Hi there,

Our fundraising campaign ends tomorrow. If just nine of you sign up as monthly supporters today, we’d hit our goal!

It’s been thrilling to return to my childhood home as the founding reporter for The Discourse Comox Valley. In this new role, I’ve gotten a chance to reconnect with the community, and I’m in awe of how we care for each other and the environment.

My first big investigation with The Discourse surrounded Deep Water Recovery’s controversial ship breaking operation in Baynes Sound. 

At first glance, dismantling a ship seems straightforward. After all, ships have a lifespan as well. 

But as I spoke to community members and activists concerned about Deep Water Recovery’s operation, I learned that there was much more to the story.

Ships contain a variety of contaminants and harmful materials in their floors, insulation, paints, gaskets and fire retardancy materials. Without proper measures, like impermeable flooring and drainage systems, these pollutants can leak into the water — which in turn damages our ecosystem and our drinking water.

Ship breaking is already a poorly regulated industry. It turns out that Deep Water Recovery took advantage of that, and is now facing pressure from the provincial government and an international NGO to stop their Union Bay operation.

The Discourse is continuing to follow up on this story. But we were only able to begin reporting on it because we took notice of the community members and activists that first spoke out, and investigated their concerns.

This is the kind of impactful local journalism that I was excited to do. And because The Discourse is reader-supported, that means we’re accountable to you — not corporate powers that might pressure us not to publish this story.

Our fundraising campaign ends tomorrow, and we’re just nine monthly supporters short of our goal. Will you sign up today and help us investigate more of your concerns?