Linda Givetash
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Author: Linda Givetash

Linda Givetash is a Canadian-South African freelance journalist based in Vancouver, B.C. Her work has appeared in print, digital and broadcast media outlets around the globe.

Ireland takes aim at prenatal alcohol exposure

Posted on September 8, 2018September 25, 2021 by Linda Givetash

DUBLIN — Doctors in Ireland were once known to recommend a pint of Guinness as a source of iron for pregnant or nursing women. While that advice has been discredited, drinking remains so ingrained in Irish culture that many women still feel that swapping a beer or cocktail for something nonalcoholic at a social gathering isn’t an…

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Bees are dying at an alarming rate. Amsterdam may have the answer.

Posted on September 7, 2018January 19, 2021 by Linda Givetash

AMSTERDAM — An unkempt stretch of tall grass, wildflowers and weeds in front of a train station doesn’t look like much — but it may be crucial to solving one of the world’s biggest environmental puzzles. While scientists around the globe have been sounding alarm bells over the decline of bees and pollinators crucial to…

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Slaughter of starving wild horses divides the Netherlands

Posted on August 23, 2018January 14, 2021 by Linda Givetash

The future of a man-made wildlife reserve where nature was left to run its course is at the center of a legal battle.

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Cyprus turns off taps to farmers as water levels drop

Posted on June 22, 2018January 13, 2021 by Linda Givetash

MARONI, Cyprus — The salty water of the Mediterranean in plain view from Charis Christoforou’s olive farm is no help to the cracked, white earth suffering from a third year of drought. A shortage of rain combined with clouds of dust carried over from the water-starved Middle East has slashed Christoforou’s olive production to a…

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‘Learning how to be good allies’: Restoring relationships with Indigenous peoples for reconciliation

Posted on April 28, 2018January 20, 2021 by Linda Givetash

VANCOUVER — As Canada grapples with how to achieve reconciliation with Indigenous people, a group in British Columbia has come together to figure out how to restore relations person-to-person. About a dozen people meet once every three weeks at Kristi Lind’s house in the small community of Naramata south of Kelowna to discuss how to…

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B.C. communities await marine spill compensation years after incidents

Posted on April 20, 2018June 29, 2022 by Linda Givetash

VANCOUVER — Despite “polluter pay” laws in Canada, local governments and agencies are still waiting to recover costs incurred during two significant fuel spills off British Columbia’s coast. The City of Vancouver and Vancouver Aquarium are collectively waiting on nearly $700,000 in losses related to a 2015 leak of bunker fuel, while the Heiltsuk Nation in Bella Bellla continues negotiating over $200,000…

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Renters struggle to find homes as prices climb, availability declines

Posted on April 10, 2018September 24, 2021 by Linda Givetash

VANCOUVER — Joanna Fletcher lives in a one-bedroom apartment on Vancouver’s east side with her 10-year-old son. The building has mice and mould, and her new landlord is threatening eviction. While she has plenty of reasons to leave, Fletcher says she’s fighting to stay for as long as possible because she can’t afford anything else…

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Missing and murdered inquiry emboldens those to move forward: chairwoman

Posted on April 6, 2018February 5, 2021 by Linda Givetash

RICHMOND, B.C. — Some of those who have told their harrowing stories at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls have since redoubled that courage by taking their complaints to police, getting treatment, or reuniting with family, said the head of the inquiry. Marion Buller said in an interview with The…

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Activist tells inquiry that women working in Vancouver sex trade were seen as ‘disposable’

Posted on April 4, 2018February 5, 2021 by Linda Givetash

A Vancouver sex-trade activist recounted the justice system’s failure to protect women who were killed or have disappeared as posters of missing persons were shown on screens Wednesday at a national inquiry. Jamie Lee Hamilton said sex workers from Vancouver’s “Downtown Eastside killing fields” deserved better. “I feel that the women were deemed as disposable,”…

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Lack of friends, language barriers can lead to social isolation, but this group is changing that

