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Nanaimo, Parksville and Area

slalom skills
'Holy smokes:' Nanaimo athlete given hero's welcome after World Games medal win
NANAIMO - Ron Greenhorn was carrying a little extra luggage when he got off his plane at Nanaimo Airport on Tuesday, a bronze medal around his neck. Greenhorn earned it at the 2025 Special Olympics World Games in Turin, Italy, held between March 8 to 15, where he competed in several adaptive skiing events. His medal ca...
21h ago
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bargaining agreement
Gabriola volunteer firefighters unionize under CUPE banner
NANAIMO - Members of the Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department have agreed to join Canada's biggest union. The BC Labour Board approved certification for 29 members of the department on Friday, March 14, with the department's paid on-call members joining CUPE Local 606 based in Nanaimo. CUPE, Canadian Union of Public Empl...
23h ago
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safe living spaces
'Safe and supported:' Nanaimo's Haven Society open new supportive housing complex
NANAIMO - A number of housing spaces for women and children fleeing violent situations have opened across the province, including almost 50 in Nanaimo.The B.C. government announced this week 229 units of new transition and second-stage housing are now available on Vancouver Island and in Metro Vancouver for vulnerable ...
Mar 19, 2025
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federal grant
Feds supply funding for proposed Ravensong Aquatic Centre expansion
QUALICUM BEACH - With a referendum fast approaching to upgrade Oceanside's only public pool facility, a substantial grant would help absorb some costs. On Wednesday, March 19 the Regional District of Nanaimo announced a $7 million federal government grant had been approved for the Ravensong Aquatic Centre (RAC) project...
Mar 19, 2025
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Staying closed
Busy downtown Nanaimo intersection to remain closed for vehicular traffic
NANAIMO - Vehicles won't be passing through the key Bastion/Commercial St. intersection anytime soon. Scheduled to re-open at the end of February after its closure on Jan. 2, the City of Nanaimo pivoted, electing to keep the intersection shuttered for vehicular traffic for several more months as Commercial St. revival ...
Mar 19, 2025
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top flight soccer
'Top opposition:' Nanaimo United prepare for big pre-season test
NANAIMO - With a new season still weeks away, the city's semi-professional soccer team will see how they stack up against some of the country's best players.The newly renamed Nanaimo United, formerly Harbourside, will welcome Victoria's Pacific FC for a pre-season game at q'unq'inuqwstuxw Stadium on Wednesday, March 19...
Mar 19, 2025
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British Columbia

B.C. Wildfire Service sees record number of applications for 2025 season: province
VICTORIA - The British Columbia Wildfire Service has recorded its highest-ever number of applicants ahead of the 2025 season while expanding First Nations recruitment. A statement from the Forests Ministry says the service has received more than 1,700 applications since October, the highest number ever received. Nearly...
15m ago
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One of 126 urban deer tests positive for wasting disease in B.C.
VICTORIA - One of 126 urban deer culled in southeastern British Columbia to determine if they were sick has tested positive for chronic wasting disease. The government culled the animals in Cranbrook and Kimberley last month to determine if the disease was spreading in the urban deer population. Five other cases of chr...
1h ago
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Trade war windfall for B.C. food bank - hundreds of kilograms of unsold U.S. produce
The trend toward buying Canadian has created a silver lining for a food bank in Nanaimo, B.C., which has been flooded with hundreds of kilograms of American produce. Peter Sinclair, executive director of Loaves & Fishes Community Food Bank, says a food recovery program allows them to accept surplus or unsold items ...
1h ago
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B.C. Greens want answers about New Democrats' emergency powers legislation
British Columbia's Green Party says the NDP government needs to "explain why" its proposal for broad-reaching emergency cabinet powers is needed before its two members support the legislation. Interim Leader Jeremy Valeriote said in a statement that while he understands the "urgency of the situation"...
14h ago
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Feds give millions to B.C.'s STEMCELL Technologies and HTEC for facility construction
VANCOUVER - The federal government says it's pumping nearly $100 million into two B.C. firms to support the construction of a hydrogen fuel facility and two "cutting-edge biomanufacturing facilities" for vaccines and other treatments. The Ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry says North Vancouver-based...
22h ago
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Body of missing Langley, B.C., senior found months after she went missing: RCMP
LANGLEY, B.C. - Mounties in Langley, B.C., say the body of an 82-year-old woman has been found several months after she went missing. Jane Whitehouse was reported missing on Oct. 25 last year. Police said she was last seen that day in the suburb of Aldergrove. Her empty grey Dodge Grand Caravan was found a few days lat...
Mar 19, 2025
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Canada

Poll suggests Canadians are growing more alarmed by U.S. tariffs and aggression
OTTAWA - A new poll suggests Canadians are feeling increasingly alarmed by U.S. tariffs, President Donald Trump and American economic aggression. The Leger poll, which sampled more than 1,500 Canadian adults from March 14 to March 16, suggests 41 per c...
52m ago
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Ex-PM Stephen Harper says he's perplexed, heartbroken by Canada-India tensions
OTTAWA - Former prime minister Stephen Harper told a conference in India last month that he doesn't "entirely understand" why Canada has such a poor relationship with India, and suggested the Liberal party has become infiltrated by Sikh activists who w...
1h ago
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Trade war windfall for B.C. food bank - hundreds of kilograms of unsold U.S. produce
The trend toward buying Canadian has created a silver lining for a food bank in Nanaimo, B.C., which has been flooded with hundreds of kilograms of American produce. Peter Sinclair, executive director of Loaves & Fishes Community Food Bank, says a...
1h ago
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Ottawa lands Chignecto Isthmus deal with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
HALIFAX - The federal government will join New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in spending a total of $650 million on protecting the Chignecto Isthmus, the narrow strip of flood-prone land that links the two Maritime provinces. Ottawa announced Thursday it w...
2h ago
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Ex-student activist Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, with Québec solidaire, to leave politics
MONTREAL - Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, co-spokesperson of the left-wing Québec solidaire party who rose to prominence during the 2012 student strike, says he is stepping down from the party's leadership team. He resigned today as co-spokesperson and House l...
2h ago
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Smith meets Carney, demands oil policy changes and warns national unity at stake
EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says that in her first face-to-face meeting with the new prime minister she gave him an earful on wildfires and oil sales and warned him national unity hangs in the balance. "I provided a specific list of deman...
4h ago
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