Midcoast Morning

This is an extended podcast edition of our original broadcast. Members of the arts community in the Comox Valley are rallying in the face of the potential suspension of the fine arts program at North Island College. Fine Arts is one of 15 different programs that have been recommended for suspension following a review process, with a final decision expected to come from the school’s board of govern...

This is an extended version of the version that was originally broadcast. As rains once again battered Vancouver Island over the weekend, multiple regions grappled with the risk of flooding. For a period on Monday there were evacuation notices covering parts of Chemainus and a campground in Parksville. UBC professor Younes Alila says that while governments and media outlets are often quick to poin...

This is an extended version of the version that was originally broadcast. Stories of hangings, explosions, and tragedies from Nanaimo’s past have been brought together in a book from lifelong history buff T.W. Paterson. Called Unknown Nanaimo, it focuses on events from the 1850s through to the turn of the 20th century, with much of the material sourced from newspaper accounts from that period. Spe...

We're marking Nanaimo's move from 2025 into 2026, with a focus on transportation. We talked transit and traffic calming with Jamie Rose, the City of Nanaimo’s Manager of Transportation about how things changed in the last year, as well as what's on the radar for the next one. We'll also touch on what some recent council decisions around active transportation projects mean for the city, and we'll h...

Plans to light a section of the E&N Trail next year won’t be going ahead, as funding has been reallocated to other to be determined projects. A section of the trail between Northfield and Rock City roads had been scheduled to receive lighting upgrades in 2026. Instead, around a million dollars of funding will be redirected into other pedestrian and active transportation projects next year.  We...

Local government is willing to front the costs to bring a cardiac catheterization lab to Nanaimo. The Nanaimo Regional Hospital District Board unanimously passed a motion this month resolving to earmark up to 50 million dollars to fund 100% of the cardiac catheterization lab project as part of its funding commitments to that project and a new patient tower. Midcoast Morning spoke with NRHD Board C...

A body tasked with improving our democracy has made dozens of recommendations to the government of BC. The special committee on democratic and electoral reform has put out its first report, after receiving close to a thousand submissions from British Columbians over the summer months. The committee is made up of MLAs from across party lines, and has a two part mandate. This report is all about the...

Humpback whales are returning to the Salish Sea in growing numbers, but between the rising population and the increase in vessel traffic, collisions are also becoming more common. Emma Shuparski is the coordinator for Straightwatch Quadra Island, under Cetus Research and Conservation Society. Christie McMillan is a Senior Habitat Assessment Biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and fif...

A motion about industrial land use divided Nanaimo city council in a narrow 5-4 vote Monday night. On the meeting agenda the motion from Councillor Paul Manly asked staff to prepare a zoning amendment that would have prevented six different industrial scale uses, including certain garbage incineration facilities, chemical plants, petroleum refineries, and Liquefied Natural Gas export facilities. T...

Now in its ninth year, demand for the Woodstove Music and Arts Festival seemingly hit new highs, with organizers saying that the initial round of tickets sold out almost immediately. The non profit community festival took place last weekend across 16 venues in the village ranging from community halls, to the museum, to tattoo parlours and hair salons. In recent years, many summer festivals have fa...

Plans for a data centre in Nanaimo have generated significant attention in recent weeks. The centre is proposed for 2090 East Wellington Road, and the area was rezoned in 2023. A CBC article about data centres and water use published in October made reference to Nanaimo, which has generated renewed interest and concern from members of the public. A data centre is a building that houses computer se...

The British Columbia Federation of Students says the province’s post secondary system is in crisis. The organization says that there have been almost 1000 layoffs in the sector since 2023, with 80 programs suspended, paused or cut. Midcoast Morning interviews Cole Reinbold Secretary-Treasurer with the BCFS and Annabree Fairweather, Executive Director of CUFA BC regarding the call for action. Suppo...

Following push-back from members of the community, a zoning change proposal failed to pass first reading at Nanaimo City Council on Monday. Council heard from 8 delegations opposed to a rezoning application for 2367 Arbot Road, which is currently home to the Westwood Lake Tennis Club. The proposal was to change the land’s zoning from commercial recreation centre to low density residential. Concept...

