Nanaimo news

• Nanaimo bucks national trend and sees annual increase in average rental prices, Victoria prices decrease - CHEK News

  10-03-2025 21:18 via news.google.com
  Nanaimo bucks national trend and sees annual increase in average rental prices, Victoria prices decrease  CHEK News
  
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• Headline History: Fundraising for Port Theatre underway

  23-01-2026 18:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  Thirty years ago, fundraising was underway for a crucial part of Harbour City’s waterfront, the Port Theatre.
  In the Jan. 25, 1996 edition of the News Bulletin, the Nanaimo and District Harbourfront Centre, which would later be re-named to the Port Theatre, received a $30,000 donation from the Nanaimo Community Foundation, on the heels of $1 million from the Nanaimo Harbour Commission.
  The article warned that the project still needed another $1.5 million, and organizers said they may need
  
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• 20+ weapons, drugs, cash seized, 28 arrested in collaborative Kelowna police effort

  23-01-2026 18:22 via nanaimobulletin.com
  A five-day collaborative effort pulled a multitude of guns and drugs off the streets of Kelowna.
  From Jan. 12-16, the Kelowna RCMP worked with a Uniform Gang Enforcement Team (UGET) from the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) to identify, find, and remove firearms and illegal drugs around town.
  In total, the teams initiated more than 20 new investigations, resulting in 28 arrests and the seizure of more than 20 weapons, a “significant quantity of drugs’ and around $5,00
  
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• Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding in custody: FBI

  23-01-2026 18:11 via nanaimobulletin.com
  Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned accused drug trafficker Ryan Wedding has reportedly been arrested.
  The Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel took to X Friday morning (Jan. 23) to say that Wedding had been taken into custody in Mexico Thursday night.
  More to come.
  
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• B.C. woman found dead on Australian beach likely died from drowning: Autopsy

  23-01-2026 17:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  A 19-year-old Canadian backpacker from Campbell River who was found dead on a beach in Australia on Jan. 19 likely died from drowning and was not killed by a pack of dingoes, according to a preliminary autopsy report.
  According to a news report from Canadian Press, a preliminary assessment had been conducted on the body of Piper James and was awaiting pathology results, expected to take several weeks, a spokesperson with the Coroners Court of Queensland confirmed on Friday.
  “The autopsy ha
  
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• Goldeneyes soar to victory: Nurse & Campbell’s standout performance leads the way

  23-01-2026 17:36 via nanaimobulletin.com
  Vancouver Goldeneyes star forward Sarah Nurse has scored in every game she’s played this season, after scoring twice in Thursday’s (Jan. 22) game and helping the Goldeneyes secure a 5-0 win over the Toronto Sceptres.
  The Hamilton, ON native was out for six weeks after suffering an upper-body injury during the first game of the season. She returned to the lineup against her former team, the Sceptres, on Jan. 24.
  Vancouver hosted Toronto at the Pacific Coliseum in front of a nearly sol
  
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• Francis “Paul” McFadden

  23-01-2026 17:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  In Loving Memory ~
  June 27, 1944 – January 9, 2026
  Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Paul McFadden passed away peacefully in Nanaimo, BC with family by his side. Beloved husband, dad, papa, son, brother, uncle and friend.
  He is survived by his wife and love of his life Dot, sons Jim (Sheila) and Colin (Claudia), daughter Pauline (Rusty) and grandchildren Kieren, Kayla, Liam, Amelie and Ethan. On January 9th he was reunited with his granddaughter Alyssa who was waiting at the gates of heav
  
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• Bruce George Tew

  23-01-2026 17:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  March 31, 1944 – September 25, 2025
  Bruce George Tew was born in Aldershot, England to Ruby Iris Benham. Adopted by his father, Earl (Chipper) Tew, he came to Canada at age two and a half.
  He was active in high school, excelling in sports, serving as student council president, and teaching Sunday School. He worked summers at the Dryden Paper Mill to fund his university education.
  Bruce studied engineering at Queen’s before transferring to the U. of Manitoba to major in mathematics. T
  
