Welcome to Nanaimo This Week, your source of community news and local solutions. Did a friend forward this email to you? Subscribe to this newsletter.

I just wanted to write to share a huge thank you for showing up on Sunday to celebrate five years of this small and mighty team of local news journalists serving Nanaimo. Many of you have been integral to our ongoing community impact and it was wonderful to be in the same room together.

We heard lots of story ideas, opportunities to improve and even ideas for collaboration. We look forward to what we can continue to achieve, together.

And special thanks to the folks who signed up to become supporters! You are helping to ensure we can keep delivering in-depth local stories to the community for free.

Our inboxes are always open. Drop us a note anytime.

Cheers from the whole team, Eric Richards (The Discourse Cowichan Valley reporter), Mick Sweetman (The Discourse Nanaimo reporter), Lauren Kaljur (managing editor), Shalu Mehta (Island editor) and Julie Chadwick (founding reporter).

‘A step in the right direction’: Nanaimo adds protection for manufactured home owners

New city policy outlines obligations for landowners who want to rezone manufactured home communities

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Council corner

At Monday’s city council meeting, a proposal for a data centre received some renewed attention after a CBC story about the use of water by AI data centres was published in mid-October. 

City staff said the amount of water that the data centre in Nanaimo is expected to use is about 55,000 to 70,000 litres a day, equivalent to a car wash. The daily use of water in Nanaimo is about 36 million litres per day. 

The site-specific zoning for the data centre was approved in 2023, which means the city cannot stop the centre from proceeding. 

The plans for the data centre is not for an AI data centre, which can use significantly more water, but a traditional data centre. 

Power for the data centre would have to come from BC Hydro, which is not regulated by the city. 

Repeating a question he received from a resident, Coun. Ian Thorpe asked staff, “Is this project going to be a Chinese police spying center?”

Dale Lindsay responded that he would defer to the RCMP and federal government on allegations of spying but confirmed that “the city has not been involved in any contracts or any negotiations with foreign parties as a result of this application.”

Council also passed housekeeping amendments to the general election bylaw, directed the mayor and corporate officer to partner with the Regional District of Nanaimo to complete infrastructure upgrades along Hammond Bay Road and approved changes to Tourism Nanaimo Society's bylaws. The society’s new bylaws will give all members of the Tourism Nanaimo board voting rights.

Council also granted a Temporary Use Permit to allow office use at 2520 Bowen Rd. 

The meeting ended with a spate of notices of motions by Coun. Manly around excluding garbage incinerators, chemical plants, petroleum refineries, LNG export facilities and other emission-heavy industries in the city. A separate notice of motion around the use of chemicals and creation of toxic dust was also made by Manly.

Coun. Erin Hemmens gave notice of a motion that staff amend the Official City Plan so “data centres are not a supported use in the City of Nanaimo” and that staff create a report on the Colwood Primary Care Model. 

Those motions will be discussed at a future city council meeting.

A motion for staff to report on funding options to support the Home Away from Home Project passed after a delegation by Dave Hammond and Don Hubbard. The city is being asked to provide a grant to cover the permitting and development fees to build Jesse’s House, a 16-bedroom building for families of children receiving care at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. 

On the Island

🌊 Have you had a chance to see the salmon runs this year? The Discourse's Eric Richards put together a list of some great spots to watch them in action across the Cowichan Valley. 

🌊 Town of Comox parks manager Robbie Nall discussed the town’s revamped urban forest plan and its focus on green spaces and cooler neighbourhoods with reporter Dave Flawse. You can read the interview here.

In other news

👉 Snuneymuxw First Nation is now the largest Indigenous-owned casino operator in B.C. by revenue with the purchase of the River Rock Casino in Richmond and Chances in Maple Ridge. Chief Michael Wyse told reporters on Thursday that revenue from the casinos will be used for financial support for Elders, bursaries and scholarships and community firewood and recycling programs. CHLY 101.7FM has the story.

👉 An invite-only health-care summit for central and north Vancouver Island will be held in Nanaimo next week. The meeting will include representatives from First Nations, local governments, Island Health and community health organizations. The Nanaimo News Bulletin has the story.

👉 Dead feral rabbits with symptoms of a deadly virus were found in the Cedar area. It is suspected that they were infected with rabbit hemorrhagic disease, which is highly contagious and deadly for rabbits. Humans and other animals are not at risk but owners of pet rabbits can get them vaccinated. The Nanaimo News Bulletin has the story.

👉 Nanaimo-Lantzville NDP MLA George Anderson introduced a private member’s bill that will allow municipalities to accept technical reports on housing developments by certified professionals without city staff reviewing engineering reports and architectural designs. The Nanaimo News Bulletin has the story.

👉 Island Health leadership presented to Nanaimo’s mayor and city councillors on the impact of the toxic drug crisis in the city and plans for a Nanaimo Wellness and Recovery Centre at the same location as the city’s only Overdose Prevention Site. The wellness centre is expected to open by late spring and will feature substance use and primary care outreach teams. Nanaimo News Now has the story.

Community photo

Ded Zep perform at the The Vault Café's Halloween Hoedown on Oct. 31, 2025. Photo by Mick Sweetman / The Discourse.

Do you have a great photo from the community? Share it with us for a chance to be featured in an upcoming newsletter. We’d love to see Nanaimo through your lens. 

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