As B.C’s public health emergency related to toxic drugs marks 10 years, we spoke with three Nanaimo residents who have been directly affected by the crisis. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/nana...

"The work of history is the work of retelling and revision," writes @kellyblack.ca who, in his latest piece, gets to the bottom of a decades-long mystery and explains the importance of fact-based storytelling in a world of AI slop. thediscourse.ca/cowichan-val...

"He lost his friends in war, but he says 'I think you've lost more friends than I have in my army days.'" Ten years into B.C.’s toxic drug crisis, frontline workers in the Cowichan Valley reflect on the lives lost and the work still ahead.

As B.C’s public health emergency related to toxic drugs marks 10 years of death, we spoke with three Nanaimo residents who have been directly affected by the crisis thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/nana...

Broombusters marks 20 years of fighting invasive Scotch broom on Vancouver Island.

In case you missed it, we did a deep dive into a new draft Cowichan Valley Regional District bylaw to try and understand what's actually changing. Read the full story here: thediscourse.ca/cowichan-val... #cowichanvalley

Broombusters marks 20 years of fighting invasive Scotch broom on Vancouver Island.

Roosters. Food trucks. RVs as homes. A 322-page zoning bylaw is sparking debate in the Cowichan Valley. We took a deep dive to figure out what’s actually changing, and what isn’t. #cowichanvalley

This is great to see. As a now older, retired punk, we used to play shows around the island in town halls and school gyms. Spaces like the Globe Live really matter. They give youth a proper place to gather, create, and play, and they give parents something solid to support.

It’s Friday night, and the dance floor at the Globe Live Studio is packed with youth from across Nanaimo wearing battle jackets decorated with patches of their favourite punk and metal bands.

One of the rare heartwarming posts to slide into my feed today. Gotta love the punks!!

"Every weekend, there’s kids here at The Globe going crazy,” Says Fin Edwards who books shows at The Globe Live Studio. “There’s a ton of different bands and the kids are starting bands now too.”

Western conservation practices often imagine healthy ecosystems as places without people. Indigenous researcher Jennifer Grenz is challenging that, and her work in the Cowichan Valley is showing what's possible when traditional knowledge leads restoration.

Nanaimo’s new monthly electronic music night Common kicks off this Saturday featuring DJs, live musicians and dancers from across the Island. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/a-co...

OneBC leader Dallas Brodie promised to throw out B.C. Indigenous rights law, reconciliation and the federal Indian Act at a recent meeting in Nanaimo. We fact-checked what she said. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/pack...

‘Once again, these folks are getting evicted to nowhere.’ Dozens of unhoused Duncan residents could soon lose their homes as a temporary winter shelter prepares to close — with no permanent replacement in sight. Community members are demanding local governments act before it's too late.

The development of a controversial data centre in Nanaimo was approved by city staff and includes a covenant capping its water use. But some critics are still opposed to the project. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/city...

UPDATE: The Port Theatre Society announced in a statement on March 5 that the sold-out Ben Bankas show has been cancelled due to safety concerns. Read our background story on the city council meeting that preceded this decision.

From Vivaldi's Four Seasons by candlelight to heavy metal at The Globe Live Studio and a family barn dance see what's happening in Nanaimo tonight in The Hub Nanaimo, your insider guide to the best in community arts and culture. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/the-...

The herring spawn is turning the Salish Sea a beautiful blueish green and attracting plentiful wildlife and human visitors who want to see the annual spectacle. Here’s what you need to know about how to see, and respect, the spawning. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/how-...

Writer Zena Sharman sat down with The Discourse to discuss her debut memoir, Staying Power. 📖 After back-to-back loss, Sharman’s essays explore grief, divorce, and building a four-parent queer family. Read our Q&A before her free launch event at The HUB on March 12!

“We must treat our bodies as sacred.” Local Indigenous poet Kiera Chealine will present two new, original poems about consent at The Discourse and Cowichan Valley IWD’s International Women’s Day event on March 8. Learn about her poems and find event details here: thediscourse.ca/cowichan-val...

Join us for an International Women's Day event at the Cowichan Public Art Gallery 🌸 This year's theme: How does consent make for a better community? Hear from MLA Debra Toporowski (Qwulti'stunaat), educator Corina Fitznar, Indigenous poet Kiera Chealine and Cowichan Tribes Chief Cindy Daniels.

Nanaimo city council voted to send a letter to The Port Theatre asking it to review its booking policies but did not cancel a show by comedian Ben Bankas over his offensive jokes about residential “schools”, immigrants, 2SLGBTQIA+ people and racialized minorities. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/why-...

