Tyler Olsen
tyolsen.bsky.social
Tyler Olsen
@tyolsen.bsky.social
Senior Editor at The Tyee. Reporter. Chainsaw + hockey, soccer + books(?). Lives in Lillooet so probably not posting about Vancouver.

'Ain't you had enough of this stuff?'

tolsen [at] thetyee [dot] [ca]
Pinned
NEW (10 years ago): The two history volumes of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report are readable, chilling, and irrefutable. You can't read it all in one sitting. But they answer all the questions you may have.

thetyee.ca/News/2025/09...
The Definitive History of Canada’s Residential School Shame | The Tyee
Ten years ago, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its landmark report. Everyone should read it.
thetyee.ca
Reposted by Tyler Olsen
For more than three years, Elwyn Thom has collected furniture destined for the dump, fixing it up and reselling the pieces at a discounted price.

In December, I visited his storefront to learn why.

Check out my latest in the Tyee:

thetyee.ca/WhatWorks/20...
The Victoria Man with a Plan for Your Old Sofa | The Tyee
Meet Elwyn Thom, the 23-year-old founder of Recertified Furniture.
thetyee.ca
February 19, 2026 at 11:31 PM
Reposted by Tyler Olsen
NBC ran a piece where Mary Carrillo went to Norway to find out why they're so good at the Winter Olympics and i was yelling BECAUSE IT'S COLD THERE

then she went to a little tiny ski jump for kids and was like "it's free, equipment is provided, & they don't emphasize results"

and i was like.
oh!
February 19, 2026 at 3:09 PM
NEW: After learning health care workers snooped in the files of those injured in the Lapu-Lapu Day attack, health officials initially argued they shouldn't tell those impacted because it might distress them.

From @amandafollett.bsky.social
Dozens of health-care workers snooped in the medical files of those hospitalized in last year’s Lapu-Lapu Day attack in Vancouver, a new investigation by B.C.’s privacy watchdog has revealed. @amandafollett.bsky.social reports.
Health-Care Workers ‘Snooped’ Records of Lapu-Lapu Victims | The Tyee
Despite dozens of breaches, health authorities balked at notifying victims whose privacy was violated, report reveals.
thetyee.ca
February 19, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by Tyler Olsen
this would make a ton of sense to me

it's less that normal people literally can't think in probabilities than that they *really don't like to* and so unless given a real push they're never going to

like "didn't you hate fractions in school" kinda stuff
bsky.app/profile/hone...
Maybe I’m misremembering but I feel like there was a study where participants got a small cash reward (like $1) for getting close to the correct answer and it made the answers much more accurate
February 19, 2026 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Tyler Olsen
I don't really think people think 1/3 of Americans are Muslim and 1/3 are trans so much as they just don't really think about percentages and probabilities at all in the first place
February 19, 2026 at 2:41 PM
I like the US dedication to free speech, even speech that is bad, but uh the way you prioritize your free-speech promotion work and energy says a lot about the things you care about.
Exclusive: The US State Department is developing an online portal to enable people in Europe and elsewhere to see content banned by their governments including alleged hate speech and terrorist propaganda, sources told Reuters reut.rs/4cySsA6
Exclusive: US plans online portal to bypass content bans in Europe and elsewhere
The U.S. State Department is developing an online portal that will enable people in Europe and elsewhere to see content banned by their governments including alleged hate speech and terrorist propagan...
reut.rs
February 18, 2026 at 11:18 PM
Reposted by Tyler Olsen
I am still confused by (and strongly disagree with) the idea that reporting how many people survived an overdose at a hopsital in a given year violates any kind of patient privacy.
But that's the excuse two health authorities used for not releasing overdose data. The rest largely ignored me.
After seven months, seven #FOI requests and two Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner complaints, The Tyee is no closer to a strong understanding of how many people are surviving overdoses as patients in B.C. hospitals.

@michellegamage.bsky.social reports. #bcpoli #ToxicDrugCrisis
How Many People Are Overdosing at BC’s Hospitals? | The Tyee
That data is key to knowing where supervised consumption sites are needed. The government won’t release it.
thetyee.ca
February 17, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Tyler Olsen
For the Czech coach to give this exact quote...!

When the Czech go-ahead goal literally had six skaters on the ice for an entire shift...!

