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Nutritious Nibbles: Tapsilog

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Peak Web
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A photo of tapsilog
PHOTO: Ralff Nestor Nacor / Wikimedia Commons

By: Marie Jen Galilo, Staff Writer

Silogs are an everyday breakfast favourite of Filipino households, consisting of three main components: sinangag (garlic fried rice), pritong itlog (fried eggs), and your choice of protein. Traditional silog proteins include tapa (marinated beef), pritong daing na bangus (fried milkfish), longanisa (Filipino sausage), and tocino (sweet cured meat, usually pork).

The word “silog” is basically born out of “si” from sinangag, and “log” from itlog. In addition to the key silog components, there’s also usually a side of fresh produce, such as diced tomatoes. Some people (including myself) also use “sawsawans,” or dipping sauces, such as vinegar. In honour of Filipino Heritage Month, I’ll be sharing a recipe from my mom for one of my favourite silogs: tapsilog.

Ingredients: 

For the tapa: 

  • 1.5 lbs beef sirloin or flank (sliced thinly)
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 4 tbsp lemon juice or calamansi 
  • 2 cloves crushed garlic
  • Salt to taste 
  • 2 tsp sugar 
  • Vegetable oil for frying  

For the sinangag:

  • 3 cups leftover rice (I like using short-grain white rice with a soft and sticky texture, but you can use any rice you prefer)
  • Salt to taste 
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • Vegetable oil for frying    
  • 1–2 eggs and vegetable oil for frying eggs 

Optional:

  • Your choice of fresh produce (e.g. diced tomatoes or cucumbers) 
  • Vinegar (often spicy vinegar, but I also use apple cider vinegar) 

Instructions: 

  1. In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, lemon juice, crushed garlic, sugar, and salt. Add the beef afterwards and massage the sauce into the meat. Marinate the meat in the fridge overnight. 
  2. To cook the tapa, add oil to a pan over medium heat and cook the beef for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until the sauce has caramelized.
  3. For the rice, add oil to a pan over low-medium heat and saute the garlic until light brown. Add in the rice and stir fry until the rice is heated through. Add salt and mix. 
  4. Fry the egg(s) sunny-side up in a pan with oil over medium heat.  
  5. To serve the tapsilog, place the tapa, sinangag, and fried eggs on a plate. Enjoy with vinegar sauce to balance out the tapsilog’s rich flavours, and a side of refreshing tomatoes or cucumbers.

Notes: 

  • If you want the tapa to have a lighter flavour, marinate it for a few hours instead of overnight.
  • Use thin slices of meat if you want the marinade flavour to soak in more.
  • Pour some of the marinade into the pan when cooking the beef and let the marinade caramelize for a more intense umami flavour.  
  • Let the rice get a bit crispy for that toasted, crispy rice texture and flavour.

Tapsilog is a meal that I grew up eating, and it’s one of my favourite foods. It’s the perfect trinity that promises flavour and texture — a spoonful of garlic fried rice topped with tangy tender beef and crispy edges of fried egg, all glazed in golden runny yolk. I hope you enjoy this meal as much as I do, and I hope this dish inspires you to try other silogs and Filipino dishes too.

Between suffering and saviourship

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Peak Web
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A still from The Body Remembers where one of the characters, Aila, is comforting another, Rosie
IMAGE: Courtesy of Experimental Forest Films and Violator Films

By: Maya Barillas Mohan, Staff Writer

Content warning: mention of domestic abuse.

If the 104-minute movie The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open feels like a lifetime, it could be because it offers a completely undiluted clip of one. The movie could also feel that way because it breathes at the same rate reality does: at red lights, you idle, and during awkward conversations, you stall while you find the words. The film is based on a real encounter director Elle-Máijá Apiniskim Tailfeathers had.

While fictitious in its specifics, The Body Remembers handles issues facing Indigenous women throughout the unceded lands of Vancouver with nuance. 

Pregnant, barefoot, and soaked from the rain, 19-year-old Rosie (Kwakwaka’wakw) meets Áila (Niisitapi/Sami), who following a particularly aggressive attack from Rosie’s boyfriend, scoops Rosie under her arm and guides her to temporary safety. Despite both being Indigenous women, their circumstances vary: Áila is white-passing and returns to a clean apartment and a gentle boyfriend of her own; motherhood is a challenge Rosie anticipates tackling independently, whereas Áila is not sure she wants to tackle it at all. 

