Monday - July 7, 2025 - Township may ditch drones

☀ High 28C

Good morning!

First of all, somehow after three days not publishing a newsletter, I botched the link to Friday’s main story. You can find the correct link here.

Secondly, as a reminder, this week we will be publishing newsletters on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

My kids are enjoying getting out on their bikes and riding around town. They also love going down hills. The problem is they have been a little slow to learn that what goes down, must come up. So we end up joyously speeding downhill, tooling around town, then finishing our ride with a climb that turns into a slog. They’re starting to accept that they’ll have to suffer a bit—and learning that their dad is not particularly interested in their complaints when they discover that downhill speed doesn’t come for free.

– Tyler

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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

Inside Mission’s plans to buy a city hall

Health care isn’t the City of Mission’s job. Putting out fires is.

The news that the City of Mission wants to borrow millions of dollars to build a new fire station and buy a new municipal hall caused some residents to angrily ask why it isn’t addressing problems at the city’s hospital instead.

The answer is simple: cities aren’t responsible for health care (or education, or transit improvements—other suggested spending alternatives).

But although a simple civics lesson explains why the city might not be using its financial heft to fix health care, there is still the matter of what Mission taxpayers will get for their $60 million-plus and whether it’s a good investment.

For the city’s politicians, if not all locals, the projects aren’t just necessary—they are too good to pass up. And one might have the potential to address a local theatre group’s continued search for a home.

• Today, Tyler writes about Mission’s plans for a new city hall and fire hall, the consequences of ‘leaks,’ and the potential implications for a local theatre group.

Related

Need to Know

🚔 A helicopter rescued a man from a mountainside near a wildfire—he was then taken to jail when it turned out there were warrants for his arrest [CTV]

💦 Waterslide operators are facing increased scrutiny following an incident at Bridal Falls Waterpark last year that left a girl with serious injuries [Castanet]

🚔 A rural Abbotsford home was hit by gunshots early Saturday morning [CityNews]

⚠ Vancouver police have warned the public about an Aldergrove man previously convicted of sex offences [Langley Advance Times]

🔎 Police are seeking information to try to locate a Chilliwack man who hasn’t been seen since June [Chilliwack Progress]

👉 A prominent Chilliwack intersection is no longer a three-way stop [Chilliwack Progress]

💥 BC’s Independent Investigations Office is seeking witnesses of an April crash in Langley involving a police vehicle that was pursuing suspects in a robbery [CTV]

📚 An Abbotsford author will be signing his new horror novel in Chilliwack [Chilliwack Progress]

The Agenda

Township mayor wants to ditch Canada Day drones

Langley Mayor Eric Woodward will ask council to bring back the fireworks at next year’s Canada Day festivities.

Woodward will ask council to vote Monday to ditch the drone shows the Township has funded the last two years, according to a notice of motion provided in advance of Monday’s meeting. Woodward’s motion says the drone show has received “mixed reviews" and cost $53,000 this year— $23,000 more than in 2024.

Woodward wants the township to budget up to $40,000 for fireworks shows each of the next two years. He suggested excess funds should be used on other parts of the Canada Day festivities.

In recent years, several local municipalities have replaced their annual fireworks blow-ups with drone shows. The shows have been pitched as more friendly toward domestic animals and people with trauma associated with explosions. Chilliwack also capped its event with a drone show. Harrison Hot Springs and Abbotsford have stuck with fireworks.

🗓 Things to do

CPL soccer: Vancouver FC hosts Cavalry FC in Canadian Premier League action at Willoughby Stadium in Langley Sunday at 6pm. Tickets online.

Park concerts: Indie pop band BF/C performs Friday in Hope’s Memorial Park as part of the weekly Concerts in the Park series. Details online.

MS cycling: This year’s cycling fundraiser for MS takes place next weekend at Chilliwack Heritage Park. Register online.

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Catch up

That’s it!

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