Abbotsford news

• Evacuation ordered amid Fraser Lake fire

  12-05-2019 07:51 via abbynews.com
  
  It isn’t known yet how many people will be affected
  
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• Only about half of cancer patients in B.C. seeing oncologists within benchmarks

  23-01-2026 01:51 via abbynews.com
  B.C.’s health-care system is still far behind national benchmarks for cancer care wait times, despite the province pouring in new money and hiring scores of additional staff.
  Wait times for some types of treatment are decreasing, but the overall picture shows B.C. falling behind the rest of Canada.
  The longest waits are to get an initial oncology appointment, with almost half of cancer patients waiting longer than the four-week benchmark to see an oncologist.
  These delays were at the core
  
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• Nearly half of B.C. cancer patients wait longer than benchmarks to see an oncologist

  23-01-2026 01:51 via abbynews.com
  B.C.’s health-care system is still far behind national benchmarks for cancer care wait times, despite the province pouring in new money and hiring scores of additional staff.
  Wait times for some types of treatment are decreasing, but the overall picture shows B.C. falling behind the rest of Canada.
  The longest waits are to get an initial oncology appointment, with almost half of cancer patients waiting longer than the four-week benchmark to see an oncologist.
  These delays were at the core
  
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• 2025 saw the lowest number of black bears killed in B.C. in a decade

  23-01-2026 01:30 via abbynews.com
  There were 211 black bears killed in B.C. – the lowest number killed in more than a decade, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service says.
  The service released the 2025 statistics Thursday (Jan. 22), noting it was a 65-per-cent drop from 2023 and the lowest overall number since the B.C. Conservation Officer Service predator statistics were first published online in 2011.
  Last year, 33 bears were euthanized for welfare reasons, such as a bear critically injured by a vehicle, while conservation
  
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• Wayward goats go on walkabout in Chilliwack much to the amusement of their Yarrow neighbours

  23-01-2026 01:18 via abbynews.com
  Some wayward goats went on a bit of a walkabout in Yarrow on Wednesday morning (Jan. 22) much to the amusement of neighbours.
  The trio of goats made a break for it after finding a hole in their baaaackyard fence, explained goat mama Shayla Warkentin.
  Strong winds the night before had tipped a tire over in their backyard, popping a fence panel out, which allowed the goats to head off the property and down the street for a taste of freedom.
  “As we always say: ‘The grass is greener on t
  
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• Prolific criminal dodges dangerous offender designation

  23-01-2026 01:15 via abbynews.com
  A prolific criminal who pleaded guilty to an attempted robbery in Surrey has dodged a dangerous offender designation that would have carried indeterminate incarceration but instead was found to be a long-term offender warranting a determinate prison sentence followed by long-term supervision.
  Justice Barbara Norell presided over the case of Christopher David Prokopchuk in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.
  “I appreciate that it will be difficult and it will be a challenge for you, but
  
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• Man arrested for pointing gun at bus passengers in Abbotsford

  23-01-2026 01:14 via abbynews.com
  A man is in police custody after police responded Thursday afternoon (Jan. 22) to reports of a gun being pointed at passengers on a city bus in Abbotsford.
  The Abbotsford Police Department said the incident occurred just before 1:30 p.m. in the area of McCallum Road and Highway 1.
  Officers located the man and arrested him, and a fake gun was located on the scene.
  No injuries were reported.
  The man remains in custody as the investigation continues.
  
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• Abbotsford DPAC hosting webinar to combat bullying in digital age

  23-01-2026 01:12 via abbynews.com
  The Abbotsford District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) has announced they are hosting a free live webinar to help support children dealing with bullying in the digital age.
  DPAC is inviting all parents, caregivers and educators to attend the event called Bullying: A New Approach to an Enduring Problem. The webinar is set for Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, from 7 to 9 p.m. via Zoom.
  The event is scheduled two days before the annual Pink Shirt Day and organizers said that it offers families and school com
  
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• ‘B.C. vigilante cowboys’: Surrey resident calls for 500 gun licences to face extortionists