The movie’s handheld, continuous-take style deposits the viewer between two characters trying their best. Each cut is seamlessly concealed because one camera is swapped out for another when a film cartridge is spent. The real-time tracking of the film’s events grounds them in lifelike motivations. Yet, it’s hard to tell if Áila is speaking fully from a place of empathy, or if a glimmer of perceived (white) saviourship — underpinned by class difference — cuts through efforts to connect Rosie with support services. At the same time it’s difficult to sympathize with Rosie due to her repeated offences of theft and hostility towards Áila, but the movie unravels the unseen struggle of abuse facing Indigenous women. Rosie’s hostile boyfriend dominates much of her (and the plot’s) narrative despite limited time on screen. His rage is the reason she flees, but it is also the reason she returns home. This pattern is not unique, and the characters know this: pulled along bleak Vancouver streets in the backseat of a yellow cab, Rosie is reluctant to reach the safe house destination. 

As the viewer becomes familiarized with the women, it’s hard not to notice the stereotypes imbued into the characters. Áila is a blandly dressed millennial with an apartment adorned by subtle Indigenous motifs, clearly aware of how her marginalized identity fits on top of her position of privilege. Her kindness seems to be an obligation to her Indigenous heritage, and courtesy to Rosie’s vulnerability. Rosie has a heavier body with matted hair both of which compounds the abuse she experiences, implying the correlation between affordable food and its negative health impacts for impoverished communities. I think it was a stylistic choice intended to make composites out of Rosie and Áila, but the movie seems to imply that abuse victims or those that offer help look a particular way. I don’t think this is a flaw, but I wonder if it perpetuates a stereotype rather than identifying the traits a vulnerable person could carry. 

The characters diverge quietly because the movie doesn’t really end. It almost feels like the 16mm film simply ran out for the final time. As a viewer, you might want stories to draw to tidy resolutions, but for Indigenous women facing violence, there is really no satisfying end. I recommend this movie even though it can be a confrontational watch; it shows two different realities on streets the viewer recognizes in a third way of endless possibilities. It’s immersive and evocative, but most of all, I think that 104-minute runtime is the gestation period for empathy to grow.

Reflections of an arts student at SFU prior to graduating

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Peak Web
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PHOTO: Courtesy of Tracey Ho

By: Tracey Ho, SFU Student

While I had always enjoyed arts in high school, being a student at SFU’s School for Contemporary Arts (SCA) for the past five years made me realize just how much more there was to learn about the art world. My first few classes with the school were focused more on artistic concepts, which allowed me to develop a strong base knowledge of different techniques such as durational (time-based) media, painting, and sketching. During my third and fourth years, I got to take a lot more practical classes that involved hands-on application of such techniques. While these courses allowed me to become a well-rounded artist in watercolour and oil painting, sketching, multimedia video-making, and sculpting, my time at the SCA also showed me what a student artist can do outside of the classroom.

One of my most memorable moments was getting to take CA 306, where I got to do a practicum with SFU Galleries. Eventually, I helped select several works to be displayed as part of a piece called “The Moon Project” at the Teck Gallery (now renamed “Harbour Centre Lounge”) from March 2024 to March 2025. Through these experiences, I was welcomed into a family of artists and arts enthusiasts, and more specifically, they created a community for me at SFU outside of the lecture halls. My times with SFU Galleries and the Gibson Museum were also personally instrumental in showing me my future career path — becoming a curator. CA 306 paved a long way in rejecting the false stereotype that students who pursue arts in university go unemployed.

