To the woman at country club who decided to sit down next to me in the transit shelter and blow vape smoke into my face: thanks, an hour later and I still have a headache. Please guys be cognizant of others and don't smoke or vape in transit shelters

My kids school zone is notoriously bad for people speeding through it and not even slowing down, I think the city should add more speed bumps (I think all school zones should have speed bumps honestly) what’s the best way to bring this to their attention where it can be considered? Do I contact a city council, start a petition? what do I do? Help me lol.

The BC Conservatives want to repeal no-fault and bring back the right to sue, with private competition “on the table.” That pitch went out in a Sept 29 letter from Lorne Doerkson to trial lawyers and insurance executives — leaked, not announced.

Much of the case for it rests on private being cheaper. So let’s check.

ALBERTA

Average full-coverage premium there: $1,991/year.

ICBC’s average for basic + optional: $1,358.

Ontario, also private: $2,164.

Competition was supposed to push prices down. Instead insurers started leaving Alberta, and the province doubled its cap on annual increases just to slow things down.

And on January 1, 2027, Alberta scraps its lawsuit-based system for “Care-First” — which looks a lot like ours. Their stated reason: litigation costs.

So the province everyone points to is more expensive than us AND moving toward our model.

WHAT WE HAD BEFORE 2021

$1B+ per year in legal costs

25–33% of settlements going to lawyers

3–5+ years to resolve a claim

Lawsuits impossible in 40% of cases

Lifetime care capped at $300,000

It also rewarded the wrong things. When your payout depends on how injured you can prove you were, the incentive is more treatment, more expert reports, more time off. Most people were genuinely hurt. But we all paid for the fight in our premiums.

WHAT CHANGED

Saved roughly $1.5 billion. Rates dropped 15%, average saving $490 (28%) in year one, and 95 cents of every claims dollar now goes to the injured person, not the process. Care starts immediately regardless of fault, no lifetime cap, and wage loss covers 90% of your net income instead of the old $300/week.

Rates haven’t risen since 2017, while the rest of Canada’s went up over 45%.

And here’s the part that surprised us. There’s a sizeable body of research finding that people in adversarial, fault-based systems recover worse than people with comparable injuries in no-fault systems. Not because anyone’s faking — because spending two years proving how hurt you are, to someone whose job is to argue you aren’t, is itself bad for you. When Saskatchewan moved to no-fault in 1995, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine found whiplash claims dropped and recovery times improved. Later systematic reviews have found the same association between claims, legal representation and poorer recovery, across multiple countries.

WHERE IT GENUINELY ISN’T WORKING

Catastrophic injuries. The permanent impairment payout tops out near $313,918, wage loss is capped at a $122,500 income, there’s nothing for pain and suffering, and “catastrophic” is defined so narrowly that a single amputation doesn’t qualify.

Of 175 submissions to the legislative review, 144 came from individuals — many injured, most saying the system is impossible to navigate alone.

That review was dissolved on day two of hearings when the election was called.

THE PARTIES

NDP — keep it, fix it internally; no rate increase for three years.

GREENS — keep no-fault, amend the law so all reasonable accident costs are covered.

CONSERVATIVES — hybrid with the right to sue restored, private competition, caps on lawyer fees. Doerkson also says he’s made “no promises.”

OUR TAKE

Everyone agrees catastrophic injuries are handled badly. The question is whether you fix that by raising the ceilings, or by putting lawyers back in the middle of every claim.

Note who got the pitch and when: the groups standing to earn the most from reopening litigation heard about it three weeks before voters did.

And Disability Alliance BC — representing the people this system fails worst — gave the review five recommendations. Number one was KEEP NO-FAULT. They want an advocate for claimants and a wider definition of catastrophic injury. Not a return to court.

Fix the ceiling. Don’t burn down the building.

Receipts: ICBC, Alberta’s Automobile Insurance Rate Board, the Alberta Care-First announcement, the leaked Doerkson letter (CBC, Times Colonist), the BC Green platform, and submissions to the Special Committee reviewing the Insurance (Vehicle) Act. Cassidy et al., New England Journal of Medicine (2000), plus later systematic reviews on compensation and recovery.

