Renée Sylvestre-Williams
@reneesw.bsky.social
Journalist. Book author - The Singles Tax, coming January 2026. Newsletter writer. Trinidadian Canadian. Traveler.
My journalism: https://muckrack.com/renee-sylvestre-williams/articles
My journalism: https://muckrack.com/renee-sylvestre-williams/articles
I have not watched Heated Rivalry yet but I have finished the book. I have warmed up.
December 2, 2025 at 2:42 AM
I have not watched Heated Rivalry yet but I have finished the book. I have warmed up.
Discussed The Singles Tax: No-Nonsense Financial Advice for Solo Earners with The Globe and Mail's Erica Alini. www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/pe...
The power of one: A new book shares financial advice for singles
Journalist Renée Sylvestre-Williams’s The Singles Tax discusses saving on groceries, avoiding the ‘single supplement’ while travelling, and more
www.theglobeandmail.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Discussed The Singles Tax: No-Nonsense Financial Advice for Solo Earners with The Globe and Mail's Erica Alini. www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/pe...
This isn't surprisingly. Anyone who followed Johnson's pre-political and mayoral career would have predicted this.
Covid response of ‘toxic and chaotic’ UK government was ‘too little, too late’, inquiry finds on.ft.com/4o8E7g3
Covid response of ‘toxic and chaotic’ UK government was ‘too little, too late’, inquiry finds
Report criticises culture in Downing Street during Boris Johnson’s tenure
on.ft.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:37 PM
This isn't surprisingly. Anyone who followed Johnson's pre-political and mayoral career would have predicted this.
Reposted by Renée Sylvestre-Williams
One of the cruelest tricks society played on creative people was planting the idea that being proud of your work is somehow unseemly and egotistical.
You made a thing! You like it! You SHOULD be proud of it. Brag all you want!
You made a thing! You like it! You SHOULD be proud of it. Brag all you want!
November 20, 2025 at 12:54 AM
One of the cruelest tricks society played on creative people was planting the idea that being proud of your work is somehow unseemly and egotistical.
You made a thing! You like it! You SHOULD be proud of it. Brag all you want!
You made a thing! You like it! You SHOULD be proud of it. Brag all you want!
No.
Saw a post today that advised writers to stop writing as if a human will read it and start writing for an LLM that will be summarising.
As someone who really enjoyed trying to develop a peculiar but readable authorial voice, I find this incredibly depressing.
As someone who really enjoyed trying to develop a peculiar but readable authorial voice, I find this incredibly depressing.
November 20, 2025 at 4:33 PM
No.
As a writer, this is depressing as it's hard enough to pitch, get sources, write a compelling story for a maybe decent rate. I record everything to show I've actually spoken to people.
A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 20, 2025 at 2:43 AM
As a writer, this is depressing as it's hard enough to pitch, get sources, write a compelling story for a maybe decent rate. I record everything to show I've actually spoken to people.
I can only conclude that Toronto drivers are illiterate since they can't read signs.
November 16, 2025 at 2:06 AM
I can only conclude that Toronto drivers are illiterate since they can't read signs.
Reposted by Renée Sylvestre-Williams
Affordability isn’t just about higher wages—it’s about whether your money still feels like it stretches. And for many Canadians, it doesn’t. Writer @reneesw.bsky.social explores if we’ll ever feel financially free again: thewalrus.ca/are-we-going-to-...
November 5, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Affordability isn’t just about higher wages—it’s about whether your money still feels like it stretches. And for many Canadians, it doesn’t. Writer @reneesw.bsky.social explores if we’ll ever feel financially free again: thewalrus.ca/are-we-going-to-...
Reposted by Renée Sylvestre-Williams
Groceries cost more. Rent is through the roof. Wages aren’t keeping up. Writer @reneesw.bsky.social asks: If inflation's “fixed,” why does life feel so unaffordable? thewalrus.ca/are-we-going-to-...
November 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Groceries cost more. Rent is through the roof. Wages aren’t keeping up. Writer @reneesw.bsky.social asks: If inflation's “fixed,” why does life feel so unaffordable? thewalrus.ca/are-we-going-to-...
I want to know how this is different from the assumption that each person in a four-bedroom house might own a car. (Yes, it's that stupid.)
Councillor Nick Mantas asks staff about a hypothetical where there's a sixplex, where each unit has three or four car owners, wouldn't that mean, like, 20 vehicles?
"I don't assume that every person or every bedroom is going to generate a vehicle," staff say.
"I don't assume that every person or every bedroom is going to generate a vehicle," staff say.
July 6, 2025 at 9:38 PM
I want to know how this is different from the assumption that each person in a four-bedroom house might own a car. (Yes, it's that stupid.)
Holyday is trash.