I also fondly remember participating in two visual arts shows that helped me become the artist that I know today. The first, The City of Many, at the end of my third year, and the final graduation show called KerPlunk!. For The City of Many, my cohort worked in collaboration with professor Sabine Bitter and Spring 2025 Audain Visual Artist in Residence Sandy Kaltenborn to explore the role of art and artists in an ever-shifting urban landscape, through looking at themes such as diversity, identity, architecture, and urban dynamism. This show was the first time I got to show my artwork to the public with my video, “Burnaby Malls Changing Before My Eyes,” that showcased the transformation of the three Burnaby malls (Lougheed, Brentwood, and Metrotown) over the years. For KerPlunk!, held just a few months ago, I got to explore the evolving responsibilities of contemporary artists to keep the integrity of galleries and media and how we, future professionals in contemporary art, adapt to these responsibilities. This art show provided me with one last chance as an undergraduate student to publicly display my arts with, “Handmade Dollhouse Mansion,” an eight-section mansion made using recyclable items I collected, representing that old items can be given new meanings in the right environment. 

As I head into graduation, I will always cherish the confidence that my times at the SCA have provided me

Both in forming personal communities, and in showcasing my arts to the wider public. As I reflect on my life after graduation, I plan to keep visiting local galleries and pursuing curatorial positions. Motivated by what I saw at the SCA, in the longer term, I hope to inspire future generations of SCA students to pursue their passions in contemporary arts and reject the notion that arts deters career prospects. 

 

Backlash reportedly not the British Museum’s tea and crumpets

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Peak Web
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The exterior of the British Museum.

By: Sasha Rubick, Fact Checker

In 2025, the British Museum unveiled an online exhibit titled Colonialism: A Digital Experience. The paywalled, by-subscription-only website was created to make stolen artifacts more accessible, and held the controversial mission statement, “History belongs to everyone, as long as it is nailed to the floor in London.” After facing severe backlash, the museum has released a statement, which is as follows:

In the spirit of democracy that Britain has historically propagated worldwide via peaceful invasion, the British Museum welcomes socratic dialogue. An itty-bitty verbal tiff between neoliberals — why, that’s our tea and crumpets! But myself and my wigged compatriots at the British Museum have been quaking in our wellies seeing the insurrectionist whinging of the tabloids this past year concerning our online exhibit. Nonetheless, in an act of gracious neighbourliness, we have axed the website [hold for applause]. We thusly present our defence of our actions to our noble countrymen; esteemed representatives of the Nobel Foundation; and the mob of complaining, unsavoury internationals; in that order. In the spirit of settler-colonialism, ‘tis high time that we situate this kerfuffle behind us and pretend it never existed. Off we go! 

Firstly, we at the British Museum have been positively knackered by the ludicrous idea that we should somehow “return stolen artifacts to their rightful owners.” Hast thou no sense at all? The foremost concern of the British Museum is the protection of stolen artifacts. The prerequisites of a nation to protect its own artifacts are as follows: 1) an arsenal of nuclear weapons, and 2) a squadron of silent soldiers in very tall hats. Until one possesses both, they are in no position to protect their own cultural lineage, and we shall benevolently undergo the task on their behalf. By God, imagine if somebody threw soup at it, or misplaced it with their improper archival skills. Nothing like that would ever happen in London. 

Moreover, we at the British Museum think that one culture is being neglected amidst this dialogue — why has nobody mentioned British culture? Theft is our great nation’s most beloved pastime; we love it even more than football and transphobia. Be it the Benin Bronzes, the Rosetta Stone, or the Parthenon sculptures; what is consistent is that we rob indiscriminately . . . or maybe a tad bit discriminantly (shhh). The British Museum has borrowed artifacts, and now we’re stealing money by loaning those artifacts to the very people we borrowed them from! Likewise, it is time-honoured British cultural practice to keep old, dusty artifacts around and claim that they’ll rake in tourist dollars. Just look at our monarchy! And do pray tell, why oughtn’t an upstanding institution such as the British Museum partake in traditional British ritual? 

Our online exhibit was truly ingenious, and we will not apologize for it. After all, we achieved our ultimate goal: stealing the credit for stealing! When you think of “stolen artifacts,” you think of the British Museum — that’s what we call a mighty-good PR move. We’ll gladly steal away your tourist dollars, because we profit from the belief that one needs an aeroplane ticket to see stolen artifacts. By all means, languish in the futility of seeking repatriation across the pond; and forget that collections, museums, and universities right in your neighbourhood do the exact same thing. Ta!