  23-01-2026 00:20 via abbynews.com
  A Surrey resident is calling on the province to expedite the issuance of 500 gun licences so residents can protect themselves during the ongoing extortion crisis.
  Vikram Bajwa said, “I strongly believe we have to become B.C. vigilante cowboys in order to respond to this violence.”
  “(If) somebody calls me and says, ‘Vikram, I need $500,000 if you don’t pay me within one week, I’m gonna kidnap your kid.’ So what am I supposed to tell my kid, don’t go
  
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• Framed set of First World War medals stolen from church in Hope

  23-01-2026 00:06 via abbynews.com
  The Hope RCMP is asking for the public’s help in locating a set of framed First World War medals stolen from the Hope United Church.
  According to police, a framed set of four to six medals were stolen from the church sometime in November. They discovered the medals were missing after receiving a report that the church had been broken into.
  “These medals carry significant historical and sentimental value,” said Cst. Jayson Gill. “We are asking anyone who may have informati
  
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• ‘N’ driver arrested for travelling 120 km/h on Kelowna’s Glenmore Road

  22-01-2026 23:57 via abbynews.com
  Driver arrested for going 70 km/h over speed limit in Kelowna
  A vehicle caught travelling 120 km/h in a 50 km/h zone highlighted a successful day for the Kelowna RCMP’s Municipal Traffic Unit.
  Someone on Tuesday, Jan. 20, a member of the RCMP observed the vehicle “operating in an extremely dangerous manner”, travelling approximately 70 km/h over the speed limit on Glenmore Road at High Road.
  The officer stopped the vehicle and arrested the Class 7 (N) driver for dangerous opera
  
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• Female inequity likely an underlying cause of OB/GYN shortage: Fraser Health doctor

  22-01-2026 23:45 via abbynews.com
  Female inequity is a likely underlying reason behind OB/GYN staffing shortages and the ongoing maternity diversions at local hospitals, including White Rock’s Peace Arch Hospital, says one top Fraser Health physician.
  Dr. Darren Lazare, Fraser Health’s co-program medical director for the Maternal Infant Child Youth program, said the current diversions at local maternity wards — including Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock and Ridge Meadows Hospital in Maple Ridge — are due
  
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• Chilliwack teacher suspended for 2 days in 2024 for screening graphic film

  22-01-2026 23:40 via abbynews.com
  A Chilliwack high school teacher was reprimanded and briefly suspended from teaching in 2024 for showing a graphic film depicting an industrial accident to a Grade 11/12 metalwork class.
  Bradley Bootsma’s failure to “create a safe learning environment” was the subject of a report made to the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, from his employer, the Chilliwack School District on June 7, 2024, and an investigation was subsequently ordered by the Commissioner in July 2024.
  
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• Kelowna’s Tess Critchlow heading to 3rd Winter Olympic Games for Team Canada

  22-01-2026 22:57 via abbynews.com
  Big White’s Tess Critchlow is once again an Olympic athlete.
  On Thursday, Jan. 22, Canada Snowboard and the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) announced Team Canada’s roster for the snowboard cross, half pipe and parallel giant slalom events at the 2026 Winter Games.
  Critchlow, the 30-year-old was named to the snowboard cross team, making Milano Cortina her third Olympics.
  In 2018, she made her Olympic debut in PyeongChang where she finished ninth overall in snowboard cross.
  At the 202
  
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• Authorities can’t find ex-Kelowna banker who swindled $354K from elders

  22-01-2026 22:33 via abbynews.com
  A ex-banker who operated in Kelowna is being fined over $1 million for transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars from elderly clients to bank accounts he controlled.
  Scotiabank representative Marc-Antoine Ladeiro was found by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) to have have “willfully and deceptively misappropriated $354,700 from an elderly couple” before disappearing entirely.
  “His deliberate and surreptitious scheme to misappropriate client funds was a
  
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• Trailblazing B.C. band 54-40 recorded new ‘Porto’ album in Portugal

