and anyone affected to come as they are. Whether you’re seeking comfort, connection, or simply a quiet place to be, the Centre is for you.

The Filipino BC Resilience Centre will livestream the Holy Rosary Memorial Mass at today's Resilience Centre drop-in for affected community members in attendance. Thank you to Chef TJ Conwi for supporting bringing extra meals to the Resilience Centre.

Filipino BC is opening the Resilience Centre at 5 p.m. at the Killarney Secondary School, offering wellness and coping support, and an assessment of community needs. Everyone who has been impacted by Saturday’s tragedy is welcome. #KAPWASTRONG

Filipino BC and United Way BC have launched a donation fund to support those impacted by the tragedy that took place at the Lapu Lapu Day Festival in Vancouver on April 26, 2025. 100% of the proceeds will go to impacted communities. #KAPWASTRONG filipinobc.com

Community Update - April 29, 2025.

I’m currently working as the Media Relations Coordinator for Filipino BC - Lapu Lapu Day. Please direct your requests to [email protected] I will not be monitoring this account.

The latest from @enbrown.bsky.social highlights what we’ve been pointing out in the Cambridge/Watertown brothel case: this case did not involve sex trafficking charges, but rather relies on the antiquated, racist Mann Act (formerly “White Slave Traffic Act”). reason.com/2025/04/09/c...

Trey Helten, an advocate for drug users whose willingness to speak searingly about his own battle with addiction provided hope and inspiration to many in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, has died at 42. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

"The loss of safe spaces for sex workers, even temporarily, carries profound and far-reaching consequences. These impacts were thoroughly documented in the findings of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, led by former B.C. attorney general Wally Oppal." theconversation.com/service-clos...

TW: Mentions of serial killer, gender-based violence " [...] the case is a searingly stark reminder of the contempt with which sex workers are often treated by the police, and the dehumanisation they face at the hands of the media, even when they’re victims of violent crimes." tinyurl.com/2w869jk7

The CAJ was disappointed to learn that Morgan Modjeski, a Winnipeg-based reporter with CityNews, has been ordered to hand over to law enforcement the complete and unedited interview he did in 2023 in the aftermath of a deadly mass shooting in the city. caj.ca/winnipeg-jou...

Who is behind unfounded claims that sex trafficking spikes during large sports events? Learn about this myth’s ties to Vancouver, Calgary and racist stereotypes about massage parlour workers from Southeast Asia. SIGN UP: swanvancouver.ca/events2024/

This is my second attempt today to vote at this polling station. I brought snacks.