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Nanaimo, Parksville and Area

naniamo performance
'These children deserve every opportunity:' African Children's Choir funding education through song
NANAIMO - A unique cultural performance from halfway around the world is preparing to hit the stage locally, raising money for educational opportunities. The African Children's Choir, celebrating its 40th anniversary, will hold a free show titled "Just As I Am" at the Departure Bay Baptist Church on Friday, M...
20h ago
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serious allegations
Civil suit alleges 'culture of intimidation and hostility' at Gabriola fire department
GABRIOLA ISLAND - Allegations of bullying, a hostile work environment and improper payments have been levelled against three ranking members of a local fire department and its governing body. Filed Tuesday, March 18, in BC Supreme Court in Nanaimo, the department's former corporate officer Matthew Dow, is suing the Gab...
Mar 20, 2025
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local drug trade
Three arrested in Nanaimo, part of gang enforcement blitz on Vancouver Island
NANAIMO - Three people were arrested locally, with more elsewhere on Vancouver Island, through a multi-day blitz from a specialized policing unit.Members with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia's Uniform Gang Enforcement Team (UGET) conducted a traffic stop on March 7 around the Strickland...
Mar 20, 2025
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election imminent
PM Mark Carney expected to call federal election on Sunday
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to call a federal election on Sunday for a vote as early as April 28. Sources would not confirm the specific date of the vote, but federal campaigns must run at least 37 days. This will be Canada's 45th f...
Mar 20, 2025
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park improvements
Nanaimo's Loudon Park improvement project being stripped back to basics
NANAIMO - A popular central Nanaimo park at Long Lake will see some improvements soon, but it likely won't be at the scale initially envisioned. During the Wednesday, March 19 finance and audit committee meeting, councillors voted to recommend an increase in the budget for improvements at Loudon Park to $6.5 million, a...
Mar 20, 2025
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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...
Mar 20, 2025
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British Columbia

B.C. court voids 'cult' marriage, finding woman didn't 'truly consent'
A British Columbia judge has annulled the marriage of a woman to a fellow member of an India-based "cult group," saying she didn't "truly consent" to the 2023 wedding. The B.C. Supreme Court ruling issued this week says Arshnoor Kaur Jaura claimed she was manipulated and overwhelmed by a "barra...
13m ago
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Boy, 5, playing game of hide-and-seek is found by RCMP helicopter in B.C.
MISSION, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA - Mounties in Mission, B.C., say a police helicopter crew spotted a five-year-old boy after he went missing during a game of hide-and-seek. Police say the boy was at a children's camp near Mission on Tuesday when he walked away from the rest of the group playing in a forested area. Sta...
44m ago
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Ottawa announces $200M contribution toward Cedar LNG project in B.C.
OTTAWA - Ottawa says it is contributing up to $200 million toward the Cedar LNG project on the northern B.C. coast. The money is coming through the Strategic Innovation Fund, which falls under the Innovation, Science and Economic Development ministry. The floating liquefied natural gas processing facility and marine ex...
1h ago
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Police in Vancouver arrest man suspected of vandalizing Tesla dealership
VANCOUVER - Police in Vancouver say they have arrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly vandalizing a Tesla dealership. A statement from police says officers went to the dealership in the city's Kitsilano neighbourhood at about 1:30 a.m. on Friday following reports that a man had spray-painted obscenities on the front w...
4h ago
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Ottawa to provide $1.5 billion for Metro Vancouver's transit service over a decade
VANCOUVER - The federal government has committed more than $1.5 billion over 10 years for Metro Vancouver's beleaguered transit network. A statement from the Department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities says the funding deal for TransLink is the first metro-region agreement under the new Canada Public Transit ...
4h ago
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Special avalanche warning for central Rockies with 'highly volatile' conditions
Avalanche Canada has issued a public warning for the central Rockies saying there have been several large avalanches over the last two weeks. It says two slides have been fatal and the snowpack "remains primed for human-triggering." The warning covers Banff and Jasper national parks and the Kananaskis area in...
7h ago
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Canada

B.C. court voids 'cult' marriage, finding woman didn't 'truly consent'
A British Columbia judge has annulled the marriage of a woman to a fellow member of an India-based "cult group," saying she didn't "truly consent" to the 2023 wedding. The B.C. Supreme Court ruling issued this week says Arshnoor Kaur Jaura claimed she...
20m ago
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TVA says federal parties have to pay total of $300K for head-to-head French debate
MONTREAL - If the four main federal political parties want to take part in the TVA network's head-to-head French-language debate in the upcoming election campaign, they will have to shell out $75,000 each, the Montreal-headquartered broadcaster said Fr...
2h ago
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Wife of Ontario man arrested in Dominican Republic says he's '100 per cent innocent'
TORONTO - Jane Wilcox thought it was a simple mix-up when customs officers pulled her husband aside at the Punta Cana airport as they were heading back to Toronto. The couple had just spent a week at a resort in the Dominican Republic with two friends ...
3h ago
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Top political parties gear up for Sunday election call
OTTAWA - Canadians may be keeping their "elbows up" as the U.S. pursues its trade war, but the main federal party leaders are dropping the gloves as an election call inches closer. Prime Minister Mark Carney is widely expected to ask Gov. Gen. Mary Sim...
4h ago
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Mayors of border cities call on Ottawa for funding, support as tariff war continues
Mayors of several Canadian border cities and towns are calling for support from the federal government as the tariff war with the United States starts to hurt their communities, warning of dire economic consequences if Ottawa doesn't act immediately. ...
4h ago
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Carney confirms Liberals won't proceed with planned capital gains tax change
OTTAWA - Days before he's expected to call a federal election, Prime Minister Mark Carney is confirming he won't move ahead with a key Liberal tax policy. The Prime Minister's Office says a plan to hike the inclusion rate on capital gains, first pitche...
5h ago
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