"When I’m talking about Nanaimo being connected with the world, I’m talking about it through art," said @nanaimoartgallery.bsky.social curator Jesse Birch. The gallery is celebrating 50 years, and looking to move to a larger space. Read more: thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/nana...
Nanaimo Art Gallery celebrates 50 years and looks to future
For five decades, the Nanaimo Art Gallery has created spaces for community, curiosity and reflection through art.
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Have you ever been to an 80-millionth birthday party? Community members will have the chance to at the Puntledge River elasmosaur's 80,000,038th birthday celebration this weekend. Read more about it: thediscourse.ca/comox-valley...
Courtenay elasmosaur to celebrate its 80,000,038th birthday – The Discourse.
Courtenay Museum curator says, “It’s all about the celebration of discovery.”
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Cumberland Community Forest Society recently completed its biggest conservation purchase ever. I got a chance to ask the organization's executive director Meaghan Cursons about the project. Check out my Q&A with her for @thediscourse.ca thediscourse.ca/comox-valley...
Q&A: Cumberland Community Forest Society embarks on its largest conservation project yet – The Discourse.
The organization recently purchased 105 hectares of forest in Cumberland. The Discourse spoke with Cumberland Community Forest Society’s executive director to learn more.
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Looking for information on where and how to vote tomorrow? Want to take one more look at platforms or The Discourse's election reporting? Find it all in our voter guides. This one's for Nanaimo-Gabriola and Nanaimo-Lantzville. Others to follow in this thread: thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/nana...
Nanaimo’s guide to the 2026 B.C. election – The Discourse.
What riding am I in? Who are the candidates? When do I vote? B.C. election basics for Nanaimo voters.
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For The Discourse's B.C. election coverage, reporter Mick Sweetman dug into the issue of DRIPA and how parties and MLA candidates in the Nanaimo and Cowichan Valley regions plan to approach it. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/drip...
DRIPA debated in B.C. election on Vancouver Island – The Discourse.
In the B.C. election, the Conservative party is promising to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA), while other parties argue that would set back relations with First…
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The B.C. election is tomorrow. The Discourse sent reader questions to candidates in the Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo and Comox Valley regions. Here's what Nanaimo-Gabriola and and Nanaimo-Lantzville candidates had to say about mental health, health care and Island rail: thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/nana...
Nanaimo MLA candidates answer questions on mental health, health care and rail – The Discourse.
Candidates in Nanaimo-Gabriola and Nanaimo-Lantzville answered three questions from Discourse readers ahead of the Oct. 24 B.C. election.
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The Comox Valley and Nanaimo Area land trusts are partnering with BC Parks Foundation to purchase 50 hectares of land connecting the shoreline of Deep Bay to rare, intact forest. The plan is to make this private land accessible to the public. Read more: thediscourse.ca/comox-valley...
Deep Bay land purchase could protect rare forested shoreline
In a partnership with the Comox Valley and Nanaimo Area land trusts, BC Parks Foundation is fundraising to protect 50 hectares of pristine shoreline in Deep Bay and make it accessible to the public.
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What should top the 2026 General Local Election agenda in the Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo and Comox Valley? Take our short survey to guide our election coverage. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
What should top the 2026 General Local Election agenda?
The 2026 General Local Elections in B.C. take place on Oct. 17 with the first advance voting opportunity in the Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo and Comox Valley on Oct. 7. At The Discourse, we believe voters...
docs.google.com
"This isn’t something you just write and put on a shelf. You must open [the book] and use it," said Snuneymuxw Elder C'tasi:a (Geraldine Manson) about her new book, co-written with ethnobotanist Nancy Turner, which shares traditional plant knowledge. Read the Q&A: thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/snun...
Snuneymuxw Elder C’tasi:a shares traditional plant knowledge in new book – The Discourse.
‘Plant Teachings from my Auntie’ by Snuneymuxw Elder C’tasi:a and ethnobotanist Nancy Turner delves into traditional plants and plant medicine.
thediscourse.ca
A Cowichan Valley resident was moved to tears after learning more than 2,000 fish were saved from an isolated pool in the Cowichan River. Officials say if you also spot fish in need of rescuing, to call local experts who are licensed to move them safely. Learn more: thediscourse.ca/cowichan-val...
What to do and who to call when juvenile salmon are in danger – The Discourse.
Officials say Cowichan Valley residents should call experts to move salmon in isolated pools because of risks associated with relocation.
thediscourse.ca
The Discourse looked into how some governments and public organizations in the Comox Valley are approaching generative AI use. While some are working on, or have adopted, AI policies, others are still exploring the impacts of artificial intelligence. Read more: thediscourse.ca/comox-valley...
How do Comox Valley governments and public organizations use AI? – The Discourse.
The Discourse reached out to Comox Valley governments and organizations to find out how they are handling the use of AI.
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Leading voices in the campaign against the bylaw framed it as a grassroots "community win" but The Discourse found that many out-of-context claims about the bylaw and calls to action were spread, in part, by an organized group of advocates. Read our investigation: thediscourse.ca/cowichan-val...
Bylaw 4710: Who was behind the backlash to the Cowichan Valley’s comprehensive zoning bylaw? – The Discourse.
The campaign against Bylaw 4710 was fuelled, in part, by misinformation and an organized group of advocates, highlighting the shifting dynamics of local politics.
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"[Blues is] a genre that comes out of hardship and resilience and truth telling, and I think the performers that come to the stage really uphold and uplift the true spirit of the blues genre," said Nanaimo Blues Society president Jacquie Moisan. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/nana...