Posted on February 27, 2018January 19, 2021 by Linda Givetash

VANCOUVER — Amie Peacock describes her mother as “a social butterfly,” but when she came to visit her in Vancouver from the Philippines a lack of friends and a language barrier left her miserable and lonely. “I couldn’t imagine there are more people like her in our city and, sure enough, when I started looking…

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Fighting loneliness with a community of seniors

Posted on November 17, 2017January 13, 2021 by Linda Givetash
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B.C. outreach group hopes smartphone app will improve safety of sex workers

Posted on November 8, 2017January 20, 2021 by Linda Givetash

VANCOUVER—An outreach group supporting vulnerable women in British Columbia is hoping a cellphone app designed to monitor remote workers in resource industries will help keep sex workers safe. Hope Outreach, a non-profit group that provides support to homeless and exploited women in Kelowna, is partnering with the makers of YodelMe to launch a pilot project…

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B.C. First Nations evade evacuation orders to fight fires

Posted on July 13, 2017January 20, 2021 by Linda Givetash

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Emergency officials and police are urging British Columbia residents to respect evacuation orders ahead of fast-moving wildfires, but some First Nations are standing their ground, successfully protecting their homes and property. The chief of the Tl’etinqox First Nation said RCMP officers told them to leave or risk having their children taken away….

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B.C. First Nations say fentanyl crisis disproportionately affecting their communities

Posted on April 30, 2017March 11, 2019 by Linda Givetash

VANCOUVER — First Nations leaders in British Columbia say they suspect fentanyl is having a disproportionate impact on their communities, but they can’t get the numbers to prove it. Grand Chief Edward John of the First Nations Summit said he’s been asking the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) and other provincial authorities for the data…

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B.C. Greens, riding high in polls, make election hard to call

Posted on April 29, 2017March 12, 2019 by Linda Givetash

VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s Green Party has turned the province’s election campaign into an unpredictable three-way race as polls show a phenomenal rise in support. The centre-right Liberal Party, led by Premier Christy Clark, is seeking to hang on to power after 16 years. Clark has repeatedly attacked the temperament of her main opponent, NDP Leader John Horgan,…

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Adults with fetal alcohol syndrome appear prone to health conditions, survey says

Posted on March 3, 2017February 5, 2021 by Linda Givetash

Myles Himmelreich has struggled with significant joint pain since he was a teen, yet he didn’t get a proper diagnosis of arthritis until he was in his mid-30s. His young age and the fact he is diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder may have prevented doctors from considering testing his joints sooner — a problem…

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How drug potency and online ordering are fuelling Canada’s opioid crisis

Posted on February 26, 2017March 12, 2019 by Linda Givetash

VANCOUVER — Illicit drugs have always been a problem in port cities, but experts say the emergence of highly potent synthetic opioids that are fuelling British Columbia’s overdose crisis are slipping through borders in new ways, presenting challenges for law enforcement. International regulations, online ordering and the potency of the drug are among the factors…

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Some sex workers choose industry due to benefits of occupation: study

Posted on February 9, 2017February 5, 2021 by Linda Givetash

Some sex workers are choosing the industry because it can be more lucrative and rewarding than low-paying service industry jobs, says a recent study by a researcher at the University of Victoria. Prof. Cecilia Benoit, a scientist at the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C., said she’s heard a variety of reasons why sex workers…

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Caregiving takes toll on finances, career, health

Posted on October 27, 2016January 19, 2021 by Linda Givetash

For three years, Heidi Hudson spent her days caring for her ailing father and her nights working on the few contracts she could pick up to support herself. Doctors would say her father, who suffered serious complications following a routine kidney operation, was dying. But as he enjoyed periods of recovery, her role as a…

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B.C. climate plan needs carbon tax hikes, major policy changes: experts

Posted on August 18, 2016September 10, 2019 by Linda Givetash

VANCOUVER — Experts say they’re not sure British Columbia’s overdue climate change plan will go far enough in increasing carbon taxes and tightening environmental policies to reach the province’s long term goals to reduce emissions. B.C.’s Liberal government is scheduled to announce its Climate Leadership Plan on Friday, but Green party Leader Andrew Weaver said…

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