Found this necklace at a park and would love to get it back to its rightful owner! If it’s yours, please message me with the name of the park where you lost it to confirm ownership. I’ll gladly return it to you!

So what’s with all the new cameras installed at every intersection on Bowen and a lot of surrounding areas? Is this our version of flock? Seems like they get put up at night and now they’re everywhere.

Wanting to go shoot some fall film pics in or around Nan or Cedar in the next few evenings, looking for location suggestions. Just a hobby I don't have any crazy lenses or anything. I'm thinking Old City Quarter and Linley Valley Trail, any other ideas? Maybe a cool tree you've seen or a somewhere the sun reflects nicely in the evening

British Columbia (BC) has the second-lowest overall tax burden in Canada (roughly 17% below the national average). [1]

1. Provincial Income Tax
Low-to-Moderate Earners: BC has some of the lowest provincial income tax rates in the country, starting at 5.06%, making it very competitive for middle-income earners (frequently ranking lower than Alberta and Ontario on specific mid-range brackets like $100,000). [1, 2, 3]
High Earners: BC features 7 provincial tax brackets topping out at 20.5%, which is higher than Alberta's top rates, though still well below Quebec's top rates (25.75%).[1, 2, 3]
Comparison: At a $100,000 salary, BC residents pay roughly $5,555 in provincial income tax—lower than Alberta ($6,470), Ontario ($6,723), and Quebec ($13,140).[1]

2. Sales Tax (PST & GST)
BC charges a 7% Provincial Sales Tax (PST) plus the 5% Federal Goods and Services Tax (GST), combining for a 12% total sales tax. [1, 2]
Comparison:
Alberta is the lowest in the country with 0% PST (only 5% GST).
Provinces using a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)—such as Ontario (13%) or Nova Scotia (14%)—charge higher consumption taxes than BC. [1, 2, 3, 4]

3. Total Tax Burden & Other Levies
Overall Standing: When combining income tax and sales tax spending (e.g., on a $40,000 baseline spending model), Alberta ranks #1 lowest in Canada, closely followed by BC at #2. Quebec consistently ranks as the highest-taxed province overall

I would like to install tiles over the rocks presently in my ensuite shower and was hoping someone knows a guy that can do a small job. In North Jinglepot.

Hi! Looking to hire a photographer/videographer with drone capabilities in Nanaimo to capture high-quality photos and videos of residential and commercial construction projects for social media. Potential for ongoing work!

I'm from Northern BC, do you not eat it on the island? I can't find it anywhere

14-year-old Evie Pritchard has emerged as one of skateboarding's most exciting new talents, ranking among the top 20 female skateboarders globally. Hailing from Nanaimo, British Columbia, the teen "phenom" learned the sport alongside her dad and sisters. Following a string of strong performances, she has been offered a chance to represent Canada at the Youth Olympics in the fall of 2026.

If you're on this subreddit and you didn't vote, what would it take to get you to show up?

This sub-reddit is going to have a lot of discussions about big political decisions that will happen within the City over the next few years. But as we discuss these topics, I think it's important to keep following in mind.

Most people don't care

From the city of Nanaimo website.

Voter turnout was approximately 31.63 per cent of registered voters.

I think it's important to discuss political topics. Especially in a place like this where people can discuss ideas and talk about a better future. But underpinning all political discussion is the fact that 68% of voters didn't show up. Regardless of their political opinions.

As much as we all talk about these topics, it's clear that nothing is really more important than getting people to care and getting them to turn out.

They need a couple more men to sign up!
Eventbrite Info Here

Anyone know what occurred outside of the time hortons up at 5th street four cops and an ambulance they took someone away but no lights or sirens. Im hoping everything is okay I dont know if the person was alive, just hoping to get a little bit more information.

Hi folks.
The long awaited next ACOTAR book is releasing Monday October 26th at midnight, and I’m looking for a release party to join!
I know Chapters is having one, but they’re sold out.
I see some in Victoria and on the mainland, but Google doesn’t show me any other events in Nanaimo.
Does anyone know of another release party near Nanaimo that I could join, that still has open seats??
I need to find some other local sloopys to be excited with!

