Tuesday - Oct. 15, 2024 - Harrison aims to bring back facilitator

🌧 High 14C | Local forecast

Good morning!

A friend of my husband’s asked me two weeks ago if I was busy because of the provincial election. “Not really,” I said. “The crunch usually comes closer to election night.”

And now here we are, in crunch time. The end of last week was a frenzy of behind-the-scenes organizing and editing as we worked to get the candidate questionnaires out to you in time for advance voting. (You can find those linked in our election news section.)

Now, I’m working to prepare our final pre-election coverage, to ensure that you are as prepared as possible for election day. (Tyler, of course, is off fixing the future of journalism in Canada’s smallest province. Am I jealous? Only slightly.)

For those of you who have no interest in provincial politics, take heart. After the election is over on Saturday, we’ll be back to our usual programming. For example, our October FVC Perspectives story is coming up, all about ghosts. Please respond to the poll and share your ghost stories here.

– Grace

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NEWS

The Fraser Valley’s missing candidates

Harman Bhangu isn’t afraid to debate his policies. His campaign manager says he just had better things to do.

Bhangu, who is running to represent the Langley-Abbotsford riding, is one of five Langley, Abbotsford, and Mission Conservative candidates who have foregone events traditionally been seen as obligatory for anyone with a real shot of sitting in the legislature.

Empty chairs aren’t unheard of at all-candidates meetings. But the absence of five candidates from a single party with a shot at winning seats is unprecedented in recent Fraser Valley history. The move prompts questions about the relevancy of such meetings in the 21st Century, the motives behind avoiding public events, and whether candidates have an obligation to subject themselves to public debate.

• Today, Tyler writes about the Fraser Valley’s missing-in-action candidates, the historical role of all-candidates meetings, and the backlash from local observers and politicians.

Need to Know

⚖ The Township of Langley has argued its community amenity policy isn’t legally binding so a local film company has no reason to sue the township [Langley Advance Times]

💔 One person died in a collision between a semi-truck and a car in Agassiz on Thanksgiving morning [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

💬 The parents of a 13-year-old girl who died at a homeless camp in Abbotsford are calling on Ottawa to provide better support for youth services [Abbotsford News]

🔎 Langley’s Viva Mexico building had been home to a number of businesses over the years, including restaurants, an MLA’s office, and a private investigator school; the building burned down on Oct. 5 [Langley Advance Times]

🎃 Hope’s annual Halloween decorating contest is back [Hope Standard]

🔥 Wildfires are becoming more common in Canada, but journalists struggle to get access to the front lines, making it easier for misinformation to spread [J-Source]

🗳 Election 2024

The BC Election campaign continues until election day on Saturday, Oct. 19. Advance voting ends tomorrow. Find out what the candidates had to say about issues important to the Fraser Valley in one of our candidate questionnaires below:

Chilliwack, Hope, and the Eastern Valley | Abbotsford and Mission | Langley

The latest

👉 A judge has dismissed an attempt to overturn the nomination of Langley-Abbotsford’s BC Conservative candidate [Langley Advance Times]

👉 The BC Conservatives say they plan to remove SOGI-123 from schools, reinstate provincial exams, and offer tax credits for people who homeschool [Vancouver Sun]

👉 Chilliwack candidates shared their thoughts on housing and homelessness in a questionnaire for The Progress [Chilliwack Progress] / They also talked about the issues they would address if elected, solutions for provincial debt, and health care [Chilliwack Progress]

👉 Abbotsford candidates shared their thoughts on homelessness, SOGI-123, and the toxic drug crisis in a newspaper questionnaire [Abbotsford News]

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The Agenda

Facilitator could return to Harrison for council training

Ron Poole—the same man hired to attempt to solve Harrison’s council chaos under former mayor Ed Wood—could be returning to the village to work with the newly elected officials.

Mayor Fred Talen and Coun. Mark Schweinbenz were elected to Harrison council at the end of September in a by-election, and participated in their first council meeting last week. The meeting mostly involved organizing the nuts and bolts of the new council—deciding who will be appointed to which committees and creating a resort development strategy committee—but also included a motion to bring Poole back for a training session.

Normally, after a general election, new council members are given the chance to participate in a regional training session to learn about standard municipal processes. Because Talen and Schweinbenz won their seats in a by-election and won’t get that opportunity, staff recommended the village ask Poole to return to facilitate a retreat for council and staff. He would provide training on duties and responsibilities for the council members, and also help develop a new strategic plan for the rest of council’s term.

The suggestion received support across the board, with Couns. Leo Facio and Allan Jackson suggesting the retreat should take at least three days to cover all the topics that have been left behind over the last two years.

“We’ve lost a lot of time in the last two years,” Jackson said. “This will be our opportunity to get new ideas and a fresh approach.”

The training and support won’t come cheap, however. Staff said the consultation for the plan and the training session would cost up to $15,000. (The village plans to fund the cost from its surplus.) Staff will bring back location options for the retreat at the next council meeting on Oct. 21.

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The election stories you won’t find anywhere else

Confused about what’s happening in B.C.? Make sense of the political moment by subscribing to The Run. The Tyee’s award-winning election newsletter is back, aiming its laser focus on the political future of the west coast. Twice weekly this fall we’ll bring you the story behind the headlines, and break down key election themes happening across the province. It’s a free newsletter full of smart voices unpacking key issues, fact-checking politicians and exposing disinformation to clarifying light. Know what’s at stake when you cast your vote by subscribing today to The Run.

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