A letter from your old friend, GERD

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Peak Web
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A personified stomach crossing their hands at the sight of pizza, burgers, and fries.
ILLUSTRATION: Jackie Peng / The Peak

By: The one and only GERD 

Dear — no, let’s skip the formalities, we’ve known each other long enough. You probably know who it is already, but just to make sure you don’t mistake me for the other guy you hate — AKA lactose intolerance. It’s me, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD for short). You call me “the ultimate life ruiner,” and while it lowkey stings, I try to convince myself that it’s just a term of endearment for you at this point. You may be wondering why I’m suddenly reaching out to you, considering that we’ve technically known each other for a good couple of years now, but we never had a proper conversation. Like a real, one-on-one, heart-to-heart talk. They say “better late than never,” right? So here I am, being the bigger “person” so to speak, and initiating this difficult but much needed conversation . . . via a letter. Finally, GERD gets heard.  

It’s truly upsetting seeing how estranged we’ve become and how much you’ve come to despise me, when all I’ve ever done was be here for you through thick and thin — I’ve always been the one constant in your life. Who was there for you when you’d pull all nighters studying, while eating spicy instant noodles just to stay awake? That’s right — me. Who did you use as an excuse to avoid consuming culinary biohazards, like the suspicious chocolate chip cookies made by your coworker’s five-year-old who wipes his runny nose with his hands? ME. “Sorry — I can’t have chocolate, it’s a GERD trigger,” you said, just last week. And not once, in all these years of our union, have you ever thanked me. One might say I’m close to your heart, because . . . you know . . . the heartburn. But I don’t think you feel that way, and it really hurts my feelings!

I’d also like to point out that framing me as the villain in this story has been more than unfair. From your perspective, I ruin the fun by giving you stomachaches and heartburn, but have you ever considered how your actions affect me? I want to have some peace and quiet around here, but how can I when you consume foods that summon me from the pits of the intestinal chambers? Your doctor gave you a list of trigger foods to avoid, and yet you actively choose to consume said trigger foods. And don’t get me started on those disgusting fruit-flavoured calcium carbonate tablets that you take whenever you get acid reflux. Would you want to be doused in powdery fruit-flavoured chalk? The golden rule is to “treat others the way you want to be treated,” so why is it okay to do that to me? And remember when you unfairly blamed me for giving you a stomachache after eating triple cheese pizza, when it was — I’d argue — mainly lactose intolerance’s fault? And yet I took all the blame until you finally decided to get that checked out. You complain about me being “sour,” but wouldn’t you be sour too if you were me?

As heartburn-inducing as it was to write this out, it had to be done, because you really ought to reflect and take responsibility for your own actions rather than blaming me for this whole ordeal. I hope that after reading this letter, you finally see the situation from my point of view and show me a bit more compassion. 

— GERD

 

Horoscopes June 15–21

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Peak Web
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ILLUSTRATION: Olivia Blackmore / The Peak

By: Abbey Perley, Assistant Production Editor

Aries

March 21–April 19

Tangerine matcha latte

Aries, tangerines may be as bright as you, but the novelty is getting a little out of hand. When was the last time you even ate a tangerine? This combination is what you thought could kickstart your summer, but all it will really do is stoke the thrill of being a trailblazer. At least you’ll know you’re meeting your Vitamin C intake. The stars are taking bets on if you’ll gatekeep this or make a TikTok about it (or both, somehow, for social validation).

Taurus

April 20–May 20

Banana bread matcha latte

Just because you like to be cozy doesn’t mean your drink orders must follow suit. The stars are seriously wondering if you even wanted a matcha at all or if you were just craving banana bread. Now you have both. Please consider taking up baking instead of drinking whatever this is. 

Gemini

May 21–June 20

Dirty matcha latte

Gemini, you don’t have to drink dirt just to stay relevant! When indecisiveness has been ruling you to the point where you have to layer two caffeines on top of each other, you should know something needs to be re-evaluated. The stars believe in your ability to get through one full drink of one kind without getting bored, and are simultaneously concerned about how FOMO is impacting your lifestyle. Check in with yourself once the caffeine from this doozy wears off. 

