Midcoast Morning

Nervous energy filled the Vancouver Island Conference Centre Saturday night as Nanaimo's local election results were revealed. Mayor Leonard Krog won re-election, although by narrower margins than in the 2022 and 2018 elections, beating challenger Sarah Lovegrove by 1907 votes. Andréa Coutu and Marnie Boers joined six incumbent candidates on council, while incumbent Janice Perrino fell just short...

Ahead of local elections in the City of Nanaimo, questionable polls have been circulating online on social media like Facebook drawing the criticism of community members. An unscientific straw poll was but one issue, but another poll circulated by Noni Bartlett, associated with political slate REAL Nanaimo, appears to have been generated entirely by AI. The poll showed Anne Marie Dryden, candidate...

Ahead of the October 17 local election, Midcoast Morning spoke with each of the four candidates running for mayor of Nanaimo. In this episode, VIU nursing instructor Sarah Lovegrove and incumbent mayor Leonard Krog. Creators & Guests Jesse Woodward - Editor Joe Pugh - Host Leonard Krog - Guest Sarah Lovegrove - Guest Support Midcoast Morning and our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining...

Ahead of the October 17th local elections in British Columbia, Midcoast Morning spoke with each of the four candidates running for Mayor of Nanaimo. In this episode, former financial planner Anne Marie Dryden and multi time mayor and council candidate Brunie Brunie. Creators & Guests Jesse Woodward - Editor Joe Pugh - Host Brunie Brunie - Guest Anne Marie Dryden - Guest Support Midcoast Mornin...

Originally planned by the Fair Care Alliance as a forum framed around local elections, a snap provincial election reframed much of the conversation had at the September 24th Fair Care For All Public Health Forum. Politics reporter Mick Sweetman attended the forum, and joins Midcoast Morning’s host Joe Pugh in talking about what was said at the forum by both those speaking, as well local and provin...

Plans are in the works to decide how to best add a new parcel of land to Westwood Lake Park. Last week the City of Nanaimo announced the purchase of 2.85 acres of land at 2367 Arbot Road for $2.88 million. The land is currently home to the Westwood Lake Tennis Club, which will cease operation later this fall. Less than a year ago, the same parcel was up for re-zoning, with a plan to build town-hom...

Nomination papers are in, and the stage is almost set for next month’s local elections across B.C.  In Nanaimo the campaign period is set to kick off Saturday, with advance voting on October 7th and 14th ahead of general voting day October 17th. A political studies professor at VIU says citizens need to think about the process and not just the issues as they get ready to cast their ballots. Michae...

Midcoast Morning explores the political path to a change of plans in the Newcastle neighbourhood. Last week Nanaimo-Gabriola MLA and Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, Sheila Malcolmson, announced forthcoming supportive housing at 250 Terminal, now known as 250 Bryden, will operate under a recovery-oriented model. Midcoast Morning follows up with the minister, and City of Nanaim...

A world of cinema is set to be a boat ride away next month. The Vancouver International Film Festival kicks off October first. The lineup was released last week and features 256 films from 76 countries, in 83 languages. Glen Grunau is president of the Nanaimo International Film Screening Society, a group that organizes showings of international and art house cinema at the Shaw auditorium. He spoke...

One of two candidates in the race to replace Elizabeth May as leader of the Green Party of Canada was in Nanaimo this past weekend to pitch their case to lead the federal party. Mike Morrice, former MP for Kitchener Centre, spoke with the program following a Sunday evening event. Midcoast Morning also heard from Nira Dookeran, a party organizer, who is also running for the leadership. Creators &am...

The Nanaimo Lions Club is getting ready to mark its 80th anniversary this Saturday in Maffeo Sutton Park. The service club has helped contribute community infrastructure like the Lions Pavillion and Lions Great Bridge in the park and elsewhere in the community over its eight decades in operation. Currently, they’re looking for new members to increase their capacity to help out in the community. Lo...

Nanaimo City Council has endorsed the Nanaimo Accord, a document created by leaders of various local institutions that outlines shared priorities for the community’s future. The accord identifies 3 major projects as priorities for investment, expansion of Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, Duke Point Expansion, and the te’tuxwtun development planned on former Department of National Defence lands....

