News
Fire Board considering 21.29% tax increase
Derek Kilbourn Sounder News The Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District may see a budget and tax levy increase of 21.29% in 2026. That came during a report from interim Corporate Officer Marjorie Colebrook at the September 10 meeting of the finance subcommittee....
NALT seeks additional RDN funding for volunteer programs and services at risk of being cut
Hope Lompe Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder Nanaimo and Area Land Trust is seeking $10,000 in additional Nanaimo Regional District funding for its 2026 service contract, citing hikes to operational costs and previous donations set to be fully...
RDN financial plan public engagement survey finds taxpayers feel overburdened
Claudia Culley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder A survey that collected public feedback on the Regional District of Nanaimo’s 2026 to 2030 financial plan found a significant number of respondents feel taxpayers are overburdened. The online survey...
Gabriolans tell BC Ferries to leave Monday, Thursday, and Friday sailings alone during terminal construction
Derek Kilbourn Sounder News It is still not decided what the sailing cancellations will look like later this fall and into 2026 as BC Ferries moves ahead with repairs and upgrades to the terminals on the Gabriola route. Gabriolans who took part in the BCF engagement...
Gabriolans invited to “Ask Anything” on Sept. 27
Dyan Dunsmoor-Farley Gabriola Health and Wellbeing Collaborative Over the summer, the Poisoned Drug Action Table (PDAT) of the Gabriola Health and Wellbeing Collaborative produced an eight - part Sounder series, “Building Hope,” to shine light on the toxic drug...
A 25-year ferry prediction
BC Ferries has issued a 25-year vision for BC’s ferry service. It’s called “Charting The Course.” CTC for short. There are five goals envisioned for the provincially-owned corporation. With these five goals, CTC envisions a coastal ferry system that is: • Reliable and...
Nature Spirit Earth Market (NSEM) latest successful loan recipient with Gabriola Investment Co-op
Gabriola Island Community Investment Co-op Gabriola’s community investment co-op is pleased to announce a loan to Nature Spirit Earth Market. With this support, NSEM will upgrade their van with refrigeration, insulation, and air conditioning—to help them bring even...
Co-op rezoning application for propane storage moves ahead
Derek Kilbourn Sounder News Mid-Island Co-op’s application to expand propane storage on Gabriola has been given first and second readings by the Gabriola Local Trust Committee. The readings of the draft bylaws to amend Gabriola’s Official Community Plan, and Land Use...
Students to recognize 45th anniversary of Marathon of Hope with 90 km relay
The 2005 relay team on Gabriola. Sounder file photoSounder News Students and staff from Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools students will be running relay-style from Ladysmith to Lantzville over three days in honour of the 45th anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of...
CUPW postal staff stopping delivery of flyers and newspapers as strike action
Derek KilbournSounder News The Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced on September 12 that as of Monday, Sept. 15 at 12:01 a.m. local time, its members would stop delivering flyers and products, including newspapers, sent under a Neighbourhood Mail agreement. This...
A(nother) summer of ferry discontent
Column, Derek Kilbourn This was the summer of not taking a vehicle on the Gabriola ferry. At least, that was the decision made by some families as the lineups became entirely too long both leaving and returning from Gabriola Island. For some, it meant taking a bike....
Fire District landowners vote to change to new auditor
The cast of the original 2005 production of 7 Stories: Antonio Gradanti, Louise Amuir, Miles Black and David Soy. Submitted photo Derek Kilbourn Sounder News A new accounting firm will be serving as auditor for the Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District in...
Auditions bring Gabriola Players back to the beginning
The cast of the original 2005 production of 7 Stories: Antonio Gradanti, Louise Amuir, Miles Black and David Soy. Submitted photoMiranda Holmes Gabriola Players In 2005 the newly-formed Gabriola Players chose as their first production Morris Panych’s absurdly funny 7...
Eighth ship in Island class launched in Romania
Island 8 stands ready at the Damen Shipyard in Galati, Romania, just before being launched. It is one of the four new Island Class being built to be assigned to the Gabriola and Campbell River ferry routes. BC Ferries photo.Derek Kilbourn Sounder News BC Ferries has...
Apple juicing at – and for – the Gabriola Commons
Heather Menzies Gabriola Commons There won’t be a Fall Fair at the Commons this year. But one part of the show is still going on at least: apple juicing. Betty Kehler and her team will be available most weekends through September and October as different apples reach...
BC Ferries CEO lays out realities of building ferries in Canada
Island 8 stands ready at the Damen Shipyard in Galati, Romania, just before being launched. The vessel is one of 12 Island Class vessels that BC Ferries is building as part of the fleet renewal program. BC Ferries photo.Sounder News This past week, BC Ferries...
Building Hope. How two organizations are approaching drug-use challenges through forging relationships
Sounder News This is the sixth article in the Building Hope series about the poisoned drug crisis and its impacts on Gabriola Island. Part 1 of the series can be found here. For a list of resources and supports in relation to these subjects please visit...
Health Centre’s rainwater harvesting and filtration system for potable water among first in B.C.
The newly constructed additional water storage facility at the Gabriola Community Health Centre is one of the first to be approved as a rainwater harvesting and filtering system to generate potable water. Submitted photoGabriola Health Care Foundation The Gabriola...
LTC to require residential units be built as part of expanding uses permitted on Wild Rose property
Derek Kilbourn Sounder News The Gabriola Local Trust Committee (LTC) is moving to the next steps which would expand the permitted commercial and residential uses on the Wild Rose Garden Centre property on Tin Can Alley. This requires changes in the Gabriola Official...
“Reimagining Growth” – a conversation about Gabriola’s growth challenges, and addressing housing needs
Trustee Tobi Elliott Gabriola Local Trust Committee It’s time to reimagine how growth and housing density might be better distributed on Gabriola. As land costs rise, environmental limits tighten, climate change accelerates, and Indigenous reconciliation advances,...
Gabriola Elementary tops NLPS’s seismic upgrade projects in 2026-27 major capital plan
Gabriola Elementary School is at the top of the list for seismic upgrade projects in the school district. Derek Kilbourn photo.Claudia CulleyLocal Journalism Initiative ReporterGabriola Sounder Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools (NLPS) has approved its five-year major...
NLPS approves minor capital plan outlining proposed projects for students and schools
Claudia Culley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools (NLPS) has approved its 2026-27 five-year minor capital plan, which includes key projects to increase the health and safety for district staff and students, reduce...
Letter to the Editor: request to have accessible access to beach at Pilot Bay
To the Honourable Tamara Davidson, Minister of Environment and Parks; the Honourable Sheila Malcolmson, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction; Vanessa Craig, Regional District of Nanaimo Chair; Will Sprogis, Chief, Gabriola Volunteer Fire Dept., Derek...
Late Immersion needs to stay
As mentioned in the story on the front page of this week's Sounder, the School District is still considering the cancellation of the late-entry French Immersion program. Student placement in the Kindergarten-level French Immersion is done via lottery. That might...
Celebrating the Commons – a 20 years heritage of belonging
Heather MenziesGabriola Commons Gabriolans with English, Scots or Irish roots might also have ancestral connections to commonly shared kin land, or a commons. The library is celebrating that heritage in a Sept. 6th (2 p.m.) event focused on the work of a Scottish...