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• ‘I love you mom’: Tearful B.C. man sentenced in stabbing death

  23-01-2026 16:52 via nanaimobulletin.com
  “I love you mom.”
  That was what 23-year-old Winston Tallio said after receiving his sentence from a Williams Lake Provincial Court judge for manslaughter on Tuesday, Jan. 20.
  Tallio dressed in black formal attire and a soft pink shirt with a medicine bag around his neck wept as he was placed in handcuffs after being sentenced to serve a four year jail sentence at Kwìkwèxwelhp Healing Village, a minimum security facility located approximately 140 kilometres east of Vanco
  
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• Livestock producers push back against Canada’s new traceability regulations

  23-01-2026 16:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  Alberta livestock producers have joined the chorus of opposition to proposed new Canadian traceability regulations.
  Critics argue the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulations will impose an unnecessary and expensive burden, especially for small beef operations, and were drawn up without adequate input from producers.
  About 600 people gathered at the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion in Central Alberta last week to talk about the regulations and rally livestock producers to join efforts t
  
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• B.C. brothers found liable in 2 multi-million-dollar stock schemes

  23-01-2026 16:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  Four men, including brothers from Langley and Surrey, have been found liable for organizing multi-million dollar pump-and-dump stock fraud schemes by the B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC).
  The original accusations against all the participants alleged they had made proceeds of about $46 million from artificially inflating share prices in three B.C. companies around 2017 and 2018, but the BCSC panel ultimately ruled that only some of the accusations could be proven.
  In a 134-page ruling issued on
  
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• VIU men’s basketball team hopes to stay in top form with nationals on the horizon

  23-01-2026 14:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  Vancouver Island University Mariners men’s hoops team hopes to stay the course the rest of the season and into the playoffs.
  As of Friday, Jan. 16, the Mariners find themselves atop the Pacific Western Athletic Association men’s basketball standings with a record of 11-3. Kye Kotapski-Tinga, guard, leads the team with 18.5 points per game, Kai Leighton, forward, with 7.7 rebounds per game while Ryan Bastian, guard, leads the team with 62 assists. VIU hosts the Canadian Collegiate Ath
  
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• Northern Health launches new tool to track emergency department closures

  23-01-2026 14:40 via nanaimobulletin.com
  Northern B.C. residents now have a new tool to check the availability of emergency department care in their communities.
  In a press release on Jan. 22, Northern Health announced the launch of an emergency department (ED) status webpage designed to notify the public in real time when local emergency departments are temporarily unavailable due to staffing challenges.
  The site shows whether emergency departments across the Northern Health region are open or temporarily closed.
  “When emergency
  
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• B.C. teacher suspended for screening graphic film of industrial accident

  23-01-2026 14:40 via nanaimobulletin.com
  A Chilliwack high school teacher was reprimanded and briefly suspended from teaching in 2024 for showing a graphic film depicting an industrial accident to a Grade 11/12 metalwork class.
  Bradley Bootsma’s failure to “create a safe learning environment” was the subject of a report made to the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, from his employer, the Chilliwack School District on June 7, 2024, and an investigation was subsequently ordered by the Commissioner in July 2024.
  
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• Potential LNG Canada ownership shift raises questions about phase 2 of B.C. project

  23-01-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  Shell and Mitsubishi are reportedly exploring the sale of their stakes in B.C.’s LNG Canada project, opening the door to potential changes in the project’s ownership structure.
  While no deals have been finalized, the development raises questions about how any shift could influence future decisions affecting operations, employment, or contracting in Kitimat.
  According to a Jan. 16, 2026 report from Reuters, Shell—holder of a 40 per cent interest in LNG Canada—is considerin
  
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• Palestinian villagers forced from homes day after B.C. sister city pitch

  23-01-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  There was little reason to believe after the city council meeting that Nelson, B.C., wouldn’t soon have a new Palestinian sister city.
  During a Jan. 20 presentation at Nelson City Hall, a group spoke about the cultural and educational benefits that a formal relationship with the small Bedouin village of Ras al-Auja in the occupied West Bank might bring.
  Council was receptive. One councillor voiced support before any questions had been asked. Another described what he said was wide communit
  
