Monday - March 10, 2025 - Hundreds of homeless people died in the Fraser Valley in 2023

🌧 High #C

Good morning!

Some of you might remember that I am working on a children’s book about endangered animals, set to be published by Nimbus Publishing in 2026. As of today, there are now only four weeks until I need to submit my manuscript. Overall, I’m feeling good—other than the crushing weight of dread and imposter syndrome that accompanies every major writing effort.

With that impending due date in mind, I will not be in the (virtual) newsroom today. Instead, I will be at a coffee shop somewhere in Chilliwack, frantically trying to figure out the best way to create phonetic spellings for the scientific names of different species. (If anyone has suggestions for Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, let me know!)

– Grace

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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

Harrison’s flood wall proposal

Harrison Hot Springs is considering raising its 77-year-old dike and building a flood wall. If approved, the moves could help the community avoid a future flood—but also significantly change the look of the village’s familiar lakefront.

• Today, Josh looks at what a new dike and flood wall could look like in Harrison.

Related

Need to Know

🗳 Mark Carney has won the leadership of the federal Liberal party; once sworn in he will become Prime Minister [Global]

⚖ A Langley drug dealer was sentenced to 15 months in jail [Langley Advance Times]

❌ Abbotsford-South Langley’s federal Conservative candidate hopeful Mike de Jong will not be allowed to appeal a decision precluded him from the race [Abbotsford News]

👉 Hundreds of people attended a vigil to mourn the death of a three-year-old who died after being struck by a pickup truck in Chilliwack [Chilliwack Progress]

🔎 The remains of a Mission teen who had been missing for 17 years have finally been found [Mission Record]

🚔 A youth was arrested after a stabbing on Seabird Island [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

🥾 The BC Conservatives have booted MLA Dallas Brodie from the party after she decided to ‘publicly mock and belittle’ residential school survivor testimony; Brodie’s actions had caused Chilliwack MLA Á’a:líya Warbus to question her future in politics [Global]

🚒 A recreational vehicle was destroyed by a fire in the Chilliwack River Valley [Chilliwack Progress]

💰 Harrison staff say the village council gets a fairly average pay for their work: $44K a year for the mayor and $22K a year for councillors [Agassiz Harrison Observer] / The Current wrote about the challenge of using comparisons to determine a fair pay for elected officials last year [FVC]

🗳 Magnus DuBeau, a computer expert and community volunteer, has announced he will be running in Hope council’s upcoming byelection [Fraser Valley Today]

🛑 Canadians visiting the United States for more than 30 days will have to register with the American government to avoid penalties [Global]

🎨 Explore creativity this spring break with Kids’ Art Classes at The Chilliwack Cultural Centre! Fun, engaging, and hands-on art experiences await March 17 to 28! Upcoming Classes - Chilliwack Cultural Centre.*

*Sponsored Listing

ADVERTISEMENT

Spring break is a great opportunity for families to take a break from the usual routine, and enjoy some rest and relaxation together. Unfortunately, with the escalated cost of living, many families cannot afford taking time off.

This government needs to take action today!

The Agenda

Fraser Valley had third-highest number of homeless deaths in BC

At least 50 people living in short-term shelters or outside died in communities between Abbotsford and Hope in 2023. Only two other regions—Vancouver (77 deaths) and central Vancouver Island (55 deaths)—had more homeless residents die.

In 2023, there were at least 1,094 people experiencing homelessness in the Fraser Valley—roughly 200 more than had been unhoused the year before.

According to a report from the BC Coroner’s Service, at least 458 homeless British Columbians died in 2023. The number of deaths has been increasing each year: in 2021, 297 British Columbians experiencing homelessness died, while 373 people died in 2022.

The increase in deaths is significantly higher than the growth in the number of homeless residents, whose population has been increasing by an average of 10% each year. (BC’s population growth rate, on average, is closer to 2%.)

The Coroners Service noted that 86% of deaths for homeless residents in 2023 were related to toxic drugs.

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🤝 Now hiring

• Parks assistant at the Fraser Valley Regional District in Chilliwack

• HR co-ordinator at the Fraser Valley Child Development Centre in Abbotsford

• Nurse practitioner at Foundry Langley

• Early childhood educator at Agassiz-Harrison Preschool and Child Care

• Senior Indigenous cultural advisor at Fraser Health in Mission

Hiring in the Fraser Valley? Reply back and let us know!

🗓 Things to do

Art show: The Chilliwack Visual Artists Association's group show, Light & Shadow, runs from Wednesday until mid-April at the O'Connor Art Gallery. The opening reception is this Saturday at 1pm. Details online.

Frog talk: The Abbotsford-Mission Nature Club hosts a conversation about turtles, frogs, and butterflies on Wednesday at 7:30pm. Learn about the efforts to save three local species over the last two decades. Details online.

Memoir writing: The Mission Library hosts a memoir writing meetup on Tuesday at 2pm. Discuss challenges and get writing prompts and support from other writers in the group. Details online.

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Catch up

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