Nanaimo Blues Festival 2026 brings major headliners, local talent to Maffeo Sutton Park
‘Blues is for everyone,’ says Nanaimo Blues Society president
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Last week’s heat warning has residents on Vancouver Island preparing for extreme heat events this summer. Here’s what emergency management officials in Nanaimo, the Comox Valley and the Cowichan Valley recommend to beat the heat. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/what...
What to do and where to go during extreme heat events in Nanaimo, the Comox Valley and the Cowichan Valley
A guide to prepare for extreme heat events on Vancouver Island
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Some Comox Valley residents are upset with a new development that is cutting off access to a safe pedestrian trail. They say the developer has not been considerate of its neighbours. thediscourse.ca/comox-valley...
Residents upset with Aspen Road development in Comox – The Discourse.
Comox councillor says housing development should be balanced with community compassion
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For two years, the Cowichan BC SPCA has operated without a physical shelter while it awaits the opening of the new Vancouver Island Animal Behaviour Centre in Duncan — and now it's calling on the community for more foster volunteers to help meet growing demand.
Cowichan SPCA calls for more foster volunteers as demand for space increases – The Discourse.
As demand grows for animal shelter space, a team of volunteers and Cowichan SPCA staff are working to make sure animals find a place to call home.
thediscourse.ca
Nurses at Nanaimo General Hospital walked off the job early Monday morning as part of an escalating series of job actions that are part of a legal strike underway across the province. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/why-...
Nanaimo nurses strike at regional hospital – The Discourse.
Hundreds of nurses and healthcare workers picket Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
thediscourse.ca
The day after this story was published, Nanaimo RCMP announced that officers are ramping up enforcement related to street racing and dangerous operation of motorcycles in the city.
@thediscourse.ca · 4mo agoResidents are ‘raising the alarm’ about street racing and loud noise along Departure Bay Beach. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/drag...
Residents are ‘raising the alarm’ about street racing and loud noise along Departure Bay Beach. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/drag...
Departure Bay ‘drag racing’ needs to stop, residents say – The Discourse.
Residents ask city council to do something about loud cars and motorcycles late at night.
thediscourse.ca
Urban forests are critical city infrastructure, not just ‘tree hugger stuff,’ say city staff. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/what...
What is the City of Nanaimo doing to preserve trees? – The Discourse.
Urban forests are critical city infrastructure, not just ‘tree hugger stuff,’ say city staff.
thediscourse.ca
“We’ve known for a long time how many barriers there are.” Cowichan Valley’s first local Immigration Partnership is trying to fix that — from housing scarcity to racism newcomers face when accessing healthcare.
Cowichan Valley launches first Local Immigration Partnership to address newcomer barriers – The Discourse.
A new federally funded partnership wants to understand what barriers immigrants face when they arrive in the Cowichan Valley.
thediscourse.ca
The Pulse on the Plaza: K'ómoks Fusion Festival kicked off a popular music and arts series in downtown Courtenay. thediscourse.ca/comox-valley...
Pulse on the Plaza jumpstarts the heartbeat of Courtenay’s downtown – The Discourse.
Fusion of cultures the ‘secret sauce’ of the festival series’ success, Comox Valley Arts director says.
thediscourse.ca
This week marks five years since the devastating 2021 heat dome that killed over 600 people. In 2022, we looked at what the government was doing to prevent the deaths of low-income seniors in future extreme heat events. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/extr...
Who will protect low-income seniors from dying in extreme heat?
This public-interest lawyer has ‘very little confidence’ in the government’s response, and is calling for tenant-led solutions.
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A HUGE thank you to the 96 readers who stepped up to support The Discourse's journalism for our Spring Supporter Drive! If you haven’t signed up, it's not too late join a community of readers who financially back this "fab independent journalism" thediscourse.ca/support-us
Margins of Sound, a new cross-genre electronic and experimental music festival, will take place this weekend in downtown Nanaimo’s OV Arts Centre and include free performances in the Bowen Park amphitheater. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/marg...
Margins of Sound festival brings experimental music to Nanaimo – The Discourse.
New festival includes free performances in Bowen Park and workshops.
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"I love reading @thediscourse.ca" is something I have heard from people I know. When I ask if they support them financially, a lightbulb goes off. Support the journalism you want to see in the world! The Discourse is 96% of the way to a funding goal - please set up folks! thediscourse.ca/support-us
Support Us – The Discourse.
Why support The Discourse? “Meaningful local investigative reporting.” – Parker Jefferson, Duncan ”Great reporting in my neighbourhood.” – Lynn Bakken, Nanaimo “Integrity, intelligence and the focus...
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Did you know that by the 1930s, 1 in 5 people in Chemainus were of Japanese descent? A new exhibit at the Chemainus Valley Museum called “None Came Back” is shedding light on the Japanese Canadian community that was forced out during the Second World War and the local history that was almost erased.
Chemainus Museum unveils new Japanese Canadian history exhibit – The Discourse.
New exhibit at Chemainus Valley Museum aims to highlight and give voice to the Japanese Canadian community that once lived in Chemainus.
thediscourse.ca
“A few months of free rent and moving expenses does not protect tenants from homelessness from perpetual housing insecurity."
Nanaimo tenant protection bylaw slammed by advocates – The Discourse.
Nanaimo tenant protection bylaw would include compensation but no discount on rent in new units
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It's the last day of our Spring Supporter Drive and we are so close to our target — a figure that will help us file FOIs, like a recent one to North Cowichan 👀 If you appreciate our independent local news service, now is the time to support it! thediscourse.ca/support-us