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• Kelowna manslaughter case continues as Crown presses for 7 year sentence

  23-01-2026 05:49 via nanaimobulletin.com
  A Kelowna woman could see up to seven years behind bars for manslaughter if Justice Murray imposes the full term Crown prosecutors are requesting.
  Ka-Mikosit Mae Favelle was in Kelowna Supreme Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to manslaughter in relation to the death of her ex-partner, Adam Briand-Lawrence, on Aug. 19, 2022.
  Friends and family of both parties filled the courtroom on Jan. 22 to learn Favelle’s fate.
  Crown counsel Jordan Schroeder asked for a seven-year prison sente
  
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• Only about half of cancer patients in B.C. seeing oncologists within benchmarks

  23-01-2026 01:51 via nanaimobulletin.com
  B.C.’s health-care system is still far behind national benchmarks for cancer care wait times, despite the province pouring in new money and hiring scores of additional staff.
  Wait times for some types of treatment are decreasing, but the overall picture shows B.C. falling behind the rest of Canada.
  The longest waits are to get an initial oncology appointment, with almost half of cancer patients waiting longer than the four-week benchmark to see an oncologist.
  These delays were at the core
  
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• Nearly half of B.C. cancer patients wait longer than benchmarks to see an oncologist

  23-01-2026 01:51 via nanaimobulletin.com
  B.C.’s health-care system is still far behind national benchmarks for cancer care wait times, despite the province pouring in new money and hiring scores of additional staff.
  Wait times for some types of treatment are decreasing, but the overall picture shows B.C. falling behind the rest of Canada.
  The longest waits are to get an initial oncology appointment, with almost half of cancer patients waiting longer than the four-week benchmark to see an oncologist.
  These delays were at the core
  
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• 2025 saw the lowest number of black bears killed in B.C. in a decade

  23-01-2026 01:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  There were 211 black bears killed in B.C. – the lowest number killed in more than a decade, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service says.
  The service released the 2025 statistics Thursday (Jan. 22), noting it was a 65-per-cent drop from 2023 and the lowest overall number since the B.C. Conservation Officer Service predator statistics were first published online in 2011.
  Last year, 33 bears were euthanized for welfare reasons, such as a bear critically injured by a vehicle, while conservation
  
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• Prolific criminal dodges dangerous offender designation

  23-01-2026 01:15 via nanaimobulletin.com
  A prolific criminal who pleaded guilty to an attempted robbery in Surrey has dodged a dangerous offender designation that would have carried indeterminate incarceration but instead was found to be a long-term offender warranting a determinate prison sentence followed by long-term supervision.
  Justice Barbara Norell presided over the case of Christopher David Prokopchuk in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.
  “I appreciate that it will be difficult and it will be a challenge for you, but
  
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• ‘B.C. vigilante cowboys’: Surrey resident calls for 500 gun licences to face extortionists

  23-01-2026 00:20 via nanaimobulletin.com
  A Surrey resident is calling on the province to expedite the issuance of 500 gun licences so residents can protect themselves during the ongoing extortion crisis.
  Vikram Bajwa said, “I strongly believe we have to become B.C. vigilante cowboys in order to respond to this violence.”
  “(If) somebody calls me and says, ‘Vikram, I need $500,000 if you don’t pay me within one week, I’m gonna kidnap your kid.’ So what am I supposed to tell my kid, don’t go
  
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• ‘N’ driver arrested for travelling 120 km/h on Kelowna’s Glenmore Road

  22-01-2026 23:57 via nanaimobulletin.com
  Driver arrested for going 70 km/h over speed limit in Kelowna
  A vehicle caught travelling 120 km/h in a 50 km/h zone highlighted a successful day for the Kelowna RCMP’s Municipal Traffic Unit.
  Someone on Tuesday, Jan. 20, a member of the RCMP observed the vehicle “operating in an extremely dangerous manner”, travelling approximately 70 km/h over the speed limit on Glenmore Road at High Road.
  The officer stopped the vehicle and arrested the Class 7 (N) driver for dangerous opera
  