Cancer

June 21–July 22

Usucha

It’s OK to admit the world can be a bit too much for you. You can’t be bothered with all the toppings and syrups and cold foams and milk substitutes that modern society possesses. Sometimes you just want to reconnect with how all of these drinks began in the first place. The stars think this is a good time to return to your roots and remember where you started. Some people may call you boring, but the word they should be looking for is classy. 

Leo

July 23–August 22

Raspberry danish matcha latte

Your desperation for success can get a little out of hand sometimes (all the time). This is another case of that desperation making itself known. This drink is the embodiment of throwing synonyms at your essay just to hit word count and look pretentious. Raspberry? Doable. Danish? Not unless they blend up a pastry to make it (which is unlikely, but would maybe contribute to it being $9). Like your essay, this drink sounds intriguing but just by the name, we all know you’ve lost the plot.

Virgo

August 23–September 22

Pumpkin spice matcha latte

Pumpkin spice as a matcha flavouring should be a recession indicator, and perhaps it’s time for you to chase this trend. Instinctually, pumpkin might be up there with the last things you would consider pairing with matcha. However, the stars (or a sponsor?) would like you to look a little closer and consider that the warm earthiness of both ingredients make for one robust drink that would suit your equally-as-earthy nature. Please try it! This entry has been sponsored by Big Pumpkin!

Libra

September 23–October 22

Strawberry matcha latte

To bond with the enthusiastic strawberry matcha community, you are completely OK with being like other girls and romanticizing your daily life beyond belief (mostly to remain functional). As endearing as this is, the stars urge you to find your matcha-life balance elsewhere; they are afraid a less-than-average latte may be your last straw(berry). 

Scorpio

October 23–November 21

Mango matcha latte 

Like you, this drink can be quite temperamental depending on if it’s mango season or not, but it’s a staple that you’re always determined to try regardless. At times, the mango’s sheer strength can make the matcha nearly invisible to the tongue. The stars would like to ask if you feel more like the mango or the matcha in this scenario, and possibly consider how that affects other people. 

Sagittarius

November 22–December 21

Ube matcha latte

You’re a risk-taker, and what better way to prove it than trying one of the most volatile combinations possible? The success of this drink depends entirely on the quality of both compounds. The high-risk, high-reward nature makes for an adrenaline rush — just don’t crash and burn when it inevitably tastes artificial at least 50% of the time. Big Pumpkin has sponsored this entry to remind everyone that pumpkins grow in the ground just like ube.  

Capricorn

December 22–January 19

Double shot matcha latte 

You’re someone who needs to ensure everyone in your life knows you’re a busybody. You might think the L-theanine in matcha makes you seem morally superior to a coffee drinker, but just because you can doesn’t mean you should. The stars urge you to check how many grams of matcha are in one shot so you don’t spend the next five hours vibrating instead of addressing your to-do list (which they know is long; you have a lot to accomplish, after all). 

Aquarius

January 20–February 18

Blueberry matcha latte

Usually, the stars see blueberry paired with hojicha, but you seem to want all that is different. You might experience disappointment more than the average person. You say that builds character, but this just means you get to talk about experiencing disappointment in your daily life. Big Pumpkin has sponsored this entry to tell everyone that pumpkins have a longer shelf life than blueberries and therefore have a higher ROI(FM) (Return on Investment (For Matcha)).

Pisces

February 19–March 20

Matcha milk tea with pearls 

Let’s be honest. You were at a bubble tea shop and didn’t feel like a fruit tea. None of the other milk teas had the specific energy you were looking for. For someone as nostalgic as you, the fond memories of your matcha experiences persist even when away from matcha cafes, which influences your order everywhere else you go to an alarming degree. It’s debatable if this even counts as matcha and you probably knew that while ordering it, but unlike some matcha snobs, you’re just here for the vibes. 

Recent Andes virus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise

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PHOTO: CDC and Cynthia Goldsmith / Public Health Image Library

By: Marie Jen Galilo, Staff Writer

On April 1, the MV Hondius cruise departed from Argentina with two Dutch passengers who were carrying the Andes virus, leading to a boat-wide outbreak. In their latest update, released on May 28, the World Health Organization (WHO) shared in a report that there are 11 confirmed cases, two probable cases, and three deaths linked to the hantavirus. 