The Crofton mill closure marks the end of an era for 350 workers. As North Cowichan meets with investors and officials to find a path forward, The Discourse has compiled a timeline of the mill’s 70-year history. View the full timeline👇

Experts tell The Discourse that the removal of three Cowichan Valley residents from a Conservative funded town hall in Duncan is part of growing trend. Parties are increasingly restricting access and moving away from the tradition of open, public town halls. #CowichanValley #CdnPoli #DuncanBC

The City of Nanaimo is proposing that its boundary be changed to include the reserve lands of Snuneymuxw First Nation, which will allow people living on reserves the right to vote in city elections for the first time. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/why-...

Schools in Nanaimo say they’re prepared for emergencies. But teachers say more can be done to ensure student and educator safety, in the wake of the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/how-...

“I've seen family go missing, I've seen friends — I've seen everything,” said Lugil Wilaaysm Hanaa (Hyla McQuaid), who is organizing the No More Stolen Sisters Memorial March in Nanaimo with the VIU Students' Union. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/nana...

Island Health and local groups are urging North Cowichan to reconsider "uninhabitable" shelter sites in Somenos marsh. Advocates warn that recent displacements are linked to health risks and a spike in overdoses. They’re calling for safer, accessible alternatives. #NorthCowichan #IslandHealth

The John Barsby School of Rock will perform tonight at VIU's Malaspina Theatre. See what else in happening this weekend in The Hub Nanaimo, your weekly insider guide to the best of community arts and culture. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/the-...

Celebrate Nanaimo's Black community by attending Black History Month events in our city. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/blac...

A 7-metre red cedar log rolled into the Cowichan Valley Arts Council gallery this week and will soon become a canoe. Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw artist Rupert Scow is carving it live during the exhibition 'Many Hands — Working Together', and visitors can help carve. Read more 👇

Mike and Heather Trask’s Comox Valley-based fossil discovery in 1988 inspired a flood of amateur paleontologists. It also inspired the first paleontological society in B.C. and led to the creation of a policy to protect fossils. Read the story: thediscourse.ca/comox-valley...

People in the Regional District of Nanaimo may soon be able to live in RVs full time. The district is developing a policy on this as well as a rural housing strategy, a move that has been applauded by the B.C. RV Alliance. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/regi...

A new exhibit at the Nanaimo Art Gallery features archival photos and contemporary art works exploring the history of Nanaimo’s Chinatowns. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/art-...

“I felt utterly, utterly honoured that they wanted to have his work and were able to receive it.” How the Cowichan Public Art Gallery became the permanent home of 75 paintings by a renowned Dutch Canadian artist. Read more in The Discourse.

Feeling stressed? Join a weekly drop-in meditation for beginners at the Nanaimo Harbourfront Library today at noon. Find out more in The Hub Nanaimo, your weekly insider guide to the best of community arts and culture.

Choir! Choir! Choir! will get the audience singing tonight at The Port Theatre. Find it and more in The Hub Nanaimo, your weekly insider guide to the best of community arts and culture.

Joëlle Rabu brings her new play I Don’t Belong Here – Stories Beyond the Edge of Forgetting to The Port Theatre today at 2 p.m. See it and more in The Hub Nanaimo, your weekly insider guide to the best of community arts and culture.

I'm working on a story for @thediscourse.ca! I want to chat to Comox Valley folks about what you're doing to prep for various different emergency scenarios: Climate, geopolitical, natural disaster, etc… Have you experienced an emergency? what did you do/ learn? Are you prepared currently?

Curators Jesse Birch and Imogene Lim, along with exhibition artists will hold an informal community gathering today at 1 p.m. to celebrate the exhibition Bleached by the Sun: Perspectives on Chinatown at the Nanaimo Art Gallery.

Music from Star Wars, Star Trek and The Planets will collide tonight at The Port Theatre. Check out all of our arts and culture listings for Nanaimo this week: thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/even...

You can catch Ted Kim at The Nanaimo Bar tonight at 9 p.m. Check out The Hub Nanaimo, your weekly insider guide to the best of community arts and culture for more listings.

I did a deep dive into Nanaimo's Community Safety Officer program. I spoke with experts, city councillors, business owners, social service providers and people who are unhoused. I went out on patrol with a CSO team to see their work firsthand. Here's what I saw. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/comm...

A packed Friday lunch rush at the HUB Cafe is just one sign of how Cowichan Station Area Association is thriving — even as many B.C. non-profits face shrinking funding and fewer volunteers. Read our profile of the organization 👇

Community Safety Officers are helping respond to Nanaimo’s homelessness crisis, but councillors and experts say more supports are needed. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/comm...

ICYMI: Three Cowichan Valley residents say they were threatened with arrest and removed from a public town hall in Duncan featuring Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and local MP Jeff Kibble — over the messages on their T-shirts. Read our coverage here: thediscourse.ca/cowichan-val...

Check out Nanaimo's newest poetry reading series Grub Street tonight at The Vault Cafe and get all your music, arts and community events listings from our weekly newsletter The Hub. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/even...

These events listings are from The Hub Nanaimo, your weekly insider guide to the best of community arts and culture. thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/even...