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Nanaimo, Parksville and Area

supportive housing
First of three Nanaimo temporary supportive housing facilities slated to open
NANAIMO - By this spring a trio of supportive housing complexes are expected to be operational in Nanaimo, aimed at providing relief for the unhoused and mitigating social disorder. Up first is the largest of the three complexes to come online: 1298 Nelson St. (former Travellers Lodge site), to be operated by Pacifica ...
20h ago
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licence pulled
Ladysmith spa allegedly offering sexual services has business licence revoked
LADYSMITH - A business in Ladysmith had its business licence cancelled after accusations it was being used in the sex trade. Natural Massage Spa, located at 16 High St., received a business licence last November, but only a month later, Ladysmith RCMP and bylaw enforcement began receiving reports it was allegedly being...
Feb 20, 2025
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new policy
B.C. ends take-home safer supply of opioids to stop criminal diversion
British Columbia Health Minister Josie Osborne has announced a major revamp of its safer-supply anti-addiction program, converting it to a "witnessed-only" model in which users are watched as they consume opioids they have been prescribed. Osborne said it was a "significant" change to end the take-h...
Feb 19, 2025
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manslaughter
'There are no winners today:' pair jailed for stabbing death of Nanaimo man at Maffeo Sutton Park
NANAIMO - Two men convicted of manslaughter last year will spend the next four to eight years behind bars.Mark Jayden Harrison and Aiden Matthew William Bell, both 21 years old, were formally sentenced in B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo on Tuesday, Feb. 19, nearly two-and-a-half years after they assaulted and fatally sta...
Feb 19, 2025
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rare sighting
In good news for J-pod, killer whale calf is a female
VANCOUVER - The Centre for Whale Research says it has confirmed a new killer whale calf in a pod of endangered orcas that live off southwest British Columbia is female. It's a piece of good news for J-pod, after the recent death of another calf whose mother pushed the carcass for days in what researchers said was a dis...
Feb 19, 2025
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first responders
Marine search and rescue training to takeover Nanaimo waterfront
NANAIMO - Around 40 Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCM-SAR) personnel are preparing for semi-annual training in the city this weekend. Crews from Nanaimo, Ladysmith, Deep Bay and Port Alberni will be in attendance on Saturday, Feb. 22, alongside response teams from the Canadian Coast Guard, RCMP, Nanaimo Port...
Feb 19, 2025
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British Columbia

Ex-coroner says B.C.'s drug policy overhaul looks like 'impulsive political decision'
British Columbia's former chief coroner says she's disappointed by the province's overhaul of its program that provides prescription alternatives to toxic street drugs, a shift she says "feels like a really impulsive political decision." Lisa Lapointe said the move to a "witnessed-only" model in whi...
29m ago
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Police release names of victims in Abbotsford, B.C. double homicide
ABBOTSFORD, B.C. - Police have released the names of the two victims in an Abbotsford, B.C., double homicide in January. A statement from the province's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says police responded to a vehicle fire in Sumas Mountain Regional Park on Jan. 3 and found a 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander engulfed...
8h ago
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B.C. task force aims to grow agriculture, food processing industries
British Columbia is launching a task force focused on growing the agriculture and food processing industries after years of struggle due to climate, labour concerns and now the threat of tariffs from the United States. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham says the task force will provide recommendations to government in th...
11h ago
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Two drivers accused of hitting same pedestrian then leaving B.C. crash site
COQUITLAM, B.C. - Mounties in Coquitlam, B.C., say charges have been approved against two drivers who are accused of leaving the scene after allegedly running over the same pedestrian. Police say a lone female had the right of way at the intersection of Pinetree Way and Guildford Way in January last year when she was h...
11h ago
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Flood watch up due to possible ice jam on B.C. Interior waterways
VICTORIA - British Columbia's River Forecast Centre has posted a flood watch on three Interior waterways because of the chance of a midseason ice jam. The centre says temperatures in the first two weeks of February have been between 10 C and 17 C below normal in the Merritt area. Warming is expected, and the centre say...
12h ago
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B.C. Conservative MLA says drug crisis cost lives of her brothers, niece and nephew
VICTORIA - The House Leader of the Opposition B.C. Conservatives has described the "unsurmountable" personal impact of the toxic drug crisis, which she says claimed the lives of two of her brothers, a niece and a nephew. A'aliya Warbus says that just last week she attended a memorial for one brother who died ...
13h ago
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Canada

Ex-coroner says B.C.'s drug policy overhaul looks like 'impulsive political decision'
British Columbia's former chief coroner says she's disappointed by the province's overhaul of its program that provides prescription alternatives to toxic street drugs, a shift she says "feels like a really impulsive political decision." Lisa Lapointe said the move to a "witnessed-only" model in whi...
28m ago
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Internal military report blames botched shooter drill on poor organization
OTTAWA - An internal report blames a lack of communication for a debacle on a Canadian Armed Forces base last fall, when masked men taking part in active-shooter drill fired blanks at civil servants who didn't know it was a training exercise. During the drill, which took place on Nov. 12 at a service depot at CFB Longu...
30m ago
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70% of Canadians support retaliatory tariffs on United States: poll
OTTAWA - Seventy per cent of Canadians are in favour of dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on the United States, a new poll suggests. Nearly half of respondents to the Leger poll - 45 per cent - said they were strongly in favour of such tariffs, while 25 per cent said they were somewhat in favour. U.S. President Don...
30m ago
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Ontario election: Leaders in final stretch of campaign, Ford returns to Washington
Ontario's main political party leaders are entering the final stretch of their campaigns, with less than a week left until election day. Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie is set to make an announcement in Toronto this morning, while NDP Leader Marit Stiles has several stops scheduled in southwestern Ontario. Progressive Co...
30m ago
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In the news today: Canada triumphs over US in 4 Nations final
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed... Canada triumphs over US in 4 Nations final Canada defeated its archrival the United States 3-2 in overtime in the 4 Nations Face-Off final on Thursday night in what was an emotionally-charged affair for players and fans alike. The...
1h ago
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PM speaks with Zelenskyy, repeats call for Ukraine's involvement in U.S.-Russia talks
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke today with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Washington and Moscow talk about a possible end to Russia's war. Trudeau says Canada "will always stand in defence of Ukraine" and adds that Europe cannot have sustainable peace without security for Ukraine. He ...
11h ago
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