NANAIMO, B.C. — Five years after declaring that no government would ever make them show papers to eat chicken wings at a Boston Pizza, members of Nanaimo's freedom community have unveiled a plan to make everyone show papers to vote in a school gym.

The proposal, informally known as the Voter Passport, came together over the weekend, following an election that did not go the way supporters had planned. It would require every voter to present government ID, scan a QR code at the door, and be checked against a government database. Organizers stress this is nothing like the QR code at the door in 2021, because this one is for freedom. They are not anti-mandate, they explained. They are anti-other-people's-mandates.

"I would like to know how voters are tracked," wrote one member, a sentence that in 2021 would have been followed immediately by "and I do NOT consent."

Under the new rules, being asked for ID by a 19-year-old host at a restaurant remains medical tyranny, while being asked for ID by a retiree at a folding table is the bare minimum. "My body, my choice" has been retired in favour of "My ballot, my choice. Your ballot, my business."

The movement's long-standing opposition to government spending remains firmly in place, alongside new requests that the government mail a printed voter card to all 86,000 eligible voters, hire an independent investigation firm, and hold the entire election again. Asked who would pay for it, supporters said the taxpayer, and that they were outraged on the taxpayer's behalf.

Then there is the counting. "The elections are rigged as long as there's anything electronic going you cannot trust the government," one member wrote. The plan therefore calls for the government to count all 25,450 ballots by hand. Organizers estimate two weeks. Two weeks to flatten the count. Concerns were also raised that the tabulators contain microchips, which, in fairness, they do.

Count von Count of Sesame Street, the only known person to enjoy a hand count, could not be reached for comment. Ah ah ah.

The case for stricter controls rests largely on one member overhearing voters at Dover say they were heading to McGirr to vote again. They'd have been waiting a while. McGirr wasn't a voting place this year. Organizers say this is exactly the kind of thing proper contact tracing would catch.

Other updates to the 2021 playbook: "do your own research" is now "do your own recount," "hold the line" refers to the lineup at the ID table, and the provincial health officer's old motto has been revised to Be kind, be calm, be ID'd.

The Bastion reached out to The Bastion for comment. After checking the couch for microchips, The Bastion said: "A QR code at the restaurant door and an ID check at the polls are both a stranger at a folding table asking for your papers. You don't get to call one tyranny and the other common sense. Pick a lane."

The Bastion then got serious for one paragraph, which it does not enjoy. In Nanaimo, anyone not already on the voters list has to bring two pieces of ID. Registered voters sign a declaration, and lying on it is an election offence. That's on purpose. The people most likely to get stuck at an ID table aren't fraudsters. They're the senior who let her licence lapse, the student whose ID still has their parents' address, the neighbour who moved in August, and the person in a tent whose wallet got stolen. Every one of them is eligible. That's why you can vote anywhere in the city, by mail, or curbside. An election's job is to count eligible people, not filter them out. And with roughly 68 per cent of registered voters staying home on Saturday, this city's problem has never been too many people voting.

At press time, the movement had filed a freedom-of-information request for the total cost of the 2026 election, so it could be outraged by the number and then request a second one. The Bastion reminds readers that the provincial election is Saturday, October 24, and that Elections BC posts its ID rules online, free of charge, no QR code required.

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Disclaimer: The Bastion is satire. The Voter Passport, the QR code, the slogans and the contact tracing are made up. Two quotes are real, because we couldn't have written them better: the one about wanting to know how voters are tracked, and the one about not trusting the government with anything electronic. Names removed, since they aren't running for anything. Count von Count is real in all the ways that matter.

Curious if anyone has put together a list of local businesses and organizations that supported REAL Nanaimo during the election.

I'd like to be a little more selective about where my money goes. Consider it voting with my wallet. 😂

Looking for confirmed information, not speculation.

We’ve lost a few good thrift stores in the last few years… any recommendations for the best prices for clothes now that Value Village is heinous?