Brenna Owen
Reporter | Vancouver
About Brenna Owen
Brenna Owen is a community-driven multimedia journalist and a guest on Coast Salish territory, where she’s completing a Master of Journalism at UBC. She’s also a member of the National Student Investigative Reporting Network. Brenna has travelled to three United Nations climate conferences as a civil society delegate and got her start in journalism at CFRC, the community radio station in Kingston, Ontario.
Scientists call for recovery for endangered orcas off British Columbia's coast
A new report from a group of more than 30 experts says a population of endangered killer whales off the coast of British Columbia and Washington state is showing no sign of recovery under the current conditions.
Lytton, BC under evacuation threat again, as hundreds of wildfires burn across Canada
This week marks the four-year anniversary of a deadly wildfire that destroyed the British Columbia village of Lytton and the community is again under threat, with a fire burning out of control north of the community setting off evacuation orders and alerts. The fire is among about 470 fires burning across Canada, including more than 80 in British Columbia.
Canadian and US glaciers doubling melt rate from previous decade
Researchers say some glaciers in Western Canada and the United States lost 12 per cent of their mass from 2021 to 2024, doubling melt rates compared to the previous decade in a continuation of a concerning global trend.
BC green lights LNG pipeline, with no need for new environmental assessment
The British Columbia government says a decade-old environmental assessment certificate remains valid for the construction of a natural gas pipeline in northern BC, in a decision opposed by the province's Green Party and environmental groups.
BC Hydro's challenge: Powering province through increased demand, drought and trade war
British Columbia's power utility is facing transformational challenges of drought, rising costs and a trade war with the United States as it works to meet electricity demand that's surging after two decades of relative stability.
BC opioid rules were aimed at reducing overdoses. But they cut cancer patients' pain meds
Rule changes designed to reduce opioid overdose deaths in British Columbia in 2016 inadvertently harmed cancer and palliative-care patients by reducing their access to pain killers, a new study has found.
BC's low snowpack, melt signal drought, raises concerns for hydro power
Drier, warmer weather in much of British Columbia last month has contributed to an early melt, raising concern for widespread drought this summer, the province's latest snowpack and water supply bulletin says.
Grey whale 'Little Patch' mesmerizes and sparks connection in Metro Vancouver
A grey whale known as Little Patch has been mesmerizing onlookers in the waters off of Vancouver for weeks, sparking a sense of connection as it stops to feed in the busy region before migrating northward.
Planned burn could have killed trapped firefighters, concludes BC safety report
British Columbia's worker protection agency says a planned burn by the province's wildfire service during the devastating 2023 fire season could have killed or injured multiple firefighters who became "trapped by extreme fire behaviour" that cut off their escape.
Wildfire causes evacuations in Fort St. John, BC, city says
Firefighters from Fort St. John, BC, and the provincial wildfire service were battling a blaze that prompted evacuations late on Thursday, the city said.