🌤️ High 23C

Good morning!

Happy Friday! I hope you had a great week!

Earlier this week, two unusual emails dropped into my inbox, and I’ve been thinking about them ever since. On Aug. 3, I received an email informing me that Fraser Health would implement a temporary service interruption at Mission Memorial Hospital from 5pm on Sunday, Aug. 3, to Monday, Aug. 4, at 8am.

The next day, on Aug. 4, I received another email from Fraser Health informing me of a service interruption at Delta Hospital’s emergency department from 7pm on Monday, Aug. 4, to Tuesday, Aug. 5, at 6:30am. In both instances, staffing challenges were mentioned as the culprit behind the service interruptions.

Were you or anyone you know affected by any of these service interruptions or interruptions like these in the past? What happened?

Let me know in the poll below if you have had any recent experiences in either hospital or other local facilities and if you think staffing shortages are affecting services. You can also add your ideas in the comments on what Fraser Health and the government can do to attract healthcare workers to the region.

– Lubna

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Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope 

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

🛣 Click here for links to road cameras across the Fraser Valley, including those for the Coquihalla, Highway 7, Hope-Princeton, Fraser Canyon, and Highway 1 in Langley and Abbotsford.

News

Community, competition, and joy: Preparing for the Chilliwack Fair

This weekend, the Chilliwack Fair returns with food vendors, community competitions, and of course, award-winning pies by Chilliwack’s bakers. Here’s a throwback to Grace Kennedy’s coverage of the fair from August 2024.

We are baking the perfect apple pie. 

At least, that’s what the New Cookbook calls it. And it likely has claim to. After all, it is the pie recipe that has won Debora Soutar five medals over the years. 

“Even though I don’t consider myself the best pie maker, I do have medals,” Soutar says, taking them off a hook in the spare bedroom of her Chilliwack home. She brings them to the kitchen for me to see, five beribboned awards with the words “Apple Pie Contest” emblazoned on the front.

“They’re all from the Chilliwack Fair, over time,” she adds. “And then after a while it’s like, ‘I can’t do this anymore, you know. This is embarrassing.’”

Soutar’s mother, Iris Friesen, was the one who started the pie contest at the Chilliwack Fair in 2007, hoping to liven up the Kitchen Arts displays. She encouraged Soutar to enter, even though she had rarely had time for pies when Soutar was growing up. 

Soutar stopped sending her pies to the judging table a decade ago. She is now in charge of the contest her mother began, and encourages others to participate in the friendly competition.

Read the full story.

Related

Need to Know

🏥 Delta Mayor George Harvie calls for provincial accountability after Delta Hospital's emergency room closed overnight due to a doctor's unexpected illness, exposing serious staffing vulnerabilities. [CBC]

♻️ A Fraser Valley organics company has been accused of moving illegal waste piles from Cultus Lake farm to unauthorized Hope-area site, extending its history of environmental rule violations. [CBC]

🏛️ Mission city council is seeking provincial help to resolve ongoing breaches of confidentiality and internal conflicts that are hampering the municipality's ability to function effectively. [Mission City Record]

🏊 Abbotsford Whalers captured their second straight Fraser Valley regional swimming title, sending multiple athletes to provincial championships in Prince George. [Abbotsford News]

🎨 Chilliwack Visual Artists Association showcases their yearly "Hot Art Summer" exhibition with varied artistic mediums at the Cultural Centre through Aug. 30. [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

🚔 Abbotsford Police Department has pioneered the use of BolaWrap 150 in BC, a cord-shooting restraint tool designed to subdue suspects without inflicting harm. [Hope Standard]

🚨A 34-year-old prisoner serving three years at Abbotsford's Matsqui Institution has died in custody, with authorities ruling out suspicious circumstances. [Hope Standard]

⚖️ BC Supreme Court ruled a 70-year-old Chilliwack man not criminally responsible for his wife's 2024 stabbing death, citing delusional thinking at the time of the killing. [Fraser Valley Today]

☺ TODAY’S SMILE: Congratulations to Kirby Thompson, who correctly identified the location in Wednesday’s Current Cam as Mill Lake, Abbotsford.

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The Agenda

Chilliwack wants housing on First Nations Land to count towards provincial housing targets

The City of Chilliwack issued a press release calling on the province to count homes built on First Nations land as part of its provincially mandated housing targets. In 2024, the BC government issued a Provincial Housing Target Order for the City of Chilliwack and many other municipalities, which came into effect in July 2024. The target for Chilliwack is 4,594 net new residential units to be completed by June 30, 2029.

According to the city’s press release, Chilliwack has exceeded the province’s target for the first year of 659 units by providing 1,069 units. This includes housing units on City land (726) and surrounding First Nations land (343).

According to the city, Chilliwack is unique because 14 First Nation reserves form an integral part of the broader community. The city works closely with First Nations on developments, traffic, services, utilities, and other municipal projects. The city said that 40% of Chilliwack housing units in the past five years have come from First Nations development.

“I am concerned with the Provincial Government’s lack of acknowledgement of the substantial contribution of Ch’iyaqtel (Tzeachten) First Nation and other First Nation communities in addressing the housing crisis within and surrounding Chilliwack,” said Chief Derek Epp of the Tzeachten First Nation. “The Province must recognize the integral role of First Nations in ensuring that more homes are being built, and that these homes are being built for those who need them most.”

Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove said the province disrespects First Nations by not acknowledging their contributions.

“We work closely with First Nations to coordinate future development, and we recognize the integral social, economic, and environmental contributions of local First Nations within Chilliwack,” said Popove. “By omitting the contribution of local First Nations towards housing development in Chilliwack, the Province is disrespecting their vital role in the overall community.”

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🗓 Things to do

Free summer activities: Willowbrook's Summer in the Courtyard offers complimentary weekly events through Aug. 29 including Monday Fundays (1-3pm), Wednesday yoga sessions (11am-12pm), and Friday movie nights (6-8pm).

Spicy food and live music: The Tears of Joy Hot Sauce Expo features BC hot sauce producers, Vancouver punk bands, and a hot pepper eating contest on Saturday, Aug. 9 from 10am to 3:30pm at Langley Riders Society, 4303 208th St. Admission is free.

Watch murals come to life: Chilliwack Mural Festival runs workshops and tours Aug. 7-17, culminating in a street party Aug. 15-16 in downtown Chilliwack, featuring international artists creating large-scale murals throughout the historic core.

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Catch up

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