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Nanaimo, Parksville and Area

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...
17h ago
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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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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...
Mar 19, 2025
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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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British Columbia

Man convicted of manslaughter in 2023 stabbing of teen on Surrey, B.C., bus
Homicide investigators say a man has been found guilty of manslaughter in the 2023 stabbing death of a 17-year-old boy on a bus in Surrey, B.C. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says in a statement that Kaiden Mintenko from Burnaby, B.C., was found guilty Thursday after a trial in B.C. Supreme Court in New Wes...
5h ago
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Fire chief says blaze in Burnaby, B.C., highrise injures 15, three seriously
BURNABY, B.C. - A fire in a highrise in the Metro Vancouver suburb of Burnaby has sent 15 to hospital, three of them with serious injuries. Fire Chief Ian Hetherington says about four dozen firefighters responded to the blaze early Thursday in a 19-storey cement building and found the fourth floor full of heavy smoke. ...
6h ago
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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...
8h 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...
9h 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 ...
9h 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"...
22h ago
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Canada

Liberals revoke Arya's nomination, after removing him from leadership race
OTTAWA - Liberal MP Chandra Arya says his nomination to run for the party again in his Ottawa riding has been revoked. The 62-year-old has represented the city's Nepean seat since 2015. The decision to remove him comes almost two months after the party...
3h ago
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Yukon pharmacare deal to cover contraceptives, diabetes meds at little or no cost
WHITEHORSE - The Yukon and federal governments have announced a $9.5-million pharmacare agreement over four years, giving universal access to contraceptive and diabetes medications for the territory's residents. A joint news release says the agreement...
5h ago
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Man convicted of manslaughter in 2023 stabbing of teen on Surrey, B.C., bus
Homicide investigators say a man has been found guilty of manslaughter in the 2023 stabbing death of a 17-year-old boy on a bus in Surrey, B.C. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says in a statement that Kaiden Mintenko from Burnaby, B.C., was ...
5h ago
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Fire chief says blaze in Burnaby, B.C., highrise injures 15, three seriously
BURNABY, B.C. - A fire in a highrise in the Metro Vancouver suburb of Burnaby has sent 15 to hospital, three of them with serious injuries. Fire Chief Ian Hetherington says about four dozen firefighters responded to the blaze early Thursday in a 19-st...
6h ago
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Canada pledges nearly $100M for Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank
OTTAWA - The federal Liberals are announcing nearly $100 million in humanitarian relief and governance support for Palestinians, days before a widely expected election. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, who took on the file of international devel...
7h ago
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World Happiness Report lists Canada as happiest G7 country
Canada may be the happiest member of the G7, according to the recently released World Happiness report, but it's taken quite a tumble over the past couple of decades. The report, edited by a professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, has Cana...
8h ago
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