Business & Economy

First major deadline passes for delayed downtown Nanaimo hotel

NANAIMO - A proposed hotel reinvigorating downtown Nanaimo and boosting the nearby conference centre has now missed a crucial deadline , while no timeline for construction is in place. Undeveloped pro...

Alex Rawnsley Dec 07, 2019 A render of what the downtown Gordon St. hotel could look like if the project goes ahead.

Teamsters say they have reached a tentative deal with CN, work set to resume

MONTREAL - Teamsters Canada says it has reached a tentative agreement with Canadian National Railway Co. to renew the collective agreement for over 3,000 conductors, trainpersons and yard workers. The...

Nov 26, 2019

Feds won't explain claim pipeline expansion will raise $500M in tax revenue

OTTAWA - Finance Minister Bill Morneau will not explain how his department estimated that finishing the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will bring another $500 million in corporate tax revenue into ...

Nov 25, 2019

Trans Mountain received $320M in government subsidies in first half 2019: report

VANCOUVER - The Trans Mountain pipeline received $320 million in subsidies from the Canadian and Alberta governments in the first half of 2019, says a new report by an economic institute that analyzes...

Nov 19, 2019

Bush cameras installed to deter backcountry vandals and thieves

PORT ALBERNI - A Vancouver Island forestry giant has turned to concealed bush cameras in response to thieves, vandals and illegal trash dumpers.Mosaic Forest Management vice president Domenico Iannidi...

Alex Rawnsley Nov 17, 2019 One of an unknown number of hidden bush cameras planted on Mosaic Forest Management lands in response to property damage and illegal dumping. (Submitted photo)

Nanaimo sisters trigger feeding frenzy for snack cracker business

NANAIMO - A business that started in a single home oven has led two sisters from Nanaimo into the Dragons' Den.Eve Laird and Sarah Cartwright appeared on the CBC show Oct. 24, pitching their business ...

Nov 16, 2019 Eve Laird (left) and Sarah Cartwright (right), sisters originally from Nanaimo, recently appeared on CBC's Dragons Den seeking partners for their snack cracker business (Dragons Den/CBC)

One year later most oil-and-gas bailout money has moved, federal government says

OTTAWA - Canada's $1.6-billion bailout package for Alberta's battered oil industry is well underway but with little transparency about who is getting the money and for what. Almost $1 billion of ...

Nov 15, 2019

North American trade pact could be passed before year's end, Pelosi says

WASHINGTON - The most powerful Democrat in the United States Congress says she believes members of Congress could vote on the new North American free-trade agreement before the end of the ye...

Nov 14, 2019

Alberta alters rules on oil production limits to spur more conventional drilling

EDMONTON - Alberta's energy minister says the government is adjusting its rules on oil production limits to give producers incentive to drill more conventional wells. Sonya Savage says, star...

Nov 08, 2019

Nanaimo construction industry faces labour shortage as demand skyrockets

NANAIMO - Central Vancouver Island is struggling to keep up with a boom in the construction industry, thanks to a lack of skilled labour.Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA) CEO Rory Kulma...

Maria Doty Nov 03, 2019 More workers are needed in Nanaimo and across the province due to a steady boom in the construction field. (NeedPix.com)