More than a dozen authors, poets, profs, and students spoke at a festival aimed at fostering connections between Palestinian and local literature this past weekend. The 2nd annual Watermelon Seeds festival of literature took place at VIU Saturday. It comes on the heels of an event last spring that took place at the Palestinian solidarity encampment that had been set up on campus. Midcoast Morning...

With Nanaimo City Council voting in favour of a motion Monday to name the park at 933 Park Avenue Five Acres Farm Community Park, Midcoast Morning explores the history behind the name, as well as the urban farming that’s still taking place on the land. Support Midcoast Morning and our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month. Podcast Photo: Five Acres Farm Communi...

Cree artist and creator George Littlechild is sharing his art with the Comox Valley this fall with a vast exhibition at the Comox Valley Art Gallery and a special film screening at North Island College. The film being screened this Saturday, October 4th is nanekawâsis , a documentary featuring Little Child's life and art.  Both the artist George Littlechild and the filmmaker Conor McNally will be...

On the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, hundreds walked along fifth street in downtown Courtenay before gathering in Lewis Park. Midcoast Morning spoke with some of those present about the meaning of the day. Support Midcoast Morning and our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month. Podcast Photo: Spirit Walk attendees walk to Lewis Park in...

Following decades of advocacy, Hamilton Marsh near Qualicum Beach appears on its way to becoming a protected area. Earlier this month the Regional District of Nanaimo announced it had reached a conditional agreement with Mosaic Forest Management to buy 360 hectares of land for $30 million. That land includes the marsh itself, which is about 36 hectares in size, and a mature forest, that if undistu...

The Island Corridor Foundation’s CEO wants Nanaimo’s planning department to keep the potential of the old rail corridor in mind. Thomas Bevan spoke at a Nanaimo city council meeting Monday night to provide an update on the work of the Island Corridor Foundation, as they look to determine the future of what was once the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway. Midcoast Morning spoke with Bevan about the curr...

It’s a new year at VIU, and there’s a new president on campus, looking to help steer the school through its financial challenges. Dennis Johnson was appointed as interim president in June. His tenure will be up to two years. Midcoast Morning speaks with Johnson, as well as VIU Students Union Board Chair Sarah Mei Lyana about hopes for the upcoming school year. Support Midcoast Morning and our Nonp...

A new partnership between Habitat For Humanity’s Restore and non profit Lighthouse’s Building Material Exchange program aims to save construction material from the landfill. The Nanaimo Restore, which sells donated construction material and home furnishings, celebrated an expansion as well as the launch of the new partnership at an event Monday. Proceeds from the Restore go to Habitat for Humanity...

Nanaimo’s night market continued to grow this year, according to its organizer. Midcoast Morning visited the market ahead of the final 2025 edition Thursday night. Plus, the Picnic in The Plaza aims to bring the community together downtown on Sunday. Support Midcoast Morning and our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month. ★ Support this podcast ★

Midcoast Morning hears about events in Nanaimo and Parksville to mark International Overdose Awareness Day. Plus VIU instructor Sarah Lovegrove, Vice President of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association speaks about the day in the context of a backlash against harm reduction.  Support Midcoast Morning and our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month. Photo: Sarah Lo...

A new BMX pump track is coming to Cedar, funded by the Stevie Smith Legacy Foundation. Midcoast Morning speaks with Foundation founder Michelle Corfield. This weekend on Saturday, Primary Skateboards is hosting it’s third annual block party on Victoria Crescent in Downtown Nanaimo, Midcoast Morning speaks with co-owner Jordan Pletz and longtime skateboarder Rigo Gonzalez. Support Midcoast Morning...

Adam Olsen wrote in The Tyee this week that this month’s BC Supreme Court ruling that recognized Cowichan title to a section of lands south of the Fraser River was “part of a legal trajectory the Crown has been warned about for decades.” Olsen joined Midcoast Morning to share his perspective on the case. ★ Support this podcast ★