Nanaimo news

• Sparwood’s Hadden Kelloway is first known transgender mayor in B.C

  29-10-2026 20:28 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  When Hadden Kelloway stepped into his role as mayor of Sparwood following the 2026 municipal election, he finally felt like the person he’d always wanted to be.
  Kelloway, 65, is a transgender man who began transitioning in 2011. Electing a transgender mayor to town council is a big milestone in a community that has a reputation for being a right-wing conservative mining town, and for greater B.C. Kelloway is the first mayor in B.C to publicly come out as a transgender person.
  Kelloway’s camp
  
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• LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Have we chosen the wrong time for British Columbia?

  31-10-2026 19:00 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  To the editor,
  I support ending the twice-yearly clock changes. But adopting permanent daylight saving time rather than permanent standard time raises important questions about children’s safety, mental health and economic costs.
  As a Nanaimo family physician for over 30 years, my immediate concern is for our children. During the darkest weeks of winter, sunrise in Nanaimo will occur shortly after 9 a.m. Many children will be walking, cycling or waiting for school buses before sunrise.
  An Octo
  
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• Wilderness International Canada protects 1,250 acres of rainforest on Read Island 

  31-10-2026 18:00 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Wilderness International Canada (WIC) has purchased 1,250 acres of forest and wetlands on Read Island, protecting a significant area of coastal rainforest in B.C.’s Discovery Islands.The milestone was achieved through two rounds of acquisitions between May and August of 2026, bringing together 11 properties conservation area.The protected landscape encompassess mature second-growth forest, remnant old-growth trees, rare woodland ecosystems, and extensive wetlands, including a peat bog complex.
  
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• COLUMN: Some jobs harder than others

  31-10-2026 13:30 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Cooling weather and shorter days at this time of year always reminds me of my experiences working in a sawmill at Duke Point in the 1990s.
  I got the position at the end of summer and it was the hardest job I’ve ever worked at, and I’ve been employed at a number of physically demanding jobs over my long work career.
  We worked 12-hour shifts at the mill, and my shift started at 4 p.m. and ended at 4 a.m., five days a week.
  I worked on what is known as the green chain, in which lumber of differ
  
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• Ladysmith Family and Friends Society receives $25,000 for food security initiatives

  31-10-2026 13:00 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  The Ladysmith Family and Friends Society is receiving $25,000 to expand its food security programs through Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) AgriSpirit Fund.
  The funding will support the society’s efforts to increase food recovery, preservation and distribution capacity through the purchase of new equipment, garden enhancements and food security programming.
  The Ladysmith organization is one of 83 rural community projects across Canada receiving a share of $1.5 million in funding announced by FCC o
  
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• QUIZ: A celebration of Halloween horrors

  31-10-2026 12:50 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Halloween, on Oct. 31, is a time for tricks, treats, costumes and plenty of scary movies.
  There are a lot of Halloween-themed images at this time of year, from the Great Pumpkin in the Peanuts comic strip to villains in numerous horror movies.
  Are you ready for Halloween? How much do you know about the traditions and culture associated with this day of the year?
  Put your Halloween knowledge to the test with these 13 questions.
  Good luck.
  
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• Headline history: RDN’s purchase of Moorcroft Camp well received in 2011

  31-10-2026 00:00 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  The purchase of the Moorcroft Camp property in Nanoose by the Regional District of Nanaimo in 2011 was considered a great accomplishment by nature lovers and recreationalists at the time.
  The 85-acre virtually pristine waterfront property was home to an all-girls camp, which was begun by Gertrude Moore in 1934, until the United Church of Canada bought it in 1955 and established Moorcraft Camp, which was first a summer camp and then became a year-round camp for retreats, school and community grou
  
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• Okanagan College partners with the Royal Canadian Air Force

  30-10-2026 23:32 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Okanagan College’s Aircraft Maintenance Engineering is helping bolster Canada’s military and defence.Twenty-two members of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) joined the college program in October. An agreement was signed by the two organizations to have RCAF members train at the Kelowna and Vernon airports.“This collaboration between the Royal Canadian Air Force and Okanagan College demonstrates how Canada’s government is protecting Canadians by forging new partnerships to strengthen ou
  
