Monday - Sept. 8 - Langley and Bellingham celebrate peace with tree-planting ceremony

⛅️ High 21C

Good morning!

In the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation, let’s talk about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

I get a lot of emails from RCMP detachments all over B.C, most of them about missing persons. Even without consulting the official statistics, it is shocking how many missing girls and women are Indigenous. I would say it is probably the majority.

I often see posters of missing women plastered to lamp posts near SkyTrain stations and bus stops, and most of them are also Indigenous. Statistics show that thousands are missing or murdered, and no one really knows the full extent of the problem.

In 2016, the Canadian government launched the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and it is possible to read the summary of the inquiry’s results online. I highly recommend it, although the content can be disturbing, so keep that in mind when you start reading it.

I don’t believe in shielding ourselves and staying in a comfortable bubble of ignorance about the horrors happening in the world, but if you’re in a vulnerable emotional space, be gentle with yourself.

I’m not Indigenous, but I try to be an ally, and it is a learning process for me, so I constantly try to educate myself. I think it is essential to be guided by empathy and humanity, and to make an effort to understand the traumatic legacy of colonialism.

– Lubna

The Fraser Valley Current is an Overstory Media publication. Click here to subscribe to our sister publication, the Georgia Straight.

Keep local journalism alive by supporting The Current. Become a Current Insider member today and help bring local stories to life.

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

Unemployment rises in Chilliwack and Abbotsford-Mission 

According to the latest Labour Force Survey (LFS), Canada lost 66,000 jobs in August 2025 in addition to the 41,000 jobs lost in July. Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta experienced the most significant unemployment increases in Canada. B. C. lost 16,000 jobs, Ontario lost 26,000, and Alberta lost 14,000. B.C.’s unemployment rate rose to 6.2%, up from 5.9% in July. 

In the Fraser Valley, unemployment increased in the Chilliwack and Abbotsford-Mission regions. Chilliwack’s unemployment rate increased from 5.6% to 6.1% while Abbotsford-Mission edged up from 6.4% to 6.8%.  

“The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 7.1% in August. Since January 2025, it has increased 0.5 percentage points. The unemployment rate in August was the highest since May 2016 (excluding 2020 and 2021). In comparison, the unemployment rate averaged 6.0% from 2017 to 2019, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report said. 

The report added that there are 1.6 million people currently unemployed in Canada, and the layoff rate was 1%. 

Read more here

Related

Need to Know

🚗 Highway Patrol seeks witnesses and dashcam footage from a Highway 1 collision between two pickup trucks that closed eastbound lanes for eight hours and left an elderly Alberta man with serious injuries requiring air transport to hospital. [Mission City Record]

🏒 The Abbotsford Pilots completed a perfect preseason with four consecutive victories, including wins over Port Moody, Mission City twice, and Aldergrove, before beginning regular season play Friday against Mission City. [Abbotsford News]

🎬 Demolition crews tore down Chilliwack's last independent movie theatre Thursday to make way for a six-story, 150-unit apartment building, ending 16 years of operation by owners Cathy Rayner and Pauline Lamb. [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

⚖️ Matthew Reimer pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in the 2022 death of Chilliwack man Nicholas Epp, who died after being struck outside a Kelowna nightclub and hitting his head on a food truck step. [Hope Standard]

🔥 Kamloops-Centre MLA Peter Milobar accused BC Wildfire Service of failing to properly respond to the Mine Creek fire, prompting Forests Minister Ravi Parmar to condemn the comments as "dangerous conspiracy theories" that insult firefighters. [Hope Standard]

🔥 The Mine Creek wildfire northeast of Hope expanded rapidly from 458 hectares to 1,900 hectares overnight as record temperatures and unexpected winds drove the blaze, keeping the Coquihalla Highway closed between Hope and Merritt. [Fraser Valley Today]

🗣️ BC Housing acknowledged that a proposed modular housing site across from Abbotsford Traditional School will include an overdose prevention space for residents, contradicting MLA Bruce Banman's claims that the province misrepresented the project as seniors-only housing. [Fraser Valley Today]

🏠 Abbotsford police are investigating a targeted home invasion on Myrtle Avenue where masked suspects broke into a residence known to officers Wednesday night, with occupants present but unharmed when the intruders fled. [Fraser Valley Today]

Enjoying our newsletter? Help us make it even better!

Become an Insider member and help keep local journalism and storytelling alive in the Fraser Valley.

The Agenda

Langley and Bellingham celebrate peace with tree-planting ceremony

Amid recent tensions between Canada and the U.S., two cities on both sides of the border have decided to strengthen their bond and celebrate peace by planting trees.

Despite the recent troubled relationship between the U.S. and Canada brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of annexation and tariffs, the cities of Langley and Bellingham have chosen instead to celebrate their historically peaceful relationship.

Elected officials from the City of Langley and the City of Bellingham, Washington, will come together on Friday, Sept. 12, from 10:15 to 11 am to plant a tree on the Fraser Highway One-Way near McBurney Plaza. The event will begin with an Indigenous welcome and land acknowledgment, followed by remarks by Nathan Pachal, mayor of the City of Langley, and Kim Lund, mayor of the City of Bellingham. A tree dedication and planting ceremony will follow.

“This event celebrates over a century of peace, shared history, and neighbourly connection between the two cities,” the City of Langley said. “Langley City and City of Bellingham share the same air, water, and land, and this event highlights our shared commitment to protecting it now and for future generations.”

In June 2025, Langley’s mayor and council sent a letter to the City of Bellingham inviting its mayor and officials to visit Langley to “share a meal and plant a tree.” Langley’s mayor, Nathan Pachal, wrote about it on his website.

“Langley City and Bellingham share the same airshed and watershed and have historic personal and economic connections; we are also inextricably linked ecologically,” Pachal wrote. “As a symbol and acknowledgment of our shared history, friendship between our communities, and hope for a brighter future, Langley City Council on Monday approved my sending a letter to the Council and Mayor of Bellingham inviting them to come up to Langley City to share a meal and plant a tree at a Langley City park.”

Community journalism needs the entire community for it to succeed.

Become a Current member today and join 1,400+ other local supporters who help keep our lights on.

As part of a membership, you get our special weekend roundup of all the things you might’ve missed each week!

🗓 Things to do

Weekly farmers market: Saturday, September 13, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM at Central Community Park, 45951 Victoria Ave, Chilliwack, featuring certified local produce, handcrafted foods, and artisan products with all proceeds supporting community initiatives.

Agricultural fair and corn festival: September 12-13, 9:00 AM Friday to 8:00 PM Saturday in Agassiz, featuring a parade, midway rides, exhibits, farmers market, live music, and carnival games celebrating Fraser Valley agriculture.

Vintage thrift market: Friday, September 13, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM at Chilliwack Heritage Park, 44140 Luckakuck Way, featuring unique vintage finds, collectibles, and retro clothing for treasure hunters and vintage enthusiasts.

Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.

Catch up

That’s it!

Thanks for reading Fraser Valley Current today ♥️ 

If you found something useful, consider forwarding this newsletter to another local.

Help share The Current

Wouldn’t the Fraser Valley be better if more people had access to local, quality news – and didn’t have to rely on social media? Share The Current with your friends and help us build better communities.