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On Monday morning, I went to the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital where hundreds of striking nurses and other health-care workers had set up a picket line as part of a series of escalating job actions across the province.

My partner is a nurse who works in the community so I have heard how hard the job is and the conditions that nurses are working under.

I have seen her come home exhausted from working long hours while short staffed and heard her frustration about the lack of respect that nurses are given. 

As a community reporter for a small independent outlet like The Discourse, we don’t have the ability to assign someone else to cover the nurses strike in Nanaimo. I’m the only reporter and to not cover it would be a disservice to our readers. 

So while I sympathize with my partner — and the other nurses I know —  I also want to explain why nurses are striking in as objective a way as possible. 

The picket lines at the Nanaimo hospital will be coming down at 7:15 p.m. today (Tuesday, July 14) as the bargaining committees for the nurses and health-care employers continue to engage in mediation.

You can read more about the strike, and see some photos of the picket line at the Nanaimo General Hospital, in my story below.  

Thank you for reading,

Mick Sweetman

Why are nurses in Nanaimo on strike?

Hundreds of nurses and health-care workers picket Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.

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Council corner

A special meeting of Nanaimo city council on Monday saw council approve a letter of support for Seacliff Properties applying for federal funding under the Build Communities Strong Fund Direct Delivery stream. 

The request for funding would be used for building a new interchange along Duke Point that would facilitate access to the planned Sandstone development and support growth at the Duke Point port. 

Coun. Hilary Eastmure made a motion to amend the motion that specifically mentions that the city’s two outstanding applications for funding by the city for that fund remain the city’s priorities. That motion was carried unanimously.

The motion as amended passed unanimously. 

The next regular meeting of Nanaimo city council will be held on Monday, July 20 in the Vancouver Island Conference Centre’s Shaw Auditorium.

On The Island

Q&A: Palestinian chef brings traditional cooking and food history to Vancouver Island

Izzeldin Bukhari speaks on the origin of falafel, Gaza’s rummaniyeh and why he sees food as a way to hold on to a culture under threat.

In other news

👉 An intersection on a residential street in the Old City neighbourhood is looking brighter after volunteers painted a mural on the intersection of Campbell and Machleary streets. CHLY 101.7FM has the story.

👉 Also at the same intersection, there was a fire at the Nanaimo Judo Club building on Saturday morning. The fire started near the stairwell entrance to the building, which is located in Sid Clark Gyro Park near Campbell and Machleary streets. The Judo Club has suspended operations at the building and is seeking an alternative location for programs this fall. CHEK News has the story.

👉 The City of Nanaimo and Regional District of Nanaimo will be co-hosting candidate information sessions for potential local election candidates on Wednesday, July 15 at the Regional District of Nanaimo’s board chambers. A second meeting will be held on Aug. 12 at the Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort & Conference Centre. The first meeting will be livestreamed on the Regional District website. For more information, see the City of Nanaimo website.

👉 A conceptual plan for the redevelopment of Loudon Park and the construction of a new community centre and boat storage in the park for the Nanaimo Rowing and Kayak Clubs was unveiled at a city accessibility committee meeting on July 8. An open house will be held about the proposed design in Loudon Park on Thursday, July 23 from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. Nanaimo News Now has the story.

In your words

Re: ‘Drag racing’ disrupting Departure Bay residents

I appreciate you bringing the traffic problems along Departure Bay Road to public attention.

I worked on this issue a few years ago and was involved with the temporary yellow traffic islands that were placed at the three crosswalks providing pedestrian access to the beach.

The expectation was they would reduce vehicle speeds to the 40 km/h speed limit. While they were in place the average vehicle speed at the Loat Street crosswalk dropped from 55 to 45 km/h. They definitely worked.

I am disappointed they were never put back and disappointed that the city did not pursue a permanent installation.

I also took note of the commitment to monitor vehicle speeds this summer. In the past, this has been done near the Wingrove crossing, approximately half way along the beach frontage. 

What I have observed over the years is traffic coming down the south side hill is slowing down and traffic heading south starts speeding up to go up the hill. All this takes place right in front of the children's playground. The city will report substantial compliance with the speed limit but in reality if they moved their monitoring to the Loat Street crossing, compliance would drop off.

My perception of driver behavior this year is it has deteriorated and the number of vehicle pedestrian incidents has increased. This is an important issue and it needs to be dealt with. Thank you for your attention and keep up the good work.

Chuck Easton

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