On May 16, BC provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the first confirmed case of Andes virus in BC. Four passengers from the cruise were brought into BC. Initially, they were asked to isolate for 21 days. One passenger, who is a Yukon resident, tested positive for the virus but has since recovered, according to BC health officials. Following this confirmed case, the isolation time for the other passengers was extended to 42 days, the maximum incubation period for the Andes virus. The other three passengers are currently asymptomatic but remain in quarantine until June 21. 

Hantaviruses are a group of viruses — submicroscopic bodies that require a host to reproduce — that include more than 20 species. The viruses primarily use rodents, “such as rats, mice, and voles,” as hosts. According to the University Health Network (UHN), common modes of transmission include inhalation of air particles from “rodent droppings, urine, or saliva,” as well as the consumption of “contaminated food or water.” The Andes virus is the only identifiable species known to have the capacity of human-to-human transmission: following prolonged, close contact with an infected individual, although these transmissions are rare. According to the WHO, this is “defined as being within 2 meters for a cumulative period of more than 15 minutes.”

The specific species of hantavirus on the MV Hondius cruise was identified as the Andes virus, which may “cause a condition called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS),” according to the UHN.

The Peak spoke with virologist and SFU associate professor of health sciences, Dr. Masahiro Niikura to learn more about hantavirus. He shared, “The severeness of the disease and the transmissibility — how contagious a virus is — [are] totally different things. 

“The virus that can cause a pandemic is [one that is] easily transmitted in the human population. Hantavirus is not.”

— Dr. Masahiro Niikura, virologist and SFU professor of health sciences 

Hantavirus is shed mostly in the urine.” COVID-19, for example, is primarily spread through airborne particles or respiratory droplets. Although both viruses can spread in multiple ways, the current understanding of how the Andes virus spreads makes it “easier to control, to contain.” 

Dr. Niikura emphasized that the location in which the virus replicates is often where it will be transmitted. “If the virus is replicating in the upper respiratory tract, the virus is more likely to be shed from the mouth, like cough, sneezing, or saliva,” he shared. Currently, “it is not clear whether the virus is present in this way or how long it might survive in respiratory particles,” according to Scientific American. “In many cases, hantaviruses are replicating deeper inside of the body.” 

Currently, there is limited progress in the development of vaccines and treatment for the hantavirus, which Dr. Niikura said may be due to a lack of demand. “Because this virus is not highly contagious and human cases are so rare in developed countries, the demand for an effective vaccine is limited,” he shared. In Argentina, Andes virus cases are numerous, especially in tight-knit rural communities. More cases are cropping up in the country’s populous capital, Buenos Aires.

The Peak also reached out to BCCDC for a statement, who shared that “the risk of being exposed to hantavirus in BC is low,” but advised people to “avoid dust that could be contaminated with the saliva, urine, or droppings of infected deer mice.” In BC, “Workers and homeowners can be exposed in crawl spaces, under houses, or in vacant or occasional use buildings, such as cottages, trailers and garden sheds, that may harbour mice. Campers and hikers can also be exposed when they use infested trail shelters or camp in other deer mouse habitats.”

For information on how to identify and protect yourself from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, visit the BCCDC website and HealthLink BC.

Road closures on Broadway causes uncertainty for local businesses

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PHOTO: Victoria Lo / The Peak

By: Niveja Assalaarachchi, News Writer

On May 6, the BC government announced the latest detour developments along Broadway in Vancouver. A road closure and a subsequent road detour is set to occur in July on West Broadway between Cambie street and Alberta street. These changes will last for about six months after the FIFA World Cup. Vehicle traffic will be rerouted to West 8th street between Alberta and Ash Street. Due to this road closure, businesses in the affected area will have reduced traffic, with sidewalk accessibility and limited parking. 

This road closure is a result of the Broadway Subject project: a $2.9 billion provincial project that will extend the Millennium Line from its current terminus at VCC-Clark station to Arbutus Street and Broadway. The project has faced numerous setbacks with an original project completion date of 2025 being pushed to the fall of 2027, as a result of construction issues. 

The provincial government shared in a statement that the closure is necessary in speeding up road reconstruction along the corridor, claiming that the detour “will reduce disruption from 14 months to six months.”

