Nanaimo news

• Findlay shakes up B.C. Conservative caucus leadership, installs Maahs as interim leader

  29-06-2026 19:18 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay is shaking up the party’s caucus leadership team, installing mostly loyalists who backed her campaign in the key roles.
  Chilliwack North MLA Heather Maahs will lead the Official Opposition on an interim basis, presumably until Findlay can secure a seat through a byelection. This would require a sitting MLA to step down, and while none have stepped forward yet, there are rumours that several have offered to.
  Prince George—North Cariboo MLA
  
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• Viewing party for Canada-Morocco FIFA World Cup game at Nanaimo park

  03-07-2026 21:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Nanaimo residents are being invited to watch Canada play Morocco in FIFA 2026 World Cup action at a public gathering this weekend.
  City of Nanaimo will host a viewing party for the Round of 16 matchup Saturday, July 4 from 10 a.m. to noon at Harewood Centennial Park, stated a social media post.
  There is no fee for admission and the city is recommending attendees bring a blanket, lawn chair as well as their Canadian pride.
  Canada went 1-1-1 and finished second in Group B in round robin play, defe
  
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• Owl found on side of Williams Lake road transported to rehabilitation society

  03-07-2026 20:21 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A long-eared owl found by a paramedic is hopefully on its way to recovery after being transported to Delta by a Williams Lake trucking company.
  The medium-sized, slender owl made its journey in a plastic-covered pet carrier on Friday, July 3, by Bandstra Transportation Systems Ltd. to the city in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, where it was anticipated to be picked up by a volunteer who would take it to the OWL Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society.
  It was found a few days earlier by a paramedic
  
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• Tom Cochrane to headline B.C. stop of national culinary championship

  03-07-2026 20:10 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Life is a highway, and Canadian rock icon Tom Cochrane is steering his way to Oak Bay this September to headline a high-stakes culinary showdown.
  Cochrane is set to headline the live entertainment for Canada’s Great Kitchen Party All-Star Invitational on Sept. 29 at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. Victoria resident and 2008 Olympic gold medallist Adam Kreek will serve as the emcee for the regional culinary qualifier.
  The event is a part of the 20th anniversary season for the organization.
  “
  
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• Penticton-Summerland MLA Boultbee joins Eby’s B.C. NDP

  03-07-2026 20:02 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The B.C. NDP have further secured their majority after the surprise addition of Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee, an Independent and former B.C. Conservative.
  The move comes less than two months after the B.C. Conservative Party stripped Boultbee of her party membership, following her vote to send a BC NDP bill on Freedom of Information requests to the committee stage for review and debate.
  The announcement of Boultbee joining the NDP also comes on the same day the B.C. Conservative Cauc
  
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• Former Victoria Royals captain Gannon Laroque retires at 22

  03-07-2026 20:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Former Victoria Royals captain Gannon Laroque has announced his retirement from hockey at the age of 22.
  The defenceman shared the news in an Instagram post on Thursday (July 2), saying long term concussion issues and other injuries led him to retire.
  “After many years of chasing my dream of becoming and being a professional hockey player, it’s time to officially hang up the skates,” Laroque wrote.
  “This isn’t how I imagined my career would end. After battling long
  
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• B.C.’s Jamie Benn signs one-year extension with Dallas Stars

  03-07-2026 20:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn will be back for at least one more season after the Central Saanich product signed a one-year contract extension with the Stars through the 2026-27 NHL season.
  The deal carries a base salary of $850,000 USD, with up to $1.15 million USD available in performance bonuses.
  “Jamie’s leadership and commitment to this organization is truly unmatched, and he has helped define our culture,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said in a team release.
  “He
  
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• Vancouver Island firm awarded $74.7 million RCMP patrol vessel contract

