News

Sounder News Members of the B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) working at LifeLabs have issued 72-hours’ strike notice to their employer. This action follows months of negotiations and LifeLabs’ refusal to bring wages and benefits in line with the cost of living,...

Nicole Knowles Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder The smell of homemade soup and biscuits filled the halls of Gabriola Elementary on Wednesday as the weekly hot lunch program was being served. Volunteers from People for a Healthy Community, led by...

Nicole Knowles Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) board accepted a new provincially mandated report on housing needs, but says the report must better reflect the local context before it’s posted on its...

Derek Kilbourn photo Mandy Mayville (Gas Bar Manager) and Jackson Tait with the EV Chargers now live at the Gabriola location of Mid-Island Co-op.Sounder News Mid Island Co-op announced recently that the EV chargers installed at their various locations have gone live....

File photo BC Emergency Health Services Station 153 (Gabriola).Sounder News Of the three emergency services on Gabriola, only BC Ambulance saw an increase in call volume in 2024. Gabriola RCMP and Gabriola Fire both saw slight drops in requests for service from the...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News Shield Maiden is going to be launching a final tour with a show on Gabriola. Melanie Teichroeb (Playwright/performer) and Sandy Cumberland (Production Manager) have toured Shield Maiden to New York City, Austin, Texas, Nanaimo and all...

Nicole Knowles Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) board approved several resolutions, on subjects ranging from tiny homes to wolf dogs, that it will bring to the annual Association of Vancouver Island and...

File Image Among the changes made to redevelopment plans for the Gabriola route, is cancellation of plans to install a second berth at Nanaimo Harbour Terminal.Derek Kilbourn Sounder News BC Ferries has cut back its  redevelopment plans for both terminals on the...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News On Wednesday, January 8, the BC Supreme Court found Scott Steer of Gabriola, and a numbered company (1215419 B.C. Ltd), guilty on multiple counts of violations associated with the illegal harvesting and sale of sea cucumbers in 2019. Steer...

Gabriola Agricultural Co-op Board The United Nations has proclaimed 2025 to be the International Year of Co-operatives and the Agricultural Co-op is inviting the community to come to the Agricultural Hall for a day of celebration, education, and inspiration on...

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...