Former CFO Wins Human Rights Tribunal Award Against City Of Nanaimo
MARK MACDONALD
NANAIMO – Bill Robinson continues to expand his business operations, which centered with XTend Rentals & Safety, which now has locations in Cassidy, Nanaimo and Lantzville, as his Load Eye Logistics trucking division is now operating across Vancouver Island and across BC and into Alberta, via their fleet of Peterbilt trucks.
Hullo started their downtown Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver fast foot passenger ferry service officially on August 16. The Vancouver Island Ferry Company operation had 189 passengers on its first voyage, and the return trip had 126.
The four Dairy Queen locations in Nanaimo supported the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation with their annual Miracle Treat Day on August 10. Participating locations were in Woodgrove Centre, across from Woodgrove at 3190 Island Highway North, at Country Club Centre and on Nicol Street.
Kudos to Alair Homes for once again putting together the Hub City Soapbox Derby in the Old City Quarter on August 19. This year’s event raised over $21,000 for the Child Development Centre.
Congratulations to Dominic Staniscia and his team at City Tile at 4337 Boban Drive upon celebrating their 20th anniversary.
Steele Gorosh is excited about the new concrete laid down at Gorosh Cranes Ltd. at 3580 Shenton Road, which means they will no longer have to work on their cranes in the dirt.
Congratulations to Al Dreger, Branch Manager of RBC Dominions Securities upon being inducted into the North Battleford Sports Museum Hall of Fame for his baseball prowess as a youngster. In 1972, Al was a member of the provincial champion Saskatoon Raiders, and one of his teammates was former NHLer Morris Lukowich of the Winnipeg Jets.
Arguably makers of the best pizza on central Vancouver Island, Roberts Street Pizza in Ladysmith has expanded by acquiring Little Town Pizza Ltd. in Chemainus and Little Town Pizza in Lake Cowichan.
David Pyle has joined the GEM (Gervais, Estes, Miller) Real Estate team at Royal-LePage Parksville-Qualicum Beach Realty.
Darren Brown
Darren Brown is back in Nanaimo, and is helping JTF Security grow in the security business on Vancouver Island. The company has been in business for nine years. www.jtfcanada.com
IWCD continues to complete major projects on the Island, the most recently being the 47,230 square foot, five-storey Sunfeld Manor near Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. The building contains 54 one bedroom and 8 two bedroom units. IWCD has also completed the new 35,000 square foot Quality Foods grocery store in Royal Bay near Victoria. They’re also getting closer to completing the new Nanaimo Honda car location on Bowen Road, and are well underway with the new Nanaimo Hyundai dealership on Kenworth Road, across the round-about from European Specialty Automotive and what will become the new home of Galaxy Motors.
Nanaimo native Andrew Griffin is now a Mortgage Professional with Team De Vuyst Mortgage Professionals. Andrew is the son of former world champion kickboxer Mickey Griffin, and his grandfather is Roy Linder, the original Publisher of the Nanaimo News Bulletin. www.devuyst.ca.
Former Nanaimo Daily News publisher Andrea Rosato-Taylor is the new president of the Arts Council of Ladysmith and District, taking over from Kathy Holmes, who was recently named the 45th Citizen of the Year during Ladysmith Days celebrations at Transfer Beach on August 6.
Chester Fields is a new furniture store in Nanaimo, located at 1-4906 Wellington Road.
Taylor Farrell is the new General Manager of Nanaimo North Town Centre.
Subaru of Nanaimo held a ground-breaking ceremony this morning for a new 19,000-square-foot dealership that will be built on the old Long Lake Nursery site on the old Island Highway. SupErb Construction is the contractor, and once completed, Subaru will change locations from its current site at 2476 Kenworth Road, which will become home to a new Porsche dealership for owners the GAIN Group.
Victor Mema
Former Chief Financial Officer Victor Mema has won his BC Human Rights Tribunal case against the City of Nanaimo. The 107 page decision, issued by Emily Ohler , calls for the City to pay Mema $653,713.48 in lost wages and expenses. The tribunal decision can be viewed at: http://www.bchrt.bc.ca/shareddocs/decisions/2023/aug/91_Mema_v_City_of_Nanaimo_No_2_2023_BCHRT_91.pdf
According to the City of Nanaimo’s Statements of Financial Information, the city has already paid Harris & Company, the City’s lawyers on record for the Mema litigations as well as those ongoing involving former CAO Tracy Samra, over $896,000. The City of Nanaimo’s SOFI files that list legal fees can be viewed at https://www.nanaimo.ca/your-government/budget-finance/annual-financial-reports Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog announced the city is seeking a judicial review of the Human Rights Tribunal decision.
Congratulations to Natalie Cunliffe, who is the General Manager for Galaxy Cinemas at Nanaimo North Town Centre, upon receiving a Showmanship Award of Excellence during the recent ShowCanada 2023 convention held in Vancouver.
Mark MacDonald is President of Communication Ink Media & Public Relations Ltd. and Author of the book “It Worked For Them, It Will Work For Me: The 8 Secrets of Small Business I Learned From Successful Friends”, which can be obtained by reaching him through: mark@communicationink.ca