Jen Lyle

Meh. I've been in Whitehorse in the winter when the sun rises at 10am, but doesn't set until after 5pm. The dark mornings were fine - and it was nice to have evening light.

Yes! Now, I won't have to deal with the madness of being one hour ahead of Yukon time...only half the year. That - and this messing around with the time also sucks for ppl living with dementia and their caregivers. I'll gladly take a later winter sunrise if it means no more of this nonsense.

Wait times in the Northern Health region are, on average, over a year, per the Office of the Seniors Advocate. My heart aches for all the families having to deal with this.

Let me be crystal clear: No one - absolutely no one - would choose to stay in a hospital bed if they had access to appropriate long-term care. Punishing ppl in vulnerable circumstances for our collective failure to plan is, simply put, cruel. #HealthCare #canpoli #LongTermCare

Iranians in North Vancouver celebrating the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader. Thousands celebrating on Lonsdale Avenue. 🇨🇦

Six people sitting at a table inside a hotel ballroom. They are smiling at the camera.

Kicking off the Kelowna #BreakfasttoRemember with a full house and meaningful stories. The more we speak about #dementia , the less stigmatized it becomes.

A close-up shot of pink plum blossoms just starting to open, with a blue sky in the background

A close-up of yellow daffodils and pink heather blooming in a garden.

The East Coast is being hammered by a winter storm again. Meanwhile in Vancouver:

Just in: CDA recommends against public coverage for the #Alzheimers drug lecanemab. Key factors included uncertain benefits, safety concerns, system capacity gaps, and equity. Lots to unpack, but the tl;dr is that those who can pay will be able to access lecanemab; those who can't, won't.

Six of those care homes that were "re-paced" had had completion dates previously announced (ranging between 2027 - 2030). Between those 6, we would've seen a net new 530 LTC beds added to a system that desperately needs them. Not anymore.

lots more to unpack, including some intriguing measures embedded in the Ministry of Health service plan (for example, ⬇️ % of new LTC residents who could've stayed at home), but those are some of the things that jumped out at me.

- the prov wants to ⬆️ economy- that requires ppl. With 36% of the workforce comprised of ppl caring for an adult family member, supports for family caregivers are critical to workforce retention.
- the prov already acknowledges the imp't of caregiving for kids, w $330M for childcare over 3 yrs

#BCBudget2026 is out; here's my take:
- gov't is slowing down investment on ⬆️ #LongTermCare capacity (6 projects put on ice). However valid the reasons, it still means even fewer LTC beds (and we're already behind).
- investing in #HomeCare is going to be even more critical because of it...AND...

2026 BC Budget Speech YouTube video by GovernmentofBC

Link for anyone who wants to tune in live: www.youtube.com/live/yWjP9rr...

Watching the BC budget speech rn and trying to not bawl. The debate is opening with remarks about the tragedy in Tumbler Ridge.

Photo taken from atop a gravel dyke. In the background, a river winds through a scene of brown grasses and bare-branched trees.

Got a bike ride in before the wet weather hit. Felt good to be in nature, getting some exercise - especially after this past week.

This is just awful. My heart goes out to everyone in the community who is affected 💔

All of BC is wrapping the families of Tumbler Ridge with love.

Supports are available:

BC Mental Health Support Line: 310-6789

Kids Help Phone: Text “CONNECT” to 686868

Thank you to the emergency responders on the ground for the work they are doing.

Hey - I appreciate your frustration about air quality; however, ten people are dead in a tiny community, some of whom are likely to be children. Please consider the context of your thread.

Number of people waiting for publicly-funded long-term care in B.C. doubles since 2016: report | CBC News A report from B.C.'s seniors' advocate has found a ballooning waitlist for long-term care beds in B.C., saying that the province has failed to keep up with a rapidly aging population.

I literally just talked to someone today who has a family member on the emergency wait list to get into #LongTermCare. Trust me when I say that it's bad...and access will only get worse if we maintain status quo. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Imagine needing #LongTermCare. Now imagine having to wait 10 mo. to get it. That's the avg wait time in BC and we're falling further behind. BC's senior pop grew by 19% since 2019-20, but its LTC capacity only grew by 5%. We need to fix this. Report: www.seniorsadvocatebc.ca/current-issu...

Ouf. I just biked this route today for my commute (I take it regularly throughout the year). It was messy and definitely more dangerous than usual - and it'll likely get worse as the weather improves and more ppl bike. 10th is a very busy bike route - adding more cars is a recipe for disaster.

Ways to Support Minnesota’s Immigrant Communities as ICE Activity Escalates Food drives, fundraisers, trainings, restaurant specials, and other resources to support immigrant communities during ICE's massive Operation Metro Surge.

The news out of MN is awful. So, here's what I'm doing about it:
- [continuing] to boycott US travel + US goods and services.
- donating to community orgs providing support on the ground. Here's a list: mspmag.com/arts-and-cul...
Anger without action = despair; anger w/purpose = change. #abolishICE

Erm...I was just out in -15C wearing about half as much gear (or less - definitely only had one layer on my legs). I was expecting -30C at least with a set-up like that. Come back when it's -40C and your eyelashes freeze.

Thanks for sharing!

Impt to note that this is an active trial, concluding in 2028. We won't know for a while yet if it works, but the idea is promising. Also - the study is aiming for ~25% of participants from underrepresented groups, which is super imp't.

Sunlight filters through fog over a winter nature landscape framed by trees and brown grass. A small sliver of blue sky peeks through.

Fog with a cameo appearance of blue sky and filtered sunlight made for a moody, dreamy landscape this morning.

Seriously. Do people honestly think their grandkids will proudly share that granddad was an ICE agent during this administration, fifty years from now? Nope. It'll be the family shame and deep, dark secret. We've seen this movie before.

We Found More Than 40 Cases of Immigration Agents Using Banned Chokeholds and Other Moves That Can Cut Off Breathing Civilians have had apparent seizures. One had his eyes roll back. Another had ribs broken. “I felt like I was going to pass out and die,” said a 16-year-old citizen put in a chokehold. The government ...

If you want to know why fascists go after free press, this is why. The abuses documented here are absolutely hair-raising and should outrage anyone with common decency. www.propublica.org/article/vide...

This is a very kind wish. But I'd also like to ask you to follow other Canadian senators who are already here, and who haven't been as lucky as I have in connecting with an audience. I convinced a fair few Senate friends to give this platform a try, but many didn't feel it worked for them. #cdnpoli

I work in the #Alzheimers field, so it's interesting to see disease-modifying therapies make Maclean's list. I have many thoughts; the upshot is, whereas there's been little focus on providing an early, accurate diagnosis, things like lecanemab may finally be the system kick-in-the-pants we need.