OpenFile is a community-powered news organization operating in seven Canadian cities: Vancouver, Calgary, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. The stories our journalists cover start out as suggestions from people like you.

You suggest a story, we assign a reporter. That’s what we mean by community-powered news.

By connecting citizens to the reporters who cover their communities, OpenFile gets answers to important local questions, enables citizens to participate in gathering and sharing the news and ensures Canadians are informed about issues that affect where we live and work.

Our team works with hundreds of freelance reporters across Canada. Once assigned, these journalists collaborate with OpenFile readers to deliver thoughtful reporting about local news and issues.

Maybe you have a question about a neighbourhood project. Maybe an important issue isn’t being covered properly, or needs more attention. Or perhaps you saw something in your city and asked yourself, “What’s the deal with that?” These are all great starting points for a story. All it takes is a few words, and maybe a photo. You can also add comments, links and photos to the stories suggested by other users.