Monday - Oct. 7, 2024 - Federal by-election on horizon for Langley

⛅ High 20C | Local forecast

Good morning!

The National Film Board of Canada has a treasure trove of short films. Some are insightful documentaries. Others are magazine-style features on aspects of Canadian society. And still others are delightfully animated earworms that can persist in your brain for decades.

I am of course referring to The Cat Came Back, a 1988 animated short featuring a folk tune about a cat who just couldn’t stay away. I first watched the film in elementary school, and the song re-emerges every time something comes back to my home the very next day. In this case, it is Pax, our temporary feline visitor, whose stay may no longer be temporary. Much like the cat in The Cat Came Back, he just wouldn’t stay away.

– Grace

NEWS

Mission will learn from Greenway mistakes: Horn

Mission has learned from the backlash to its controversial 7th Avenue Greenway—and the lack of similar opposition to a second multi-use path to the north.

The city’s 7th Avenue Greenway, with its delineated bike lanes and proliferation of signs and curbs, triggered a wave of criticism from residents—and some members of council—after it was built. In contrast, another path built to the north along 14th Avenue that featured fewer formal obstructions and more-closely resembled a very wide sidewalk was more positively received.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Current to mark the halfway point of his term, Mission Mayor Paul Horn talked about the lessons learned from the construction of the two paths. We also asked him about development on the city’s waterfront, housing policies and fees, and the state of Mission’s hospital.

• You can read the full interview here.

• You can read our mid-term interviews with other local mayors here: Popove (Chilliwack) | Smith (Hope); interviews with the mayors of the valley’s other municipalities will be published later this fall.

Need to Know

⚖ An Aldergrove child sex offender will spend another year in jail after he was caught with child pornography on his phone [Langley Advance Times]

🏠 BC Housing is building townhouses and an Elders lodge at Chawathil First Nation [Hope Standard]

🚔 A Langley police car crashed into another vehicle Thursday night [Langley Advance Times]

🚌 A Mission school bus route will be cancelled today and tomorrow due to driver shortages [Mission Record]

💰 A Chilliwack man will receive $60,000 after he was bitten by police dogs during a domestic assault arrest [Chilliwack Progress]

🔎 A Kamloops man who went missing while barefoot may be heading to Chilliwack [Fraser Valley Today]

💧 Parts of Hope are under a boil water advisory [District of Hope]

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🗳 Election 2024

The BC Election campaign continues until election day on Saturday, Oct. 19. Advance voting begins Thursday, Oct. 10. Find everything you need to know by visiting one of our local election hubs:

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

The latest

👉 Langley-Abbotsford independent Shelly Jan has withdrawn from the election, but her name will still appear on local ballots [Langley Advance Times]

👉 What Abbotsford-Mission candidates had to say about healthcare, housing, and education at a local all-candidates debate [Abbotsford News]

👉 BC’s current election echoes the dynamic in 1952, when the SoCreds came to power under W.C. Bennet [The Conservation]

Support local journalism by becoming a Current Insider member today and help bring local stories to life.

SPONSORED BY CIRQUE DE SOLEIL

Echo, the new spectacular!

ECHO follows a curious young woman named Future and her dog Ewai as they explore the symbiotic bond between humans and the animal kingdom. This stunning spectacle captivates audiences with breathtaking acrobatics and vibrant visuals, inviting them to celebrate the beauty of life and connection to nature.

Get your tickets today!

The Agenda

By-election on the horizon for federal seat in Langley

Residents in Langley will need to buckle up for more than one election in the coming months.

With former Liberal MP John Aldag running in the BC provincial election this October, his federal seat in the Cloverdale-Langley City riding is vacant, and will need to be filled before end of January.

Aldag resigned his seat in June when he announced he would be running for the BC NDP in Langley-Abbotsford. The riding has been without a Member of Parliament ever since. Electoral rules stipulate that the by-election must be announced before Nov. 30 of this year. The Liberals have called a series of by-elections in several other ridings this year, but Langley is still waiting its turn.

The by-election itself will take place on a Monday between 36 and 50 days after the announcement. The absolute latest the by-election could take place is Monday, Jan. 13, 2025.

Recent Liberal by-election losses have prompted questions about the future of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the party is not expected to retain its Langley seat. In 2021, Aldag won the seat with 39% of the vote, besting Conservative Tamara Jansen by about 1,600 ballots.

While the loss of the seat to the Conservatives would add one more opposition MP, it won’t do much to alter the balance of power in the House of Commons. While the federal NDP party ended its supply and confidence agreement with the Liberals, its votes continue to prop up the government. The loss of the Langley seat wouldn’t alter that dynamic, though it could prompt more speculation about the future of the Liberal leader and the party’s prospects in the next general election.

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🤝 Now hiring

• Associate dentist at Promontory Dental in Chilliwack

• Driller at VanMars Drilling in Abbotsford

• Power plant operator at BC Hydro in Langley

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

🗓 Things to do

All-candidates: Langley Seniors in Action hosts an all-candidates meeting for the Langley-Walnut Grove riding on Monday, Oct. 7 from 2 to 4pm. The meeting will take place at West Langley Hall (9402 208 St.)

Cooking class: Well Seasoned hosts a series of cooking classes featuring different cuisines, recipes, and techniques all October. On Tuesday, Oct. 8, chef Deniz shows how to make handmade tortillas. Details and tickets online.

Community quilt: Enduring Threads: A Community of Families is on display at the Agassiz Harrison Museum until Saturday, Oct. 12. The quilt is made of 120 squares designed and stitched by members of the community. Details online.

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