Plans for a development near a wetland ecosystem in the Rock City area have generated concern among local residents, and prompted multiple delegations before city council this month. To better understand what systems are in place to regulate development around wetlands, Midcoast Morning spoke with Russell Chiong, a staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law. Support Midcoast Morning and our Nonp...

Nanaimo is looking to get more active on bringing non market housing to the community. The City’s Governance and Priorities committee voted Monday in favour of recommending Nanaimo City Council send $75,000 to the Nanaimo Prosperity Corporation to facilitate a non-market housing delivery system pilot. The program spoke with Nanaimo Prosperity Corporation CEO Colin Stansfield about where things are...

As Canada’s time hosting the FIFA world cup comes to a close, Nanaimo is hosting some of B.C.’s youth soccer talent. The Provincial A-Cup championship is on now through Sunday, July 12 in the Harbour City, featuring 40 teams from across the province, including 11 from Vancouver Island. Midcoast Morning spoke with organizers, players, and referees on the first day of competition about the tournamen...

Barry Lyseng says he’s been advocating for pedestrian improvements on Hammond Bay road for 27 years. Lyseng is chair of the Linley Valley-Stephenson Point Neighbourhood Association. He’s hopeful that plans to replace several kilometres of sewer pipe along the road starting early next year will bring improvements to the pedestrian experience. Hammond Bay features several stretches with minimal spac...

The City of Nanaimo is in the process of creating a tenant protection bylaw, but staff are recommending against some of the enhanced protections offered by bylaws in other B.C. communities. Staff are recommending a bylaw that would apply to redevelopments of buildings with four or more rental units. It is expected to offer displaced tenants four months of rent, as well as moving expenses. Some com...

A new exhibit at the Harbourfront Library in Nanaimo brings attention to the privatisation of much of the land on southeastern Vancouver Island. Called The Great Vancouver Island Land Grab , it’s about the granting of land in exchange for construction of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo railway. In the 1880s, more than 800 thousand hectares of land were given to the Esquimalt and Nanaimo railway company...

The repair café movement has returned to Nanaimo. Volunteers came together Saturday May 30 to look at more than 100 household items in need of a fix. The event at St Andrew’s Church in the Old City Quarter featured tables for small appliances, electronics, furniture, jewellery, bike repairs and more. It was the second repair cafe held in Nanaimo this year, with a third planned for June 13th. There...

A plan to shape the future of the Woodgrove Area is now complete and has made its way before Nanaimo City Council. Project Manager Kasia Biegun of the City of Nanaimo’s planning department spoke with CHLY about what’s envisioned for the area through 2046. Support Midcoast Morning and our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month. Podcast Photo: Woodgrove Area Plan...

A recent Nanaimo press conference saw the leader of BC’s Green Party joined by a community advocate Kathryn Barnwell, and Nanaimo City Councillors Paul Manly and Hilary Eastmure in a call for more stringent regulation of the data centre industry provincially and federally. Midcoast Morning speaks with Martin Karsten, a University of Waterloo computer science professor, to walk through some questio...

Three groups made a pitch this week for a new organization to coordinate bringing affordable housing to Nanaimo. At a governance and priorities committee meeting, Nanaimo City Council received an ask to fund a Nanaimo Housing Collective. One of the group’s behind the pitch is the Nanaimo Prosperity Corporation, which is the city’s economic development agency. There is also involvement from the Hou...

The CEO of Nanaimo Forest Products says that while nothing is decided yet, he expects it to be months before a rezoning application for lands in the southeastern part of Nanaimo makes it back before city council. After three sessions of a public hearing lasting more than ten hours and featuring more than a hundred first time speakers, Nanaimo City Council has sent an application to rezone around 7...

A public hearing around the potential rezoning of lands near Cable Bay Trail is set to continue into a third session this week. With Nanaimo receiving more than 900 written submissions about the proposal, and more than 100 people speaking to the matter in person or over the phone so far, there has been significant community interest in the matter. Midcoast Morning spoke with Mark Holland, a regist...

A public hearing on the potential rezoning of lands near Cable Bay trail packed the Vancouver Island Conference Centre Thursday April 16th, and is set to continue this week. Around 68 people spoke to the matter, with 24 of them calling into the hearing, with council also receiving 907 written submissions. At issue is a rezoning bylaw. It would see close to 75 hectares of land near the southeastern...