Nanaimo news

• Beloved 4-legged Nanaimo emu ‘Cuatro’ dies

  26-06-2026 17:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The four-legged Nanaimo emu, that captured the hearts of families across B.C. with his unique mutation, has died.
  On Sunday, June 21, Celina Knuff euthanized Cuatro, after it became apparent he was beginning to suffer.
  The emu, born on June 6, hatched with two extra non-functioning back legs, as well as a disfigurement on one of his functioning legs that was able to be corrected with leg braces.
  As the time passed, he learned to walk normally and developed a love of blueberries.
  On Friday, June
  
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• ‘Phenomenal’ Salmon Arm veterinarian awarded for elevating standard in community care

  26-06-2026 23:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  This Veterinary Appreciation Day, Salmon Arm Dr. Taryn Cass received an extra special honour.
  On June 18, Cass was recognized by North American pet insurance provider Trupanion as Western Canada’s 2026 Veterinary Professional of the Year.
  The Uptown Animal Hospital owner and veterinarian was one of about 2,000 people nominated for the award, honoring a a veterinary professional “whose skill, compassion, and commitment help elevate the standard of care within their hospital and commun
  
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• Malahat collision snarls traffic near Goldstream Provincial Park

  26-06-2026 22:51 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A collision near Goldstream Provincial Park is slowing traffic.
  Shortly before 1 p.m. Friday (June 26), West Shore RCMP said they are responding to a collision in the 3500 block of the Trans Canada Highway.
  “Traffic will be slow-moving in both directions as crews attend the scene,” the detachment said. “Thank you for your patience.”
  Drive BC cameras at the park’s Finlayson Arm Road entrance show northbound traffic backed up shortly after 1 p.m.
  More to come.
  
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• Headline history: Canada Day at Maffeo Sutton decades old tradition

  26-06-2026 22:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Canadians are celebrating the country’s 159th birthday, following the Constitution Act, 1867.
  To acknowledge the anniversary, in less than a week, on Wednesday, July 1, Nanaimo residents are expected to fill Maffeo Sutton Park for live entertainment, food trucks and interactive community booths.
  This is far from a new tradition.
  In 1989, the community celebrated one of “the largest Canada Day turnouts in recent years” with thousands of attendees. During the festivities, local M
  
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• Investigation opened in B.C. after StubHub ticket complaints for FIFA World Cup

  26-06-2026 21:32 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Consumer Protection BC has reportedly opened an investigation following complaints from people who purchased FIFA World Cup tickets but did not receive them.
  B.C.’s Attorney Niki Sharma said in a statement Friday (June 26) reports that people in B.C. purchased FIFA World Cup 2026 tickets from StubHub and did not receive them “are deeply concerning.”
  “Major events like the FIFA World Cup 2026 should be an exciting experience and people should not have to worry about whethe
  
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• Indie-rock band’s push to keep Hockey Night in Canada on CBC hits B.C.

  26-06-2026 21:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  When Blu Beach Band takes the stage at Coda on July 11, the Regina-based indie-rock group will arrive in Victoria with more than guitars and a new album.
  It will also bring a growing national campaign that has already convinced more than 10,000 Canadians to sign a petition calling on CBC and Rogers Sportsnet to restore Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) to free, public television.
  View this post on InstagramA post shared by Change.org Canada (@change.org_ca)The band’s performance in Victoria wi
  
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• VIDEO: B.C. firefighters catch World Cup fever

  26-06-2026 20:50 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Harrison Hot Springs Fire Department really got into the World Cup spirit during one of their recent drills.
  Clad in more than 60 pounds of gear each, Harrison firefighters ran an air tank consumption drill by playing a pick-up game of soccer.
  “By playing a fast-paced game of soccer in full turnout gear and on air, we get a realistic look at how fast we burn through our tanks when we’re working hard and exhausted on a fire scene,” the HHSFD said. “It forces us to pra
  
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• Deaf community ‘deeply concerned’ over centre closures in Victoria, Nanaimo

