News

Nicole Knowles Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder The Gabriola Chamber of Commerce has requested an additional $20,000 in funding from the Regional District of Nanaimo for both 2025 and 2026. Chamber President Graham Bradley with Executive Director...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News The Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department has saved $1,000 on call-out costs since starting a trial limiting how many members are initially sent to medical calls on Gabriola Island. The trial started in October, with Gabriola Fire sending only...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News Gabriola Fire Chief Will Sprogis is asking the Fire Board to consider creating a new full-time role within the Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department. Sprogis brought the issue up during his regular report at the December 4 meeting of the...

Will Sprogis Fire Chief, Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department On December 11 at approximately 4 PM, the Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to a miscellaneous fire on the north end of Gabriola Island. Upon arrival, the deputy called for Engine One and...

Nicole Knowles Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder The Board for the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District (NRHD) has approved a provisional 28.2 per cent budget increase for 2025. If the increase stays in place, it will put the tax requisition for...

, Sounder file photo Sounder News Paramedics with the BC Emergency Health Services have responded to a total of 29 overdose/poisoning patient calls on Gabriola this year, as of December 2, 2024. In 2023, there were a total of 17 calls for overdoses on Gabriola....

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News The Islands Trust is considering a budget increase of 7.3 per cent for Local Trust Areas for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The proposed budget was on the agenda at the December Islands Trust Council meeting. The draft 2025-2026 budget has...

Sounder News The Gabriola Ferry Schedule is going to be shifting on January 2, 2025. Returning to the schedule, 10 years after it was removed, is an 11:30pm sailing out of Nanaimo. This will also mean that there will be an 11pm sailing leaving Gabriola. According to...

Sounder News The terminal infrastructure work planned for 2026 for the Gabriola route is being changed by BC Ferries. Steve Earle, Chair of the Gabriola Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC) said this past Monday, BC Ferries announced to FAC members that the scope of work...

Penny Scott Gabriola Community Wellbeing Coordinator The recent cyclone bomb and extended power outage challenged even the most stoic Gabriolan. The Extreme Weather Action Team (part of the Gabriola Health & Wellbeing Collaborative) is pleased to announce that...

Nicole Knowles Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder Regional District of Nanaimo Board members have voted to continue providing an annual grant of  $50, 000 to Vancouver island North Film Commission (INfilm). This came at the November 26 meeting of...

Winter Harp is at the Port Theatre this Saturday. Submitted photoSounder News This coming Saturday, December 14, Winter Harp returns to the Port Theatre in Nanaimo. A classic event in the Port’s Spotlight Series for over 20 years, Winter Harp is a holiday favourite...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News Nicolas Jimenez, CEO and President of BC Ferries, said this past week ferry fares would need to increase by 30% in 2028 to allow the ferry company to keep up with the costs of running the ferry system. This would mean passenger fares on the...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News BC Ferries announced this past Monday that it is terminating the use of Ferry Advisory Committees. Steve Earle and Heather O’Sullivan sit as the Co-Chairs for the Gabriola Ferry Advisory Committee. There are 13 FACs currently listed on the...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News BC Ferries has removed the 7:05am and 5:05pm sailings from the Gabriola ferry schedule on a ‘till further notice’ basis. The 5:05pm will remain available on Wednesdays. This comes after BC Ferries and all other users of the Vessel Visiting...

Chamber Ensemble Press Release As winter darkness creeps over Gabriola, there’s a glimmer of musical starlight on the horizon. Director Brad Shipley and the Gabriola Chamber Ensemble – a community group of seven orchestra members and 22 choristers – are putting the...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News Susan Yates, who represents the Islands Trust on the Gabriola Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC) says the FAC is, “begging BC Ferries to meet with [the Gabriola FAC] as soon as possible, to talk about mitigating measures that will be in place...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News The Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District has passed Bylaw 108 at a Special Meeting held on November 14. The Board held the Special Meeting with the sole agenda item being the approval of Bylaw 108, a bylaw to establish four...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News The Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District Board will now be holding a General Meeting at 4pm on November 14. This comes after it had already set (and now postponed) a meeting for November 7. No reason was given for the postponment...

Sounder News In March 2023, the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) began allowing RDN curbside collection customers to put yard waste into their green-lidded organics cart. The service level expansion applied to all single-family dwellings in the RDN and is included...

Field to be closed to community groups for winter Nicole Knowles Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder On September 25, coaches with the Gabriola Soccer Association made a presentation to the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District Board, requesting an...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News Representatives of the Gabriola Soccer Association (GSA)once again presented to Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) regarding how to improve access to sports field for youth soccer use on Gabriola. This time, it was at the Oct. 21 meeting of...

Vanessa Craig Regional District of Nanaimo Director, Electoral Area B: Gabriola, Mudge, Decourcy Islands The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) provides waste management services, including pick-up of garbage, recycling, and organics for Gabriola and the six other...

More park for Gabriola - Hugh Skinner, President of GaLTT, high fives Vanessa Craig, RDN Director for Electoral Area B (Gabriola, Mudge, Decourcy) celebrating the purchase of the Wilkinson Woods off South Road. Derek Kilbourn photoSounder News The Regional District of...

Alexander Varty Lulu Performing Arts Society Brodie West wants to come clean. It’s possible, he says from his home in Toronto, that the last time he played on Gabriola he might have taken things a bit too far. Drummer Shawn Abedin certainly did. Some of the details...