  22-01-2026 22:30 via abbynews.com
  Friday, Jan. 23 is album-release day for trailblazing B.C. rock band 54-40, formed 45 years ago in Tsawwassen and still creating new music.
  Eleven songs on the band’s 16th studio album, Porto, were recorded in Porto, Portugal with longtime producer Warne Livesey.
  For 11 days they worked quickly at Arda Recorders in the midst of a day-long power failure on the Iberian Peninsula.
  Bed tracks of drums, bass, guitars and keyboards were recorded live, reports Dave Genn, the band’s South Su
  
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• Highway 1 temporarily detours overnight at 264 Street

  22-01-2026 22:00 via abbynews.com
  Drivers travelling through Langley can expect additional overnight detours on Highway 1 as construction continues on the 264 Street interchange.
  The Ministry of Transportation and Transit is warning drivers of overnight detours in place from Thursday, Jan. 22, to Saturday, Jan. 31, between 11 p.m. and 4:30 a.m.
  During those hours, traffic in both directions on Highway 1 will be rerouted through the interchange’s on- and off-ramps.
  The temporary traffic pattern is required so crews can safe
  
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• Hundreds gather for Bill C-9 opposition in Okanagan

  22-01-2026 21:55 via abbynews.com
  Inundating Liberal Member of Parliament’s emails with letters of protest over the government’s proposed Bill C-9 on free speech and freedom of religion is something those members would hate.
  That was one of a number of messages doled out in regards to the bill by opposition Conservative MPs Scott Anderson of Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee and special guest Andrew Lawton, MP for Elgin-St. Thomas-London South in Ontario, at a town hall meeting on C-9 Wednesday, Jan. 21.
  A crowd of close
  
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• Jan Small of Abbotsford celebrates 100th birthday

  22-01-2026 21:24 via abbynews.com
  Janetta Small of Abbotsford celebrated her 100th birthday on Christmas Day.
  A celebration was held at Valhaven Home – part of Tabor Village – where she lives.
  Jan was born on Dec. 25, 1925, in Ottawa, the youngest of three children born to Scottish parents.
  After high school, she worked as a bank teller during the war and then moved to Toronto, eventually attending and graduating from Toronto Bible College in 1955.
  Jan joined SIM Canada in 1956 and went to Nigeria as a missionary, se
  
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• Sicamous man ‘dumbfounded’ after $1.6M lottery win at Vernon casino

  22-01-2026 20:50 via abbynews.com
  A Sicamous man “dumbfounded” by a $1.6 million lottery win plans to slow things down a bit.
  Grabbing a bite with a friend at Lake City Casino in Vernon on Jan. 8 became a life-changing experience for Pierre B. after he fed some money into a Powerbucks™ Whitney Houston™ that he had previously enjoyed playing at another casino. Rightfully so, as he spun his way to a $1,657,818.32 jackpot.
  “After I ate, I sat at it and a few minutes later I won,” he said in a med
  
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• Firefighters battle blaze at Surrey apartment complex Wednesday night

  22-01-2026 20:40 via abbynews.com
  Surrey Fire Service crews were busy fighting an apartment fire Wednesday night.
  Around 10 p.m. Wednesday (Jan. 21), firefighters arrived at a large apartment complex in the 9400-block of 128 Street with reports of a fire in a first-floor suite,Surrey Fire Service assistant chief of operations Geoff McIntyre said.
  Heavy smoke conditions were visible from the unit as crews broke windows to gain access and fight the blaze.
  The fire was contained in about 20 minutes, with McIntyre praising firefight
  
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• B.C. mother’s death prompts plea to address intimate partner violence

  22-01-2026 19:50 via abbynews.com
  On a chilly January morning, hundreds of mourners, advocates and community members congregated outside the Victoria courthouse for a melancholic gathering, remembering victims of intimate partner violence.
  The crowd was drawn to the courthouse by the Jan. 21 appearance of Muhammed Basar, who was charged with the second-degree murder of his former partner Laura Gover. The 41-year-old was found dead in her Saanich home Jan. 5.
  Gover was the mother of two daughters and was lauded as a highly respec
  
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• Abbotsford Middle School now able to hold hundreds more students