  03-07-2026 19:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The federal government has awarded Ocean Pacific Marine a $74.7 million contract to design and build three Next Generation Police Coastal Patrol Vessels (NG-PCPV) for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s West Coast Marine Services.
  The project will see the advanced aluminum patrol vessels designed through a joint venture between Ocean Pacific Marine and Camarc Design, the internationally recognized Scottish naval architecture firm whose high-speed patrol vessel designs are in service with p
  
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• MARS eagle ambassador Humpty: a gentle soul with fierce resilience

  03-07-2026 19:25 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  MARS Wildlife Rescue announced the passing of their beloved bald eagle ambassador and feathered educator, Humpty, on July 2.
  Humpty exemplified the spirit of resilience. After suffering a devastating fall in 2015, several days passed before he was found and brought to MARS. He arrived in rough shape: dehydrated, emaciated and potentially suffering from heat stroke. While his chances were slim, the MARS team put Humpty back together again through their training and their commitment to animal welf
  
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• VIDEO: ‘Fin-nomenal’ rare behemoth whale surfaces in Vancouver Island waters

  03-07-2026 18:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  With years of experience observing the abundance of wildlife in Greater Victoria waters, it takes something truly extraordinary to surprise the region’s most seasoned naturalists.
  The rare sight of the second-largest animal on the planet cruising through the Salish Sea most certainly fits that description.
  Estimated to be around 70 feet long – which is as long as a seven-storey building is high – a fin whale was spotted in waters west of Race Rocks June 28.
  The encounter was a
  
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• Nanaimo’s long-time parks director retires

  03-07-2026 18:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  After a 30-year career working for the City of Nanaimo, the municipality’s director of parks, recreation and culture, Darcie Osborne, is retiring.
  Since joining the city in 1996 in the parks and recreation department, she has worked her entire career in eight different positions, which includes recreation programmer, coordinator, supervisor, manager, director and acting general manager, before taking on the department’s top job.
  Mayor Leonard Krog paid a tribute to Osborne at the cou
  
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• THE MOJ: 11th version of golf ‘Shootout’ a huge success in Kelowna

  03-07-2026 17:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Some news and notes from the World of Sports…
  WORLD CUP FEVER: Go anywhere in downtown Vancouver and you’ll see them wandering around. Fans wearing the colours of any country that is playing here or even participating in the World Cup. Of course, the biggest contingent is the one that represents Canada and the atmosphere for the two games our National Team played at BC Place – or ‘Vancouver Stadium’ – was unbelievable.
  There was plenty of boasting on social m
  
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• ‘Put on the map’: Blue Jays gift $50K to Saanich baseball, softball academy

  03-07-2026 16:50 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A wave of disbelief hit Graham Campbell when a former major league outfielder told him the Toronto Blue Jays were sending a major grant to Saanich.
  The Blue Jays and Jays Care Foundation are donating $50,000 to the Lambrick Park Baseball and Softball Academy. The funds are part of the Jays Care First Pitch Fund, distributing $300,000 across Canada to celebrate the franchise’s 50th season.The local academy was selected for the financial boost by former major league outfielder and 2004 Lambr
  
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• Vancouver Island student helps provide reduced-fee dental services

  03-07-2026 15:35 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  For many people, visiting the dentist can be difficult when they don’t have insurance or a dental plan to help cover the cost.As a result, routine care is often delayed, allowing dental problems to worsen.
  Qualicum Dental, which has served the Oceanside region for more than 50 years, is offering a temporary solution for residents who cannot afford dental care.
  For three weeks in July, the clinic will have dental student Brendil Sabatino, an Oceanside native entering his fourth year in the
  
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• Nanaimo’s former poet laureate would like to see local writers highlighted on plaques

  03-07-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A campaign is underway that would see local poets and authors recognized on public plaques as part of a national initiative called Project Bookmark Canada.
  Kamal Parmar, Nanaimo’s former poet laureate, and Arlene Blundell, cultural award recipient, spoke to city council at its meeting on June 22 asking for the city’s support to begin installing poster-sized bookmark plaques around Nanaimo.
  Parmar explained that Project Bookmark Canada is a nationally registered charitable organizatio
  
