Zak is a Vancouver-based journalist who loves digging into a big story. He focuses on stories about British Columbia with a focus on white-collar crime. Zak twice won the Hon. Edward Goff Penny Memorial Prize for Young Canadian Journalists for his work at The Saskatoon StarPhoenix, including deep dives on the province’s toxic drug crisis and the provincial government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to joining the Investigative Journalism Foundation, he worked at The Tyee, where he investigated workplace deaths, union drives and working conditions for migrant farmworkers in British Columbia. His reporting has also appeared in The Guardian, CBC and VICE. When he’s not reporting you’ll find him jogging, taking film photos or running a game of Dungeons and Dragons.
A briefing note prepared for the deputy minister of Indigenous Services Canada in October 2024 estimated there were roughly 2,770 orphaned or otherwise abandoned oil wells across reserves
The years-long legal battle over aircraft linked to oligarch a key test of Canadian sanctions regime
Federal data show threats against Canadian parliamentarians have risen sharply in recent years
Province tried to prevent release of report with details about reach of offshore betting sites
The group behind University Canada West asked provinces to subsidize tuition for students attending medical schools in the Caribbean
In 2022, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said it may be impossible to get rid of the European green crab
A senior federal official met with the head of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s former company Brookfield last year to talk about Canada’s approach to artificial intelligence.
Braxia Scientific Corp. had plans to explore the health benefits of magic mushrooms
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. promised to deactivate thousands of inactive pipelines under a special deal with B.C.’s energy regulator. Internal emails show the company failed to meet its targets.
About a quarter of the 58 reports Fintrac received about animal trafficking in 2023 had “potential” links to organized crime
Canadian Border Services Agency from 2019-2021 show a rising rate in student visa holders applying for refugee status
August 2024 intelligence report says criminals use bogus mortgages to clean dirty cash
Internal document reveals 18 banks had gaps in systems designed to stop the flow of dirty money
A 2024 briefing note muses about whether a bill requiring tech companies to pay for news could apply to AI platforms
Yazan Al Homsi is one of six people accused of orchestrating ‘pump-and-dump’ schemes that netted them more than $46 million
Court filings reveal hundreds of millions of dollars in unreported transactions flowed to just three accounts.
Major website operators are pressuring B.C. to follow Ontario and Alberta in legalizing private online betting
Third-party advertisers are spending millions to influence voters
Here are some of the powerful people throwing fundraising parties for Canada’s next prime minister
As parties pitch plans to address the housing crisis, developers spend up to $1,750 each to rub elbows with a future prime minister
The BC Greens say secrecy around BC Energy Regulator compliance and enforcement is ‘completely unacceptable'
IJF analysis found Tory candidates disclosed investing in company they accused of dodging taxes
At least seven Conservative MPs held stock in Liberal leader’s former company, IJF analysis finds
Inspection notes offer a glimpse behind the scenes of government oversight of the fossil fuel industry — and the companies doing business in B.C.
IJF analysis finds 10 MPs report owning shares in American tech giant as more and more Canadians boycott the company
B.C.’s energy regulator has the power to grant such exemptions — without notifying the public. Experts raise alarm about the process, saying the regulator is playing soft with fossil fuel companies
U.S. businessperson turns to B.C. court in bid to unmask scammers
Most cases involve online investment fraud where charging criminals is almost impossible, police say
Four men connected to Tenet Fintech group accused of manipulating the market to enrich themselves
Hydrogen sulphide, methane and potentially contaminated water leaks from natural gas wells in B.C. were all registered in an obscure government database
Zimar won a huge contract to build an oil refinery. But can the company do it?
Internal 2022 bulletin found Canada had ‘limited resources’ to stop trade-based money laundering.
IJF analysis shows hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts and subsidies for Trump ally’s companies
Alberta case highlights how beginner investors can be influenced by online figures with financial interests
Canada produces more fentanyl than it can consume: experts
Province plans to scale up a controversial program that critics say violates civil rights
Canadian governments award billions to American companies. Stopping might not be easy
B.C. Conservatives criticize rules after one union spends more than $470,000 on ads backing B.C. NDP
One commission lawyer compared the case to a scene from the 2015 blockbuster The Big Short
The IJF’s review of the 2022 Cullen Commission found roughly half of 101 recommendations incomplete
Observers say political turmoil in Ottawa may kill measures meant to boost the country’s grades at an upcoming international review
Police and observers say tougher rules needed to protect customers at risk of crypto scams
Former Fintrac deputy director credits IJF/CTV investigation for helping spur change.
Tujie Lai claims public access to the records infringes on his privacy and may put him in danger
Legal regulator seeks deal experts say would be a game changer for money laundering enforcement in Canada
The former Kelowna MP is one of two directors of West Coast Proud, which spent tens of thousands of dollars on ads supporting B.C. Conservatives
‘It's been the largest animal health emergency that this country has ever had to face’: CFIA
Police often powerless to investigate fraudsters, leaving victims without options
Internal police analysis said Mexican methamphetamine is undercutting local producers, pushing them to ship product to lucrative markets like Australia
Government alleges possibility of money laundering, but no criminal charges laid
West Coast Proud’s unmasked activities show the need for advertiser transparency, say experts.
Niki Sharma says re-elected government would introduce new rules on ‘grassroots’ campaigns after IJF and CBC Vancouver investigation
Company received exemption allowing it to hire temporary foreign workers without first offering those jobs to Canadians
Metaverse Foreign Exchange Group has been accused of swindling billions from investors in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
Company co-founder says he should have been transparent, defends message of the campaign
Big money is trying to covertly influence local government, politicians say
Caban Condos customers say company failed to deliver promised real estate or return money
Company got rare exemption letting it hire foreign workers without first advertising jobs to Canadian residents.
Ships, planes and a renovation of Canada’s Parliament among the most expensive things bought by government
Canadian company alleged to have defrauded hundreds of thousands in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had apparent link to B.C. consultants.
One money laundering expert calls it an “abuse of the system”
Foreign governments say hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka lost savings to Metaverse Foreign Exchange, headquartered in Ontario.
Michael Bolton, one of Canada’s most renowned defence lawyers, denied Law Society allegations.
A judge stayed proceedings against a 72-year-old Vancouver man because of ‘cavalier’ police conduct.
Securities investigators say Vancouver company orchestrated three ‘pump-and-dump’ schemes.
Government agency found Canadian lawyers involved in transactions with organized crime groups.
It’s rare, but some attorneys have been fined or even disbarred for helping criminals launder cash
Internal report says mules are helping foreign crime groups launder money swindled from Canadians
Proponents say it will help provinces go after dirty cash, but civil liberties groups warn of government overreach
Premier Scott Moe says province made decisions based on information it had at the time
Regulators say scheme netted masterminds $46 million while leaving other investors out in the cold
Internal documents reveal how and why the school hired private investigators to secretly record striking teaching assistants.
The provincial government is opposing the deal, which it says would sidestep legal obligations to consult First Nations.
Importing grapes among multiple requests from wine industry lobbyists after grim harvests
Canada saw a surge in financial crime during the pandemic that experts say continues today
Internal briefing notes reveal how Canadians try to conceal donations to hate groups
Internal documents reveal Canadian officials have struggled to address the problem for years.
The province announced new rules for drivers, but companies are lobbying privately and publicly to reshape them.