Councillor Holyday was also the only councillor to oppose an item about the mayor's efforts to expand school food programs. It was APPROVED 17-1. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
July 6, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Holyday is trash.
'How to channel your rage against pointless billionaires'. buttondown.com/TheBudgette/...
How to channel your rage against pointless billionaires
I try not to think about billionaires and despite my best efforts, I know about Lex Luthor’s* wedding in Venice. Ugh but I love how they had to move their...
buttondown.com
June 27, 2025 at 8:41 PM
'How to channel your rage against pointless billionaires'. buttondown.com/TheBudgette/...
Same. In and out in less than 10 minutes.
God I love a Canadian election. Even with the early bird lineup, was in and out in 10 minutes.
April 28, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Same. In and out in less than 10 minutes.
Why do politicians start off with tax cuts during a campaign? For one, it's easy for people to understand but in all honesty, it's nothing but marketing. I explore this in my latest piece for @thewalrus.ca thewalrus.ca/tax-cuts-ele...
Tax Cuts Won’t Make Life More Affordable | The Walrus
Politicians like promising them to the middle class. But they often benefit the wealthy
thewalrus.ca
April 25, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Why do politicians start off with tax cuts during a campaign? For one, it's easy for people to understand but in all honesty, it's nothing but marketing. I explore this in my latest piece for @thewalrus.ca thewalrus.ca/tax-cuts-ele...
Why we all need vex money
open.substack.com/pub/budgette...
open.substack.com/pub/budgette...
Why we all need vex money
One Friday, three years ago, I woke up to the sound of the news on my radio.
open.substack.com
April 9, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Why we all need vex money
open.substack.com/pub/budgette...
open.substack.com/pub/budgette...
Spitting fire. The man is our Prime Minister and part-way through his speech, the PM of the United States. youtu.be/CHo8T4j5kqg?...
Canada's Trudeau calls Trump tariffs "a very dumb thing to do"
YouTube video by CBS News
youtu.be
March 4, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Spitting fire. The man is our Prime Minister and part-way through his speech, the PM of the United States. youtu.be/CHo8T4j5kqg?...
Damn, Trudeau spat fire
March 4, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Damn, Trudeau spat fire
I'm going to say this as journalist. Not everything needs to be both-sided. Sometimes you just say, "That's not true" or better yet, don't provide space, time and amplification.
February 24, 2025 at 12:55 AM
I'm going to say this as journalist. Not everything needs to be both-sided. Sometimes you just say, "That's not true" or better yet, don't provide space, time and amplification.
O'Leary lied.
Kevin O'Leary to @ianhanomansing.bsky.social on Cross Country Checkup, rough quote: "The Canadian dollar has dropped 40% against the US dollar under Trudeau."
Fact check: the CAD has dropped 34% from the 2011 peak, but just 4% of that drop happened under Trudeau. The big drop happened under Harper.
Fact check: the CAD has dropped 34% from the 2011 peak, but just 4% of that drop happened under Trudeau. The big drop happened under Harper.
February 24, 2025 at 12:51 AM
O'Leary lied.
Wrote this piece for @thewalrus.ca thewalrus.ca/buy-canadian/
How Far Can “Buy Canadian” Really Go? | The Walrus
Boycotts work, but only if they don’t fizzle out
thewalrus.ca
February 21, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Wrote this piece for @thewalrus.ca thewalrus.ca/buy-canadian/
The conservatives must be worried based on the new line of attack ads they've started running in the last couple of weeks.
February 15, 2025 at 11:13 PM
The conservatives must be worried based on the new line of attack ads they've started running in the last couple of weeks.
A confession. I've never felt close to the US. I didn't grow up in Canada so was well away of the US and its foreign interference, especially in Central and South America.
February 14, 2025 at 2:17 AM
A confession. I've never felt close to the US. I didn't grow up in Canada so was well away of the US and its foreign interference, especially in Central and South America.
Better than the $1.7m quoted a few years ago, I guess? ca.yahoo.com/finance/news...
Canadians expect they will need $1.54M to retire, BMO survey finds, amid inflation pressures
Canadians are managing to save more than in previous years for their retirement.
ca.yahoo.com
February 12, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Better than the $1.7m quoted a few years ago, I guess? ca.yahoo.com/finance/news...
Another crash? No one asked for this to be a MayDay/Air Crash Investigation marathon. It's horrifying.
Can someone please compile a list of every fatal and serious airplane crash/collision in 2025 because I have genuinely lost track of how many have happened: www.12news.com/article/news...
Scottsdale Airport's runway closed after jet crashes upon landing, 1 dead
The runway was closed Monday afternoon after a jet crashed into another. One person died in the collision.
www.12news.com
February 11, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Another crash? No one asked for this to be a MayDay/Air Crash Investigation marathon. It's horrifying.