The Peak reached out to Rania Hatz, who is currently serving as the executive director of the Cambie Village Business Association, to understand what businesses in the area feel about the new road closure. 

She shared that while businesses expected the road closure to come to their area, they were shocked at the timeframe of the detour. Hatz claimed, “There wasn’t any consultation, and nor was there any notice. We were given notice 20 minutes before the press conference about this. So there are people who renewed leases, not knowing that traffic would be diverted.”

Hatz critiqued the lack of consideration shown to businesses by various levels of government.

“These are people, this is their livelihood, this is their business. They get up every morning expecting to go to work and make some money for their families. We’re not talking the billionaires, we’re talking the ma’s and pa’s”

— Rania Hatz, executive director of the Cambie Village Business Association

She proposed that the municipality could offer a tax break to properties affected by the road closure. She noted that this could allow property owners to lower their tenants’ rents as a form of relief to businesses in the area. “We’re not talking about compensation since they’re not wanting to do compensation [ . . . ] but at least they could stop charging them money.”

In a statement to The Peak, the City of Vancouver said that it “is supporting the province to help make this pending closure efficient to reduce the overall duration of road reconstruction of the Broadway Subway Project.” The city also highlighted two tax reliefs, targeted land assessment averaging and the development potential relief program pilot, on offer for “eligible light industrial and business properties.”

The BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit shared with The Peak that the building of each of these underground stations “requires a tailored approach to complete this phase of work, while minimizing impacts on the surrounding community and travelling public.” They added, however, that “this will be the final full closure of Broadway for the project.”

The Millennium Line extension will add five additional underground SkyTrain stations connecting to the new Arbutus terminus station: Great Northern Way-Emily Carr, Mount Pleasant, Broadway-City Hall, Oak-VGH, and South Granville. At Broadway-City Hall station, a new station will directly connect the Millennium and Canada Line for the first time. 

Motion to support Vancouver’s sex workers faces dramatic reduction

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PHOTO: Courtesy of @ptfry / Instagram, Viktor Kirichenko / Unsplash (City Hall)

By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer

Content warning: mentions of disappearance, murder, and serial killer Robert Pickton.

At the Standing Committee on City Finance and Services on May 20, Vancouver Green Party councillor Pete Fry introduced a motion aiming to uphold “the City’s responsibility to maintain adequate, community-connected capacity to support sex worker safety.” Fry included a call to reinstate a second sex work social planner, after the role was slashed to only one active position earlier this year. The motion passed with amendments, which eliminated this commitment. The Peak corresponded with Fry, WISH Drop-In Centre Society, and the City of Vancouver for more information. 

Those in the support position “function as liaisons and planners working directly with people and organizations with lived and professional experience,” Fry explained. They “specifically are not representing or reporting to law enforcement — with a focus on understanding and identifying risks and trends, and creating safe environments in work places and urban realm.”

These positions came as direct recommendation from a Commission of Inquiry, led by former attorney-general Wally Oppal. Their 2012 document Forsaken: The Report of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry was designed “to inquire into the failures of policing forces between 1997 and 2002 who were investigating the disappearance and murder of dozens of women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and particularly the police investigation of serial murderer Robert William Pickton.” Pickton “was charged with murdering 26 of the women” — although he claimed to be responsible for the death of 23 more — and was found guilty on six counts of murder, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. He died in 2024 serving life in prison.

This document highlighted many negligent police behaviours surrounding the murder investigation while it was ongoing, as well as systemic issues that led to the vulnerability of women working in the sex trade, including being unhoused and substance use issues. Oppal made a total of 65 recommendations to the government to take “action to directly address women’s vulnerability to violence and serial predation.” One of these recommendations was “that the City of Vancouver create and fund two community-based liaison positions to be filled by individuals who have experience in the survival sex trade.”

Fry’s proposal also acknowledged the immediacy of reinstating the second position, given the city’s upcoming summer events. “There are reasonable and credible concerns about increased risk of violence and harm to sex workers around FIFA events, driven by heightened policing, displacement, venue-area controlled zones, and the erosion or loss of safety supports and peer infrastructure,” the motion reads. Similarly, “during the Olympics in Vancouver sex workers faced heightened police harassment without arrest.”

