NANAIMO'S COMPREHENSIVE NEWS AND COMMENTARY
The Nanaimo RCMP is pleased to report that the 36-year old woman who was reported missing on August 16, 2024 has been safely located. Investigators would like to thank the media and the public for their assistance in locating her.
Arrest made in
New Year's day incident
Aug. 15, 2024
The Nanaimo RCMP Serious Crime Unit (SCU) has arrested an adult male in connection with a shooting incident that occurred on January 1, 2024. 47-year old Jeffery Benvin was arrested without incident by officers with SCU as a result of an incident that occurred on January 1, 2024 at a south end business. The victim, a 43-year old man, sustained life-threatening injuries after being physically assaulted, and shot by a firearm. The victim was treated at the scene by BCEHS then airlifted to a hospital in Victoria for treatment. He has since been released from hospital and is recovering.
Benvin has been formally charged with Discharge a Firearm with Intent to Disfigure, Aggravated Assault and Use a Firearm while committing and indictable offence. Benvin will be appearing in Nanaimo Provincial Court on Thursday August 15, 2024.
B.C. Health care needs emergency treatment
Feb 4, 2025
Nightmares surrounding health care in our province are routine. Most prominent are rural emergency room shutdowns on weekends due to staffing shortages, be that doctors or nurses.
Very much related is the ambulance service which sometimes takes what seems like an eternity to respond to medical emergencies. That’s why the service exists, to respond to emergencies. We hear about ambulances sitting idle while there are not enough attendants to respond.
The response from government has been slower than the ambulances. When Uber service is more responsive, our government has a problem. It’s time for innovative solutions, thinking outside of the box.
In larger communities we have double responses in many cases where both ambulances and local fire departments show up. In some cases there is a double response while in others there is none. That duplication is a misuse of financial resources.
I have raised this issue as far back as the Gordon Campbell government, and all since. In all cases it has died on the vine because of jurisdiction.
There have been suggestions for a number of years to amalgamate emergency transport with local fire departments. It would be a major overhauld, but one that is past due. That might mean amalgamated emergency services in smaller communities but where they do not have full-time fire services.
Training standards can be adapted to make sure paramedics all operate on the same standards. It’s not a question of re-inventing anything but rather doing something. What we have now is inefficient and not working.
Now that we have a new health minister would be a good time to revisit this idea., It’s an emergency.
