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Jody Paterson on Muck Rack

Jody Paterson

(She/Her)
Victoria
As seen in: The Globe and Mail, Vancouver Sun, The Tyee, The Leaf-Chronicle, Times Colonist, Castanet News, J-Source, Squamish Chief, CastanetKamloops.net, Douglas Magazine and
Covers:  Social justice issues across the spectrum, homelessness, issues for families of children with disabilities, toxic-drug crisis, human interest, brain injury from intimate partner violence
Doesn't Cover: Politics, except as a strategy for achieving change on social justice fronts
Writer, editor & communications strategist. Social justice advocate. Proud to stand alongside sex workers in the battle for respect and safe workplaces.

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Jody Paterson’s Biography

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I'm a communications strategist, social advocate, writer and sometimes-journalist. I am happiest when writing reports, articles or other materials that identify, contextualize and background societal problems big and small, in hopes of helping our world at least slow a few of our deepening crises. I have worked in reporting, column-writing and newspaper management at three BC newspapers, and since 2004 have worked primarily in communications strategy and lobbying around social issues including …

Jody Paterson’s Journalist Portfolio

Sidney McIntyre-Starko was loved. So were the other 50,000 people who didn't get their stories to...

Sidney McIntyre-Starko was loved. So were the other 50,000 people who didn't get their stories to...

I hope the inquest recommendations that have come out of tragedy in a University of Victoria residence really…

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A family's need to believe their son's innocence extended his jail time by 20 years

A family's need to believe their son's innocence extended his jail time by 20 years

Once upon a time, I got captivated by the story of Derik Lord, whose absolute denial of having anything to do…

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Could the stories of the dead shake us out of this moral panic?

Could the stories of the dead shake us out of this moral panic?

This is a callout to people who know someone who has died in the toxic drug crisis in the last decade. I've g…

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BC’s Safe Refuges for Women Face a Terrible Choice

BC’s Safe Refuges for Women Face a Terrible Choice

B.C.’s transition houses for women trying to leave a violent partner are living the cliché about ending up be…

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Once Upon a Time in Saskatchewan: Memories of a Very Ca...

Once Upon a Time in Saskatchewan: Memories of a Very Ca...

Charles Chow and Mary Feica were a mixed-race couple before anyone had even coined such a term, and would go …

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Yes, CEOs, that's blood on your hands

Yes, CEOs, that's blood on your hands

I was in Philadelphia visiting family last month when UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot dead on a …

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Articles

Old-age homeless: Few options for seniors who lose their homes, or never had one

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By Jody Paterson, Daisy Xiong Verified, Julie Chadwick
| Castanet News Verified
BC News Jody Paterson / Times Colonist - Sep 20, 2026 / 7:15 am | Story: 631831 Photo: Darren Stone, Times Colonist Avery Taylor, manager of Victoria operations for PHS Community Services Society, with resident Ethan Marcano, 71, at the former Paul’s Motor Inn. Shelters and supportive housing were never envisioned as care homes, says Taylor, but with no other options for people, that’s what is happening.
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Slow-motion crisis: The toll of toxic drugs goes beyond overdose deaths

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By Jody Paterson
| Times Colonist Verified
A school on fire. A multi-vehicle pileup on the Malahat. A high-impact earthquake. First responders call these kinds of major disasters “mass casualty incidents” — MCIs. That’s the perfect term for 900-block Pandora, says a local B.C. Ambulance Service paramedic speaking on condition of anonymity. “Pandora is a slow-motion MCI,” he says. “We’re in a state of system failure, and it’s devastating to so many people.
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Roads to recovery: Why aren’t we studying what works in addiction treatment?

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By Jody Paterson
| Times Colonist Verified
It’s been a century or so since surgeon and Burnaby sanatorium owner Dr. Robert Telford was opining in the Vancouver Sun about the urgency of launching a facility in B.C. that provided treatment for “drug fiends.” Debate had been heating up about these so-called drug fiends for a while. Fuelled by racism toward Chinese labourers in the country, opium was the new enemy. Prohibition politics were in play, and an appetite for treatment was building.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

General reporter, Kamloops Daily Sentinel, 1982.

How is social media changing news?

It's confusing the hell out of people who have no idea how to give any particular source weight.

What tools and software do you use to do your job?

Trusty laptop, Word 2013 because I am resistant to converting to a subscription, much Google searching, newspapers.com

Awards

Honorary Doctorate of Laws, University of Victoria

2012 - social justice

I was honoured with an honorary doctorate of laws for my years of social activism in journalism and the community, in particular for people with sex-work backgrounds and those living homeless or at risk, mental health challenges, and substance use issues.

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