  26-06-2026 20:50 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  All roads lead to closure for those looking for help from the Island Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre (IDHHC) Association.IDHHC has provided hearing health services to thousands of clients on Vancouver Island through offices in Greater Victoria and Nanaimo. Now, all links to aid on its website leads to a large, and interpreted for those who are hard of hearing, announcement of the closure of both locations, on Quadra Street in Saanich and Applecross Road in Nanaimo.“Serving Deaf, DeafBlind,
  
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• CBSA removes 81 individuals linked to extortion from Canada since August 2025

  26-06-2026 20:48 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has removed 81 people from Canada since August 2025 who have been linked to “extortion-related activities.”
  In the latest update, issued Thursday (June 25), the CBSA stated that the majority of those removed have been in the Pacific region, which includes B.C. and the Yukon. In total, 46 individuals were in the Pacific region, 17 in the Greater Toronto Area, and 18 in the Prairie region.
  The CBSA is part of a B.C. extortion task force that was
  
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• Justice for Tatjana: North Okanagan man found guilty of murdering ex-wife

  26-06-2026 20:47 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  WARNING: this article contains content related to a domestic violence murder trial which may be distressing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been harmed by domestic violence (gender-based violence), contact Archway Society for Domestic Peace at 250-542-1122 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).
  A month-long North Okanagan murder saga has come to a close with a jury finding Vitali Stefanski guilty of second-degree murder in relation to the death of his ex-w
  
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• Trespassing charge stayed for activist arrested at UVic in 2025

  26-06-2026 19:15 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A controversial residential schools skeptic announced that a trespassing charge was stayed after her arrest at an unsanctioned event the University of Victoria in December 2025.
  On June 24, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announced Frances Widdowson’s $115 ticket under the Trespass Act was stayed – stemming from the chaotic UVic event on Dec. 2, 2025.
  That day, OneBC party leader Dallas Brodie was joined by Widdowson in an attempt to “engage the campus community
  
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• Man stabbed at Nanaimo’s Port Place mall on Thursday

  26-06-2026 18:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Nanaimo RCMP is investigating a stabbing near Port Place Shopping Centre.
  On Thursday, June 25, reserve Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP media relations officer, said a man was stabbed in the area of the transit hub at the mall’s south end at approximately 8:30 p.m.
  “He was taken to hospital to be treated for (non-life threatening) injuries,” he said.
  “It was an isolated incident and that is currently under investigation.”
  There has been a number of assaults
  
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• WORLD CUP DAILY, June 26: Six matches today include New Zealand vs. Belgium in Vancouver, 8 p.m.

  26-06-2026 16:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Daily FIFA World Cup soccer match updates and news for Black Press Media publications.
  Today another six matches are scheduled to avoid fixing on the final day of play for Groups G, H and I, with two games in each group played simultaneously at noon, 5 and 8 p.m.
  In Vancouver, New Zealand plays Belgium at 8 p.m. Friday in a Group G match, timed with an Egypt-Iran encounter in Seattle.
  Group I battles are France vs. Norway in Boston and Iraq vs. Senegal in Toronto, noon starts Friday.
  Group H act
  
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• Parking and traffic issues at Nanaimo proposed co-housing development raises concerns

  26-06-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A proposal for a 29-unit multifamily co-housing development at 5180 Universal Place has been given a unanimous green light to proceed by Nanaimo’s council.
  But concerns were raised about increased parking and traffic issues around the proposed development in the Lost Lake Road area in the city’s north end at the council meeting on Monday, June 22.
  The proposal calls for the housing units to be clustered into five distinct buildings on the 1.25-hectare site in the residential neighbou
  
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• Fire crews tackle blaze at site of Victoria Butterfly Gardens

  26-06-2026 07:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Emergency crews have come to the rescue of the flora and fauna at the Victoria Butterfly Gardens.
  Both Central Saanich and Saanich fire responded Thursday evening (June 25) at 7:30 p.m., to a fire at Truffles Catering, located at 1461 Benvenuto Ave., which is attached to the Brentwood Bay zoo’s building.
  In a social media post shared after 10 p.m., Central Saanich Fire Department said the fire has been knocked down, but crews remain on scene to deal with any hotspots.
  “At this time t
  