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• Alberta government submits West Coast pipeline application

  03-07-2026 02:58 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Alberta has officially submitted an application to the federal Major Projects Office for listing as a project of national interest to build a new pipeline to the West Coast.
  The proposed pipeline runs through southern British Columbia, largely following the existing Trans Mountain pipeline corridor to a deep-water, VLCC-capable port terminal on B.C.’s southwest coast.
  To facilitate this project, Alberta’s government will enter into a partnership with Trans Mountain Corporation and Pe
  
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• ‘Put on the map’: Blue Jays gift $50K to Victoria baseball, softball academy

  03-07-2026 02:15 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A wave of disbelief hit Graham Campbell when a former major league outfielder told him the Toronto Blue Jays were sending a major grant to Saanich.
  The Blue Jays and Jays Care Foundation are donating $50,000 to the Lambrick Park Baseball and Softball Academy. The funds are part of the Jays Care First Pitch Fund, distributing $300,000 across Canada to celebrate the franchise’s 50th season.The local academy was selected for the financial boost by former major league outfielder and 2004 Lambr
  
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• VIU tech diploma program modernized and includes cybersecurity and AI

  03-07-2026 02:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  An upgraded technology program will spotlight cybersecurity and AI, says Vancouver Island University.
  After VIU benched the web and mobile development diploma program for a year to conduct a comprehensive analysis, it has given way to the business information technology systems diploma, stated a press release, with “a stronger focus on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and business skills.”
  The two-year diploma melds technical training with functional, hands-on projects, with th
  
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• PHOTOS: Vancouver Canucks draftees get first taste of action at Abbotsford camp

  03-07-2026 01:35 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The public got its first look at the new class of Vancouver Canucks in action on Thursday (July 2) as the team held a three-on-three scrimmage at Rogers Forum.
  The mini tournament capped off a development camp in Abbotsford, which included 25 players hoping to skate for the Canucks in the upcoming season.
  Included among the group was the third overall pick of the 2026 NHL Draft, Caleb Malhotra, who is also the son of new Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra.
  In addition to running various shooting,
  
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• Campbell Riverite goes from local mascot to Trooper drummer

  03-07-2026 01:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  “I’ve never played a Trooper song in my life and I’d rather keep it that way.”
  That’s what Clayton Hill told a bandmate during a 2006 fill-in gig in Quesnel, moments before floundering his way through the classic rock staple We’re Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time). Less than a day later, he got a phone call on his Nokia that would change his life, an invitation to audition as the new drummer for Trooper, one of Canada’s most enduring rock bands.
  Hil
  
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• Man dead after Cranbrook arrest, police watchdog investigating

  03-07-2026 01:08 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  B.C.’s police watchdog agency is investigating after a man died at East Kootenay Regional Hospital after being taken into custody following a police incident on June 27.
  According to the Independent Investigations Office, preliminary information provided by RCMP states that around 9:15 p.m. on June 27, 2026, officers responded to a call about a man on the roof of a building near the intersection of Briar Avenue and 5th Street.
  Police arrived and located the man, who was in possession of we
  
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• Machleary-Campbell intersection in Nanaimo closed into next week

  03-07-2026 00:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The city is advising of a temporary traffic change for people driving near Sid Gyro Park into next week.
  In a social media post, the city said the intersection at Campbell and Machleary streets will be closed to traffic from 7 a.m. on Friday, July 3 to 7 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7, to accommodate a community art project.
  Only local traffic will be allowed on streets approaching the intersection, the city said, and people should travel through different routes.
  The community art project, led by the
  
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• Surrey judge sets 4-year sentence for driving ‘rampage’ that led to 13 crashes, 9 victims injured

  03-07-2026 00:15 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A Surrey provincial court judge has sentenced Harinder Singh Sihota to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing bodily harm to two people, dangerous driving and failing to remain at the scene of a crash that occurred late at night on Sept. 16, 2023.
  With credit for time served, Sihota has 874 days left to serve.
  Judge Reginald Harris also ordered Sihota, a 41-year-old heavy duty mechanic, to pay to victims Stacey Johnson $26,845.98 and Krystle Zimmer $12,543.07 in
  