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• Man in custody after stabbing incident in downtown Nanaimo

  30-10-2026 23:16 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  A man is in police custody after a stabbing incident in downtown Nanaimo.
  On Friday, Oct. 30, Reserve Const. Gary O’Brien, a spokesman with the Nanaimo RCMP said two unhoused men got into an altercation just before 9 a.m. at the A&W restaurant located at 60 Victoria Crescent.
  He said one man sustained minor injuries after being allegedly stabbed with a knife.
  “The victim was less than cooperative with the police who arrived on scene shortly after receiving a call about the incident,” O
  
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• Drought codes reach record levels nearest B.C.’s worst wildfires in 2026

  30-10-2026 22:51 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  A new precedent has been set for drought codes in British Columbia.
  At the Canadian Wildfire Conference, held at the KF Centre for Excellence in Kelowna on Oct. 28-29, B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) Provincial Aviation Specialist J.J. Lum provided a summary of the season.The French Bar weather station, the one nearest the Big Bar Complex, recorded drought levels above the 100th percentile of the 30-year average between May and mid-August. Weather stations nearest the Brunswick Complex and the Bald
  
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• Fake church retreat being used in sinful scam allegedly circulating in Shuswap

  30-10-2026 21:58 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  An unholy fraud using the Catholic church is allegedly being perpetrated in the Village of Chase, though the RCMP can’t verify the validity of the complaint.The village warned of the possible scam in a social media post on Oct. 22, saying that a local resident was approached by someone asking for a donation for a youth retreat at the Chase Catholic Church.“We have been informed by the Chase Catholic Church that there is no such ‘retreat’ happening…” the post stated.
  Const. Sarah Van
  
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• B.C. boy makes NHL debut with Dallas Stars

  30-10-2026 21:26 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Trey Taylor has come a long way.
  The former Vernon Vipers defenceman has completed a long journey from the BC Hockey League to playing his first game in the National Hockey League.On Thursday night, Oct. 30, Taylor suited up for the Dallas Stars — the team that signed him as an undrafted free agent in March 2025 — in a game against the Montreal Canadiens.The game ended in a 5-2 loss for Dallas, who have injuries to three players on their back end.While it’s always nice for a player to get
  
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• $5.9B B.C. container port expansion of ‘national interest’: Canadian government

  30-10-2026 20:58 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  The Government of Canada is officially listing the $5.9-billion Delta container port expansion in British Columbia as a project of “national interest” to help streamline approvals for Roberts Bank Terminal 2.
  The announcement is being made in a special event at the Delta port on Friday, Oct. 30.
  Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon is on hand for the announcement, alongside Delta MP Jill McKnight, Fleetwood-Port Kells MP Gurbux Saini, B.C. premier-designate Lorne Doerkson, Tsawwassen First
  
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• Obama-backed doc film focused on Ghana produced by woman with B.C. roots

  30-10-2026 20:36 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Surrey-raised filmmaker Nana Adwoa Frimpong produced The Eyes of Ghana, an acclaimed documentary executive-produced by U.S. presidential couple Barack and Michelle Obama, Higher Ground founders.
  The 90-minute feature doc explores the life and work of 93-year-old Ghanaian filmmaker Chris Hesse, whose archive chronicles Ghana’s early years as a sovereign nation.
  Hesse served as personal cameraman to Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president. As his eyesight faded, Hesse rescued more than 1,000 fi
  
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• Victoria owl attacks spark safety warning

  30-10-2026 20:31 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  The City of Victoria has issued a safety warning after an owl attacked the same person twice in three days.
  On Oct. 4, bylaw staff received a complaint about a barred owl attacking a resident on the shared pedestrian and bike walkway along Dallas Road, between Douglas Road and the Beacon Hill Park Road exit.
  Signage was subsequently installed to raise awareness for park users regarding an “aggressive” barred owl in the area.
  “This activity is common and is typically a result of territory e
  
