News

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News Firefighters at the Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department have been certified by the BC Labour Relations Board (LRB) to form a union. This comes after enough firefighters signed their names to an application to the LRB, to then trigger an LRB...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News Creating a local response to trade tariffs was the topic of discussion this past Friday morning, as Gabriola Chamber of Commerce hosted a number of Gabriola businesses and organizations to a round table with local elected officials and...

Nicole Knowles Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder The new patient tower and cardiac catheterization lab promised by Premier David Eby as part of his election campaign is still waiting in limbo for concept case approval before planning can move...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News Peter Luckham, outgoing Chair of the Islands Trust Council, has written to federal ministers asking for an expansion of the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act (WAHVA) program in the Islands Trust Area. His letter was addressed to...

Gabriola Land and Trails Trust GaLTT is famous for its dedicated volunteers, who work on trails, accessibility, invasives, habitat restoration, conservation, and public education initatives. But we also have lots of admin and materials costs. Membership fees,...

Sounder News Peter Luckham, Islands Trust Council Chair, announced today that he will step down as Chair and member of the Islands Trust Executive Committee effective March 11, 2025. His departure from the Executive will mean Luckham will be vacating his role as Chair...

Provided by the Islands Trust Conservancy The McRae Conservancy lands. Map of the authorized trail (connecting from South Road to Fell Road) on the McRae Lands (white dashed line), which are permanently protected for conservation by an Islands Trust Conservancy NAPTEP...

Emily Carson-Apstein To those concerned for the future of our LGBTQ youth. And to those who have questions about pronouns or the importance of gender affirming healthcare. In a local and global climate of hostility towards queer and trans people, a group of concerned...

Alexander Varty Lulu Performing Arts Have you ever fallen in love at first listen? I’ve just done just that. Hearing Dorothee Mields sing Johann Hermann Schein’s “Lehre uns bedenken” sent me running to the Internet to purchase a copy of the German soprano’s...

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....