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• Coastal First Nations alliance praises new deal to uphold North Coast tanker ban

  02-07-2026 23:52 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Coastal First Nations alliance is applauding the new agreement struck between the B.C. and federal governments to uphold the ban on heavy oil tankers docking in the region, regardless of whether a new pipeline gets built.
  “Today is a good day,” said Chief Marilyn Slett of the Heiltsuk Nation, one of six in the alliance. “As our coastal communities, we are very pleased to hear that the North Coast will remain protected from the threat of an oil spill.”
  Earlier in the d
  
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• B.C.’s Teresa Kleindienst to be inducted into Canada Basketball Hall of Fame

  02-07-2026 23:31 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Mission’s Teresa (Gabriele) Kleindienst will be inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame this summer.
  Canada Basketball announced the 2026 class on Thursday (July 2) in a news release. Kleindienst will be recognized alongside nine others at a live induction ceremony in New Brunswick in August.
  The Heritage Park Secondary alumna boasts a long list of accomplishments from her basketball career.
  “Through her sustained excellence, international achievements, and unwavering commit
  
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• B.C. Civil Forfeiture seeks to seize vehicle linked to Surrey extortion shooting

  02-07-2026 23:14 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  B.C.’s director of civil forfeiture has filed a claim to seize a Honda Civic that is suspected to have been involved in a January extortion-related shooting in Surrey.
  The notice of claim was filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on June 19 against the owner of the 2004 Honda Civic, Damanveer Singh.
  On Jan. 20, Surrey Police responded to a call of a shooting in the 7200-block of King George Boulevard around 4:30 a.m. Police found that a business and several vehicles had been damaged by
  
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• Search continues for boat that capsized of coast of Richmond, leaving 6 dead

  02-07-2026 22:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The search is continuing for a fishing charter boat that capsized off the coast of Richmond four days ago.
  Richmond RCMP say the search efforts are continuing Thursday (July 2) with the RCMP’s Underwater Recovery Team and West Coast Marine Services to locate the vessel that sank near Roberts Bank on June 28.
  Police say crews are using SONAR technology to search underwater
  However, conditions in the water have been “challenging, making the search slower and more difficult.”
  A sl
  
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• B.C. attorney general announces chronic property offenders program

  02-07-2026 22:36 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A new province-wide program aims to tackle chronic property crime and public disorder.
  Deputy Premier and Attorney General of British Columbia Niki Sharma made the announcement during a visit to Smithers this morning (June 23).
  She said the new initiative is a response to a lot of municipalities and small businesses that have been saying that chronic property offenders are a problem.
  Dubbed the Chronic Property Offending Intervention Initiative (CPOII), Sharma said the program aims to target chr
  
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• North Vancouver volleyball coach charged with multiple sexual offences

  02-07-2026 22:17 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A North Vancouver volleyball coach is charged with multiple counts of sexual offences from alleged assaults dating back to 2016, with some involving youth.
  Iraj Mozaffari is facing 10 counts, including three counts of sexual interference of a person under 16, two counts of touching a young person for sexual purpose and five counts of sexual assault, North Vancouver RCMP announced Thursday (July 2).
  The offences are alleged to have occurred between January 2016 and December 2024.
  North Vancouver
  
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• MP Tamara Kronis given shadow positions for supply chains and food inflation

  02-07-2026 22:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Tamara Kronis, MP for Nanaimo-Ladysmith, wants to make food more affordable for people in her riding and across Canada.
  She has recently been appointed by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to the official opposition shadow cabinet as shadow minister for supply chains, as well as chair of the newly formed Food Affordability Task Force.
  This dual appointment is meant to directly connect the vulnerability of Canada’s transportation, port, and logistics networks with soaring grocery costs h
  
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