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• UPDATE: Residents given time to leave Penticton unhoused encampment

  30-10-2026 20:15 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  UPDATE: 2:00 p.m.
  The dozen or so remaining residents of the Fairview Encampment in Penticton off Highway 97 were working to pack up belongings as the deadline for a court-ordered eviction came and went.The air had the nip of early winter about it, and many of the residents had on their thick jackets as they went about sorting through the space that had become their home, picking out what they could take with them.Danielle Savage and her family came down to show their support for the residents a
  
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• Province clears residents of Penticton encampment off Highway 97

  30-10-2026 20:15 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Work to clear an encampment of unhoused people off Highway 97 in Penticton following a court-ordered injunction is underway as of Oct. 30.
  Those living in the encampment had just over 96 hours to prepare to leave after Justice Briana Hardwick granted the provincial government an injunction barring occupation of the highway dedication at the intersection with Fairview Road.
  The province launched its legal action in February, citing dangerous conditions including fires and the proximity to one of
  
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• Eye in the sky: Saanich police may use drones over UVic this Halloween

  30-10-2026 19:50 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  The Saanich Police Department anticipates using drones to surveil for safety reasons this Halloween.
  Officers anticipate using its Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) at the University of Victoria during Halloween weekend, to help ensure public safety on campus.“If deployed, the aircraft will be flown in a public space in accordance with privacy legislation, federal aviation requirements, Transport Canada guidelines, and departmental policy,” the department said in a news release. “The
  
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• Dark chapter in Canada’s history remembered on National Internment Day

  30-10-2026 19:03 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  On the outskirts of MacDonald Park near Vernon, B.C.’s Seaton Secondary School, a monument has stood since 1997. It commemorates a chapter in the city’s history that needs to be remembered.
  So say the folks who have cared for the Vernon Internment Camp monument and had it replaced a few years ago. Those people and others gathered at the monument on National Internment Commemoration Day Wednesday, Oct. 28, to share words about a local First World War-era injustice and the lessons that can be
  
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• Patricia Annette Husband (Knott, Brotherstone, Tennant)

  30-10-2026 18:27 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  In Loving Memory ~
  January 26, 1937 ~ September 26, 2026
  It is with hearts full of love and sadness that we say goodbye to our treasured mom.
  We will love and miss you forever. Judi, Wayne, Sharon, Shelley and Kathleen.
  “No Rain, No Rainbows”
  
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• Cumberland man who pleaded guilty to fatal 2024 hit-and-run faces life in prison

  30-10-2026 18:23 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  A two-day sentencing hearing began for Cumberland man Steven Squires on Oct. 29, in a Courtenay, B.C. Supreme Court.On Sept. 8, Squires entered a guilty plea to second degree murder after a fatal 2024 hit-and-run collision with cyclist Rod Kelly on the Comox Valley Parkway near Minto Road. A passerby found Kelly and called 911, but the cyclist died from his injuries after being taken to hospital.
  The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit took control of the investigation. The unit asked a
  
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• Ladysmith, Nanaimo RCMP ask for witnesses in case of indecent act

  30-10-2026 17:55 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Ladysmith and Nanaimo RCMP are asking anyone who may have witnessed suspicious behaviour in the case of a man alleged to have committed an indecent act near the Nanaimo River in September to contact police.
  At about 3 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 7 a woman reported seeing an adult man commit an indecent act while she was recreating near the Nanaimo River. The incident took place in the area just north of Spruston Road, close to the boundary between the two RCMP jurisdictions.
  The suspect is described a
  
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• Nanaimo RCMP offers safety tips for Halloween

  30-10-2026 17:49 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Nanaimo RCMP wants to make Halloween fun for everyone, so they are offering tips to keep people safe.
  In a press release, Nanaimo RCMP reminded people that on Saturday, Oct. 31, within city limits, fireworks may only be lawfully possessed or discharged with prior approval and the appropriate permit issued by Nanaimo Fire Rescue.
  Firecrackers, however, are prohibited, and it’s illegal to possess, sell, or detonate firecrackers in the city. Individuals found using firecrackers in a dangerous man
  
