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Good morning!

The strike is now over, and Air Canada is slowly resuming normal operations. It lasted less than three days but wreaked havoc for the national carrier. I sent out a poll in Wednesday’s newsletter, and more than 600 people responded. Almost 90% of respondents expressed passionate support for the flight attendants’ cause.

The prevailing sentiment among the Current’s readers is that people should be paid for all the work they do, which seems like it should be an obvious thing in 2025, but it is still considered controversial by some.

Respondents who did not support the flight attendants’ job action said it caused a lot of inconvenience for travellers. Air Canada could have resolved the issue long before it reached this point. Instead, the company let the flight attendants go on strike, refusing to give them their demands and relying on the federal government to force them back to work.

Inconvenience is just a part of travel; it happens all the time. Plans get cancelled, people miss important events, life happens. Sometimes it’s the weather, natural disasters, or a pandemic. I was also inconvenienced by the strike, but I don’t resent the flight attendants. I resent the company and its executives who would rather stop all operations than pay their workers fairly.

Anyway, I published the comments in today’s story. Enjoy!

– Lubna

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News

Fraser Valley Current readers overwhelmingly support Air Canada flight attendants

In Wednesday’s newsletter, the Current sent out a poll asking readers whether or not they supported Air Canada flight attendants’ decision to go on strike. The strike lasted almost three days and made national and international news. It started on August 16 and ended with a tentative agreement on August 19. 

Around 10,000 flight attendants represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) defied a back-to-work order the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) had issued just hours after the strike began. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu invoked section 107 of the Labour Code to order binding arbitration and force the workers to return to work. 

At the time of writing 551 out of 615 votes (89.59%) by Fraser Valley Current readers who responded to the poll said they supported the flight attendants. 

Most of the Current’s readers expressed solidarity with the Air Canada flight attendants, saying that they should be paid for all their work, including work on the ground before and after a flight. Some expressed their support for workers in general, citing the many gains workers have achieved thanks to labour movements in Canada. 

Read comments from your fellow readers here.

Related

Need to Know

💔 A pedestrian was fatally struck by a train near Crush Crescent and Glover Road in Langley on Tuesday evening around 10:15pm. [Langley Advance Times]

📈 Crime in Mission increased 17% from winter to spring 2025, with residential break-and-enters jumping 130% according to RCMP's quarterly report. [Mission City Record]

🐻 Black bear sightings in Abbotsford have dramatically increased in the first half of 2025, with 318 calls already nearly matching the 2024 total of 350. [Abbotsford News]

♻️ Sixty-two workers will lose their jobs when Abbotsford and Mission end their 42-year recycling contract with Archway Community Services in favour of a private company that will save 40% in costs. [Abbotsford News]

🚗 A 23-year-old Mission man had his licence suspended for 90 days after Abbotsford police caught him driving impaired at 170 km/h in an 80 km/h zone on Highway 11. [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

💍 A Mission couple's lost wedding rings were miraculously recovered from the Mission Landfill compost pile after an hour-long search with help from contractor Denny Webster. [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

🎣 A rare recreational sockeye salmon fishery will open on the lower Fraser River from Mission to Hope on August 22-September 1, allowing two fish per day due to exceptionally large salmon runs. [Hope Standard]

🏊 Emergency responders were called to Harrison Lake on Wednesday afternoon for reports of a couple who fell from a boat into the water. [Fraser Valley Today]

🏢 Chilliwack will hold a public hearing for a proposed six-storey, 155-unit housing development on Wellington Avenue near downtown after councillors approved first and second reading. [Fraser Valley Today]

☺ TODAY’S SMILE: Congrats to Lorisa Huesken for being the first person to correctly identify the location in Wednesday’s Current Cam as Chilliwack Secondary School.

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The Agenda

Province’s new housing targets come into effect Sept. 1

The BC government recently announced new housing targets for 10 communities, including the Township of Langley, which will come into effect on Sept. 1.

According to a recent press release by the BC government, the five-year housing targets are part of “the Province’s expanded housing-targets program to address high demand in growing communities and to continue to deliver the homes people need throughout the province.”

According to the province, the total number of homes in the housing targets will be 38,930, with 14,000 homes offered below-market rentals.

The targets the province set are as follows:

• Burnaby - 10,240

• Coquitlam - 6,481

• Courtenay - 1,334

• Township of Langley - 6,596

• Langford - 2,993

• Penticton - 908

• Pitt Meadows - 727

• Richmond - 6,753

• Squamish - 1,069

• Vernon - 1,829

“The targets are part of the Province’s strategy under the Housing Supply Act, which aims to increase the supply, availability, and affordability of housing in areas with the greatest needs,” the press release said. “More than 16,000 new homes have been built in the first 30 communities selected for housing targets.”

Since May 2023, the provincial government has had the authority to impose housing targets on municipalities with the greatest need and projected population growth.

“Municipalities issued housing target orders must report their progress annually. The deadline is 45 days after the end of the reporting period,” the BC government’s website said. “If a municipality did not meet their target and has not made satisfactory progress toward meeting its target, the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs may appoint an advisor to review the municipality’s progress and issue a directive to require the municipality to enact or amend a bylaw or accept or reject a permit to help meet the target. As a last resort, if a municipality fails to comply with a directive, the B.C. government may issue an Order In Council to fulfill the requirements of a directive.”

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🗓 Things to do

Car and motorcycle show for charity: Saturday, Aug. 23, 10am to 2pm at 5929 274th Street, Langley, featuring RIMEX Cruisin' For A Cure with trophies, food trucks, entertainment and proceeds supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

Yoga and wine wrap party: Take part in the party on Saturday from 10:30am to 2pm at Whispering Horse Winery, 43721 Vedder Mountain Rd., featuring yoga by the vines, coffee, snacks, goodie bags and wine tasting for their Endless Summer event.

Free corn roast: Visit Sparkes Farmgate Chilliwack Store on Saturday from 12-2pm for the corn roast featuring their "Triple Sweet Jubilee" corn as a thank you to customers.

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