  22-01-2026 19:20 via abbynews.com
  The new addition that has been underway since last spring is finally open, meaning Abbotsford Middle School is now able to hold up to 200 more students.
  This latest improvement comes in the form of eight new classrooms in a two-storey permanent addition, which Abbotsford Board of Education chair Stan Petersen said is an important investment in the future of local students and the community at large.
  “These new classrooms will support growing enrolment, and ensure students have safe, modern
  
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• Maxine Gibb

  22-01-2026 17:30 via abbynews.com
  Mom finally finished her journey to heaven on the morning of December 9th , 2025 as she wanted – at home with her family. She was born April 24, 1932 in the Kilgard area of Sumas Mountain. She was born on her parents’ farm as many were in those days. She was the youngest child of Charles and Stella Keeping, long time residents and pioneers of the Abbotsford area. Her father Charles was not just a farmer but also a Third Class Steam Boilers engineer and was involved in the draining of
  
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• As shots continue to fly in Surrey, Sturko wants Eby to show urgency or step down

  22-01-2026 17:00 via abbynews.com
  Cloverdale’s MLA disagrees with the RCMP’s assistant commissioner for British Columbia John Brewer.
  On Jan, 20, during a press conference, Brewer disagreed that the extortion problem plaguing Surrey was a crisis at all.
  “There’s not a crisis,” Brewer said. “A crisis is what’s happening out there with drug overdoses. That’s a crisis. People are dying. This is a threat to public safety, absolutely, and I take it very seriously.”
  Elenore Sturko,
  
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• Environment Canada says B.C. should brace for one of the hottest years on record

  22-01-2026 16:30 via abbynews.com
  After a soggy December and no snow a month into winter, 2026 is shaping up to be a warmer year for those living on B.C.’s south coast.
  And the latest information from Environment and Climate Change Canada forecasts that people across the country could see warm temperatures scorching their way into the record book.
  ECCC released its annual global mean temperature forecast, providing early access to expected global temperature conditions for 2026. Following record-breaking global heat in 202
  
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• How desensitization and counter-conditioning help your dog feel safe

  22-01-2026 14:30 via abbynews.com
  If you live with a reactive dog, you’ve probably heard the terms desensitization and counter-conditioning. They can sound technical, but at their core, these methods are about helping your dog feel safer in a world that currently feels overwhelming.
  They don’t rely on force, corrections, or “making your dog behave.” Instead, they work by changing how your dog feels about their triggers—and that’s why they’re so effective.
  Desensitization
  Desensitization
  
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• Grey Cup champ and former Canadian school teacher dies at 85

  22-01-2026 14:30 via abbynews.com
  Mike Scheller has built Vernon’s Clarence Fulton Secondary School’s football program into one of the most respected in the province over the past couple of decades.
  The roots of the program come from lessons instilled in Scheller by a former minor football coach and teacher at what was then known as Fulton Junior Secondary School, a man named Jim Furlong, who died Jan. 8 in Calgary at the age of 85.
  Furlong spent 13 seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders
  
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• Unique vertical farm closure another blow to small Okanagan community

  22-01-2026 14:00 via abbynews.com
  Just more than five years after a farm set up shop on the site of a previous major employer, the community of Okanagan Falls is set to lose another as Avery Family Farms shuts down.
  Okanagan Falls director Matt Taylor shared the letter he received from owner Garry Peters with the community on Wednesday, Jan. 21, that as of Feb. 1 the vertical lettuce farm would cease operations.
  “This decision reflects the financial constraints and critical equipment failures impacting our growing environm
  
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• Abbotsford Canucks split pair of games with Laval Rocket

  22-01-2026 07:19 via abbynews.com
  Jonathan Lekkerimaki needed just 36 seconds in overtime to control the puck, find space and then rip a laser past Laval Rocket goalie Kaapo Kahkonen to deliver a 2-1 overtime win for the Abbotsford Canucks on Wednesday (Jan. 21).
  The 2022 first round draft pick has now scored the game winning goal in 23 per cent of all Abbotsford Canucks wins this season (3/13) and the club snapped a three-game slide.Lekkerimaki holds onto the puck and wires the game winner pic.twitter.com/IlzQQ14bzT
  — Ben
  
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