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• Accused in B.C. horse bestiality elects trial by judge

  26-06-2026 07:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Following a number of delays, a man accused of bestiality has elected to be tried by a judge.
  Seth Christian made the decision in Vernon Court Thursday, June 25.
  He was charged with bestiality in March following an alleged incident at a Vernon equestrian centre.
  The incident reportedly involves the alleged assault of horses in the BX area, on Jan. 24.
  The professional training facility released surveillance images of a break-in suspect who was alleged to have also assaulted several horses.
  A man
  
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• Verdict on its way: Jurors in deliberation as Lumby murder trial wraps up

  26-06-2026 04:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  With closing arguments wrapped up Thursday, June 25, the jury is now out in a high-profile North Okanagan murder case.
  Vitali Stefanski, accused of murdering ex-wife Tatjana Stefanski, will soon learn his fate in B.C. Supreme Court at the Kamloops courthouse.
  The trial has been ongoing for a month, ever since Vitali pleaded not-guilty to second-degree murder roughly two years after Tatjana’s body was found down an embankment off a rural logging road outside Lumby, near where his bloodied A
  
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• Man serving time for double murder in Yukon dies in Abbotsford

  26-06-2026 02:14 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A man who was sentenced to life in prison for the 2021 murder of two residents of Faro, Yukon has died while serving his sentence in Abbotsford.
  A press release on Thursday afternoon (June 25) from Correctional Service Canada (CSC) said Ralph Bernard Shaw, 65, died June 24 while in custody at Pacific Institution and Regional Treatment Centre.
  The CSC did not indicate Shaw’s cause of death.
  Shaw was sentenced on Nov. 7, 2024 at the Yukon Supreme Court in Whitehorse after pleading guilty to
  
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• Yukon hantavirus cruise ship passenger discharged from B.C. hospital, still recovering

  26-06-2026 00:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  B.C. health officials say the hantavirus cruise ship passenger from the Yukon who became ill from the virus has been discharged from hospital.
  The Yukon resident, who was confirmed to have tested positive for hantavirus in mid-May, is still recovering, the B.C. Office of the Provincial Health Officer confirmed to Black Press Media Thursday (June 25).
  The individual was part of a couple from the Yukon that was isolating together. They tested positive for the Andes strain on May 15 from a “p
  
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• More details emerge on plans to turn unsold B.C. condos into rent-to-own housing

  26-06-2026 00:20 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The prime minister and premier revealed new details on Thursday about a joint federal and provincial scheme to buy up more than 2,200 unsold condos in B.C and turn them into affordable housing.
  The plan would be to make those condos rent-to-own, with government forking over a small portion and financing covering the balance.
  Prime Minister Mark Carney first floated the idea during a June 18 visit to Vancouver. But he included so few specifics that critics and advocates from across the political
  
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• Kelowna Right to Life protests abortions, while pro-choice group begins ad campaign

  25-06-2026 23:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Just two days after pro-choice advertisements started to appear on buses around Kelowna, a local group against abortion planted flags and held a protest along Highway 97.
  Pro-Choice OKGN, an organization that encompasses local reproductive rights movements and educational efforts throughout the Okanagan, announced on social media earlier this week that it had received enough funding through fundraising efforts to place ads on buses and transit signs throughout town.
  Two days later, on the mornin
  
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• Reconciliation Theatre Society will be showcasing two shows at Shaw Auditorium

  25-06-2026 23:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Reconciliation Theatre Society will be performing two shows for the public, including one premiering on Canada Day.
  Reconciliation Theatre Society, an Indigenous-led non-profit society, will be performing their summer shows in the Shaw Auditorium series at the auditorium at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre.
  This is a step-up in size for the society, who previously used the OV Arts Centre for their last four productions. Tom Rokeby, co-founder and artistic director of Reconciliation Theatre
  
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• 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron rescue injured hiker on West Coast Trail