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• Female inequity likely an underlying cause of OB/GYN shortage: Fraser Health doctor

  22-01-2026 23:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  Female inequity is a likely underlying reason behind OB/GYN staffing shortages and the ongoing maternity diversions at local hospitals, including White Rock’s Peace Arch Hospital, says one top Fraser Health physician.
  Dr. Darren Lazare, Fraser Health’s co-program medical director for the Maternal Infant Child Youth program, said the current diversions at local maternity wards — including Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock and Ridge Meadows Hospital in Maple Ridge — are due
  
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• Kelowna’s Tess Critchlow heading to 3rd Winter Olympic Games for Team Canada

  22-01-2026 22:57 via nanaimobulletin.com
  Big White’s Tess Critchlow is once again an Olympic athlete.
  On Thursday, Jan. 22, Canada Snowboard and the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) announced Team Canada’s roster for the snowboard cross, half pipe and parallel giant slalom events at the 2026 Winter Games.
  Critchlow, the 30-year-old was named to the snowboard cross team, making Milano Cortina her third Olympics.
  In 2018, she made her Olympic debut in PyeongChang where she finished ninth overall in snowboard cross.
  At the 202
  
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• Community helps Tseshaht First Nation cover racist vandalism on bridge

  22-01-2026 22:38 via nanaimobulletin.com
  After racist vandalism defaced the “Every Child Matters” marker at Port Alberni’s Orange Bridge, Tseshaht First Nation invited the community to help them repaint it.
  The bridge was marked with swastikas and racist words, making it the second act of vandalism in the past week and the third since “Every Child Matters” was painted on a barrier on the bridge’s approach in 2022.
  Tseshaht Elected Chief Councillor Wahmeesh Ken Watts said the bridge has an important m
  
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• Authorities can’t find ex-Kelowna banker who swindled $354K from elders

  22-01-2026 22:33 via nanaimobulletin.com
  A ex-banker who operated in Kelowna is being fined over $1 million for transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars from elderly clients to bank accounts he controlled.
  Scotiabank representative Marc-Antoine Ladeiro was found by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) to have have “willfully and deceptively misappropriated $354,700 from an elderly couple” before disappearing entirely.
  “His deliberate and surreptitious scheme to misappropriate client funds was a
  
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• Trailblazing B.C. band 54-40 recorded new ‘Porto’ album in Portugal

  22-01-2026 22:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  Friday, Jan. 23 is album-release day for trailblazing B.C. rock band 54-40, formed 45 years ago in Tsawwassen and still creating new music.
  Eleven songs on the band’s 16th studio album, Porto, were recorded in Porto, Portugal with longtime producer Warne Livesey.
  For 11 days they worked quickly at Arda Recorders in the midst of a day-long power failure on the Iberian Peninsula.
  Bed tracks of drums, bass, guitars and keyboards were recorded live, reports Dave Genn, the band’s South Su
  
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• North Island ski hill suspends operations due to lack of snow

  22-01-2026 22:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  Mount Cain’s tongue-in-cheek slogan is ringing a bit too true this year, at least when it comes to conditions on the hill.
  In a social media post, Mount Cain Alpine Park announced that it would be pausing operations for the weekend as skiers eagerly await for more snow to accumulate. The decision was made for the safety of users, staff and equipment.
  Any accommodations made for the upcoming will be refunded, the post says, and the booking team will contact those who need it.
  As of Jan. 22,
  
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• Gus Nielsen

  22-01-2026 22:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  1927-2025
  A remarkable one-of-a-kind man with the inner strength of a Viking. A very loved Grandfather, Uncle, Brother, Friend, amazing Caregiver and Father. After celebrating his 98th birthday with family and close friends, and enjoying Christmas at home, Gus passed to be with our Lord on December 31st, 2025. Gus was predeceased in 2011 by his wife Olga (of 54 years) and son Ralph in 2024, and brother Niels in 2014. He will be forever held close in the hearts of his daughter Laurie; six grandch
  
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