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• Bonnie Oressia Kinnaird

  30-10-2026 17:12 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  In Loving Memory ~
  Bonnie Oressia was born in Shaunavon, SK on March 5, 1948 to Emma(nee Jacobson) and Percy Langille. Bonnie was their third child. She got her schooling in Ravenscrag and Maple Creek, SK. As a young teenager she started in the hospitality business as a waitress at Maple Creek’s 1 & 21 Family Restaurant. There with the help of Bert, her future father-in-law who poured the coffee, she was able to handle 2-3 Greyhound busloads of people during their very early morning stops.
  
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• Historian hopes to save heritage apple tree in south Nanaimo

  30-10-2026 17:00 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Ruby Smith Díaz is on a mission to save what may be one of the last remaining original Stark apple trees in south Nanaimo.
  Smith Diaz, an afrolatina educator, historian, artist, and award-winning author, said the tree is on private land in the Chase River area that is expected to be developed soon, and she’s been working and researching hard to establish that the tree, which she thinks is more than 100 years old, is a Stark apple tree that was once located on the approximately 365-acre apple
  
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• Newlyweds face long recovery after devastating Saanich crash

  30-10-2026 14:31 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  A Greater Victoria couple is facing an uncertain future after a serious head-on collision in Saanich left one of them with life-altering injuries.
  Miranda and Josh Shaffer were involved in a two-vehicle collision on West Saanich Road on Tuesday, Oct. 27, leaving Miranda hospitalized with multiple serious injuries.
  According to a GoFundMe campaign organized by Miranda’s brother, Marty Milner, she suffered a brain bleed, two broken bones in her neck, a broken hand and foot, and multiple head lac
  
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• Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district grapples with permanent daylight saving time

  30-10-2026 13:30 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  With the B.C. government eliminating “fall back” clock adjustments, Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools’ officials are examining student safety with anticipated darker mornings in the coming months.
  Unlike others in the Pacific time zone, British Columbians will not set clocks an hour back on Saturday, Nov. 1, and at a Wednesday, Oct. 28 meeting, school trustees were informed about measures staff are taking, with “sunrise [occurring] after the start of the school day during portions of wint
  
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• Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district adjusting to permanent daylight saving time

  30-10-2026 13:30 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  With the B.C. government eliminating “fall back” clock adjustments, Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools’ officials are examining student safety with anticipated darker mornings in the coming months.
  Unlike others in the Pacific time zone, British Columbians will not set clocks an hour back on Saturday, Nov. 1, and at a Wednesday, Oct. 28 meeting, school trustees were informed about measures staff are taking, with “sunrise [occurring] after the start of the school day during portions of wint
  
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• ‘Very hopeful’: Syilx Okanagan keep eyes and ears out as sockeye salmon return to Upper Columbia

  30-10-2026 13:00 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  On a sunny Sept. 18 in Revelstoke, Patrick Zubick clambered out onto an uprooted tree off the Illecillewaet River and hoisted out a brick with a small wired device inside.
  A fisheries biologist for the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) — the tribal council of the Syilx Okanagan Nation — Zubick drove three-and-a-half hours from Castlegar to check on a network of underwater acoustic monitoring stations that track sockeye salmon in the Upper Columbia River.
  “They’re not reintroduction fish,”
  
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• Smith nets 2 as Sharks rally for 3-2 win over Vancouver Canucks

  30-10-2026 05:34 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Will Smith scored a pair of goals, leading the San Jose Sharks to a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the visiting Vancouver Canucks in NHL action Thursday at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.
  Mason Marchment also scored for the Sharks (7-6-1), who trailed 2-0 midway through the third period. Yaroslav Askarov made 23 saves to earn the win in goal.Drew O’Connor and Liam Öhgren scored for the Canucks (3-11-1), who ended a 10-game losing skid Tuesday in Anaheim. Leevi Merilainen stopped 21 of 24 sh
  
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