  25-06-2026 22:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Wing 19 Comox’s 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron was involved in a medical evacuation on June 24.
  The squadron was tasked by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Victoria to support Parks Canada in the evacuation of an injured hiker on the West Coast Trail near Port Renfrew after the hiker sustained serious injuries in a fall.
  A CH-149 Cormorant helicopter (callsign RSCU 915) completed the rescue after the hiker was hoisted into the helicopter. The helicopter delivered the injured
  
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• ‘I’m not guilty’: Lumby murder suspect makes final arguments in his own trial

  25-06-2026 22:23 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  North Okanagan murder suspect Vitali Stefanski made his closing submissions in his own B.C. Supreme Court trial Thursday, when he maintained his innocence while offering a scattered account of the leadup to his ex-wife’s death, and told jurors why he should believed instead of the Crown.
  Vitali pleaded not-guilty last month to second-degree murder in relation to the death of ex-wife Tatjana Stefanski, whose body was found with seven stab wounds and more than a dozen other sharp-force injur
  
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• ‘Without one, the whole network falls’: Princeton joins multi-city flood partnership

  25-06-2026 22:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Princeton has joined hands with Merritt, Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Hope to secure funding from the federal government to rebuild after floods that devastated these communities.
  The West Coast Resiliency Partnership (WCCRP) is a collaboration between these five cities who have had their transportation, energy, food supply and economic corridor heavily impacted due to floods.
  Princeton mayor Spencer Coyne explained how Princeton, Merritt and Abbotsford were some of the most damaged communities du
  
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• Wildfire burning out of control northeast of Whistler

  25-06-2026 21:42 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A wildfire burning northeast of Whistler is currently 6.5 hectares, B.C. Wildfire Service says.
  The Cougar Mountain wildfire, which is about 15 kilometres south of Pemberton, was discovered on Wednesday (June 24). It’s currently deemed as burning out of control.
  B.C. Wildfire Service says lightning is the suspected cause.
  There are two initial attack crews and one unit crew on site as of Thursday at noon. They’re working alongside officers and helicopter support.
  B.C. Wildfire servic
  
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• Nanaimo hosts Family Fun Night on Friday

  25-06-2026 21:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The City of Nanaimo is inviting residents and visitors to attend Family Fun Night.
  On Friday, June 26, from 4:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Maffeo Sutton Park attendees can experience an evening of family-friendly entertainment, live music, activities, ending in a waterfront drone show.
  Included are soccer-themed games, inflatables, face painting, interactive community booths and food trucks from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  As part of the Concerts in the Park series, live entertainment will include perfor
  
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• 50,000+ coming to Surrey’s FVDED, one of B.C.’s biggest EDM festivals

  25-06-2026 21:14 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Close to 50,000 dance music fans will turn Surrey’s Holland Park into a giant block party July 3-4 during the 2026 edition of FVDED in the Park.
  The annual festival of EDM (electronic dance music) will feature close to 60 artists/DJs at what will be the biggest FVDED fest yet, as last year’s daily capacity of 24,000 has been upped to around 27,000 for each of the two days.
  “We’ve been working for a couple years now to expand a bit,” said festival founder/planner Alv
  
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• Nanaimo RCMP ask kids to stop following criminal TikTok trend

  25-06-2026 21:11 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A social media trend has resulted in thousands of dollars in local property damage and RCMP reports from frustrated residents.
  Started in 2025, the “TikTok Door Kick Challenge” involves youth, primarily between the ages of 13 to 15, according to the Nanaimo RCMP, who are “aggressively kicking, pounding or striking residential doors doors during late night or early morning hours, before running away and recording the reactions for social media.”
  “These incidents are
  
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• Baby goat JoeJoe dies ‘relaxed, safe and dearly loved’ at Victoria farm

  25-06-2026 20:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  It was supposed to be a happy milestone, but as Beacon Hill Children’s Farm got ready to celebrate its 41st anniversary this month, things took a turn.
  On June 12, farm staff were forced to euthanize baby goat JoeJoe born just over five months before.
  “He was a lovely, goofy little guy who loved to jump, play, eat, snuggle and sleep,” the farm said on its Facebook page. “By mid-April, we noticed he was moving slower than his brothers, staring into space and less eager to
  
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