The original motion also noted that “sex worker safety advocates, SWAN Vancouver, report calls relating to violence and safety concerns increased by 64% between 2024 and 2025, with further increases projected for 2026.” They note that “increasing housing scarcity, economic pressure, escalated violence, service defunding, and the loss of peer-led organizations have compounded new risks for sex workers.” Recently, the sex worker support organization PACE “permanently closed its 24/7 Vancouver drop-in centre after 30 years of operations due to a lack of funding,” according to CBC. Vancouver currently has no 24/7 sex worker support centre. According to Halena Seiferling, executive director of Living in Community, this leaves many with nowhere to go, as “most organizations aren’t open and operating when sex workers need to access them,” as reported by CBC.

Still, the second sex work social planner role was originally cut as part of the city’s effort “to shave costs in response to a direction from mayor Ken Sim’s ABC Council majority to freeze property taxes this year,” according to CBC. The amended motion, which was proposed by ABC councillor Lisa Dominato, included “no commitment to rehiring the worker.” Dominato asserted “that instead of having two sex-worker support staffers there should be a focus on safety across multiple city departments,” according to the Vancouver Sun.

The Peak reached out to councillor Dominato for comment, but did not hear back by the publication deadline.

The City of Vancouver noted that “for the past several years, the city’s work related to sex worker safety has been delivered within a broader planning focus on community and gender safety, including women’s equity, 2STGD+ [Two-Spirit, Trans, and Gender Diverse] safety and inclusion, and MMIWG [Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls] responses.” The City said to The Peak, “As part of this work, some functions are changing or being realigned while ensuring service priorities continue to advance. Community and gender safety, including efforts to support sex workers and related organizations, continues to be a priority in the city.”     

For Fry, however, “the role of the sex-support worker is a highly demanding and difficult job that helps protect this community in ways that other departments, such as the police, can’t,” he shared with The Vancouver Sun.

WISH Drop-In Centre Society, whose mission is to “improve the health, safety, and well-being of women who are involved in Vancouver’s street-based sex trade,” echoed concerns regarding the City’s decision. “Council heard almost an hour of testimony from 20 people with lived experience who spoke about ways the sex worker safety planners provide an essential resource for both individuals and sex worker serving organizations. They received hundreds of emails as well,” the organization told The Peak. “It’s really hard to reconcile the amount of public support shown for these knowledgeable workers with the decision to cut their two-person department.

“There is so much misunderstanding about sex workers’ rights, and discrimination related to sex work stigma, that specialized knowledge is required to have an impact on sex worker safety”

— WISH Drop-In Centre Society

WGOG: If the sun is down, my pen should be too

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Peak Web
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A student resting his head on a table sleeping, black reading glasses sitting beside him
Abdul Basit Melik / Unsplash

By: Sania Shenasa, SFU Student

There’s a specific feeling that you experience once you hit the 3 hour mark into a final and the world outside has gone pitch black. By 9:15 p.m., your brain isn’t even “testing” anymore, it’s just static — static and grasping at words to write out onto the paper. 

The 7:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. exam slot should be a crime. SFU is already notorious for those early morning 100-level math classes that defy the circadian rhythm, but this late-night slot? This is its evil twin. In April, there were 51 exams starting at 7:00 p.m. Are they testing our knowledge or testing our physical and mental endurance? 

Cognitive performance relies on a mix of basic alertness, sustained attention, and executive functions like problem-solving and catching your own mistakes before turning the exam in. All of that drops massively in the late evenings. 

“Night owls” have a delayed cycle that tolerates late hours, but the rest of us hit a wall in memory and attention as the evening wears on. It feels like we are being penalized for our brains naturally shutting down as the sun dips below the horizon. At this point, we’re being graded on our ability to ignore our body’s natural urge to relax or eat dinner. 

These late night exams sabotage our sleep schedules and grades! If the sun is down, so should my pen. SFU, please: have the courtesy of letting us fail our exams while it’s still light outside so we can at least enjoy the scenery on the bus ride home. 

 

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

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© The Peak Publications Society

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

For advertising inquiries: [email protected]
For promotional inquiries: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society