It's just too perfect. He's placing it on a tee.
February 18, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by Tyler Olsen
here you go
February 18, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Not great. Because Vancouver is the biggest and most-expensive housing market, every supply-limiting decision there leads to higher house prices in other parts of the province. Also, these folks ppl can *easily* afford to look at even bigger mountains elsewhere in the province (like where I live).
February 17, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Defeatism. Tectonic plates move and it's 2025. Our government is failing by not taking the necessary actions to steer the North American Plate closer to the Eurasian Plate in an expeditious manner.
Finding ways to improve trade with the EU is great.

But on the other point in the poll: even considering EU membership is not great. It is likely infeasible. It is very surely unwise.

The reason is that we are North American not European.
Support For Increasing Trade With The European Union:

🔵 Support: 77%
🟡 Oppose: 13%

Read it for free here: open.substack.com/pub/canadian...
February 17, 2026 at 11:09 PM
More Heat than Heat 2 (which was good)
February 17, 2026 at 5:07 AM
Reposted by Tyler Olsen
On holiday in Chilean Patagonia. Took a bus between Cochrane and Villa Cerro Castillo (5.5 hours) today for ~$19 CAD. Remote and sparsely populated region 2,000 km from the capital.

Intercity buses in British Columbia are not possible because… why, again?
February 17, 2026 at 2:22 AM
Reposted by Tyler Olsen
As provincial politicians look to trim B.C.’s deficit, their municipal counterparts are worried about the future of a program that helps protect communities from wildfires.

@tyolsen.bsky.social reports. 🔥 #bcpoli #BCBudget2026
Will BC Axe FireSmart Funding in Tomorrow’s Budget? | The Tyee
The province has suggested fire prevention funding will be centralized. Local officials are concerned.
thetyee.ca
February 16, 2026 at 3:24 PM
Reposted by Tyler Olsen
I've seen another round of "nobody watches CBC" posts. I never understand this argument because of all of the anti-public-broadcasting sentiments it is the one least rooted in an actual argument
February 15, 2026 at 9:19 PM
I dunno man. I've been to other countries and people also seem to have a flexible relationship with the letter of the law.

Hell, Italy's own government doesn't seem particularly enthusiastic about it.
www.hrw.org/news/2025/05...
February 15, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Can you imagine being a French hockey player and knowing that Canada, a team with a line of McDavid-MacKinnon-Celebrini, is going to approach tomorrow's game with the specific intention of turning what is already a likely blowout into an absolute slaughter.
Finishing at the top of the round robin has extra importance given the path for the No. 1 team to the gold medal game may well go through Switzerland and Slovakia, avoiding Sweden and Finland

www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...
Why the U.S., Canada or Sweden could be eliminated early from Olympic men’s hockey
It's now highly likely that two of the best three teams in the event will face one another in a do-or-die quarterfinal next week.
www.nytimes.com
February 15, 2026 at 4:36 AM
Reposted by Tyler Olsen
Values didn’t come from tofu-eating wokerati. We adopted them cause we learned the very hard way, we’re weaker without them

Without values, we do bad, short-sighted things that don’t keep us safe or make us stronger
February 14, 2025 at 7:09 PM
When will AI be able to coach a kid's sports team?
February 14, 2026 at 3:38 AM
Reposted by Tyler Olsen
You may laugh, but the Macbeths are a much better role model for a marriage than Romeo and Juliet. They discuss their problems (killing the king of Scotland), share their hobbies (killing the king of Scotland), and resolve their conflicts (by killing the king of Scotland).
February 13, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Physics:
February 13, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Must be the best line since Gretzky-Lemieux-???? in 87.
Canada just threw out MacKinnon-McDavid-Celebrini, as a treat. It worked pretty good
February 13, 2026 at 9:32 PM
McDavid line seems a tad scary
February 13, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by Tyler Olsen
While court decisions may set the table, negotiations and handshakes will be needed to finally resolve century-old questions surrounding land title in British Columbia, says former B.C. cabinet minister and current treaty commissioner George Abbott.

@tyolsen.bsky.social reports. #bcpoli
Why Treaties Are the Best Fix for BC’s Land Uncertainty | The Tyee
Recent court rulings show the province can no longer ignore legal injustices, a former provincial cabinet minister says.
thetyee.ca
February 13, 2026 at 4:25 PM