• UPDATED: Anti-pipeline campers digging in as eviction deadline expires

    UPDATED: Anti-pipeline campers digging in as eviction deadline expires
    The City of Burnaby had ordered the Kinder Morgan pipeline protesters out for violating bylawsThe post UPDATED: Anti-pipeline campers digging in as eviction deadline expires appeared first on Abbotsford News.
  • Fernie woman faces 9/11’s fallout, 25 years later

    Fernie woman faces 9/11’s fallout, 25 years later
    Thousands of people lost their lives in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre 25 years ago, but the long-term impacts to people who experienced it are still being uncovered.Patti Sonntag was a student studying at university in New York on Sept. 11, 2001 when she volunteered to help the medical team and emergency services deliver aid at Ground Zero. More than two decades later, she has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called retroperitoneal liposarcoma, linked to toxic dust at the si
  • PHOTOS: White Rock students cheer Cops for Cancer riders

    PHOTOS: White Rock students cheer Cops for Cancer riders
    The Cops for Cancer Tour de Valley riders received a warm welcome from White Rock students on Tuesday (Sept. 15) as the cycling team stopped at two local elementary schools during its six-day ride through the Fraser Valley.18 riders began their White Rock visit at Peace Arch Elementary, where students had handmade signs and banners to welcome the group.The riders then travelled to the White Rock RCMP detachment before continuing to White Rock Elementary. RCMP motorcycles led the cyclists as they
  • One man dead after incident involving truck in downtown Nanaimo

    One man dead after incident involving truck in downtown Nanaimo
    A man is dead following a motor vehicle incident in the parking lot of the Co-op gas bar on Victoria Crescent in downtown Nanaimo on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 16.
    Nanaimo RCMP said the investigation is in the early stages, but can confirm that one man has died in the incident.
    Kevan Shaw witnessed the event at approximately 6:30 a.m.
    He said he heard a fuel truck backing up towards the gas pumps in the parking lot of the gas station and the driver was blowing his horn to warn anyone that m
  • Advertisement

  • UBCM president delivers sharp rebuke to provincial government in annual address

    UBCM president delivers sharp rebuke to provincial government in annual address
    Union of B.C. Municipalities President Cori Ramsay blasted the provincial government in her annual address on Wednesday, expressing deep frustration on a wide range of issues.
    “If I were to characterize how our members are feeling right now, the word that comes to mind is frustration,” Ramsay told local government delegates at the UBCM convention in Vancouver.
    UBCM presidents serve one-year terms. This conference concludes Ramsay’s time in the role, and Squamish Coun. Jenna Sto
  • Okanagan curling team second at Saville Shootout in Edmonton

    Okanagan curling team second at Saville Shootout in Edmonton
    New rink, nice result.
    Vernon’s Jim Cotter returned to competitive men’s team curling with a second-place finish at the 20-team Saville Shootout in Edmonton.
    Cotter, 51, fell 5-4 in the final Monday, Sept. 14, to Benny Kapp of Fuessen, Germany. The Cotter rink collected $4,000 for second place. Kapp pocketed $6,000.
    Playing with Cotter are third Jared Kolomaya of Kamloops, second Connor Deane of Kelowna, lead Erik Colwell of Vernon, and alternate player Brad Wood of Penticton.
    The ne
  • First responders head to Island hospital after construction worker falls, injured

    First responders head to Island hospital after construction worker falls, injured
    Fire crews, police and B.C. Ambulance Service were on the scene at a hospital on Vancouver Island for a rescue incident.
    First responders were called out to the cancer centre construction site at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, just before noon on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
    According to John MacKenzie, Nanaimo Fire Rescue assistant chief of operations, it involved a man who was working at the site.
    “Our crews were called for industrial accident here at NRGH for a worker who fell, from what I&
  • Abbotsford Judo Club founder Tokue Suda passes away at age 76

    Abbotsford Judo Club founder Tokue Suda passes away at age 76
    An Abbotsford sports legend has passed away and the judo community he helped create is fondly remembering the massive impact he had.
    Tokue Suda established the Abbotsford Judo Club in 1981 and his efforts grew it into the largest dojo in British Columbia.
    He died on Sept. 14 at the age of 76 in Delta.
    Suda had been the head instructor at the AJC from 1981 until 2023 when he retired from the position. He was inducted into the Abbotsford Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, won the SportBC President&rsquo
  • Advertisement

  • Abbotsford police looking for owners of $20,000 in stolen tools

    Abbotsford police looking for owners of $20,000 in stolen tools
    Two men are now facing break-and-enter charges after thousands of dollars in stolen goods were recovered at an Abbotsford home.
    The Abbotsford Police Department said this recent investigation stems from an Aug. 27 incident, where officers were called to a reported break-and-enter at a business in the 1800 block of Forge Place.
    Police arrived on site just before 4 a.m., but the suspects had already departed the area, with some furniture and merchandise missing from the business.
    On Sept. 11, a se
  • Agassiz pool grand opening set for Sept. 25

    Agassiz pool grand opening set for Sept. 25
    The Lets’emot Regional Recreation and Aquatic Centre has an opening date.According to a recent release from the District of Kent, the long-awaited pool facility is set to open on Friday, Sept. 25.Details for the grand opening have not been released as of press time, but stay connected to The Observer for the latest information online and in print.
    The LRRAC is a 27,000-square foot addition to the existing Community Recreation and Cultural Centre on Pioneer Avenue in Agassiz. The new facili
  • $2M from province for Chemainus wood products manufacturer for expansion

    $2M from province for Chemainus wood products manufacturer for expansion
    A Chemainus wood products manufacturer is expanding its operations with the help of up to $2 million in provincial funding.
    Ron Anderson & Sons has broken ground on an expansion of its Chemainus manufacturing facility that will increase production capacity, introduce new prefabricated wood products and create up to 35 new jobs.
    The project is being supported through the B.C. government’s BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund, which is providing funding for facility expansions and equipment upgrad
  • B.C. restaurants squeezed by rising costs: Report

    B.C. restaurants squeezed by rising costs: Report
    B.C.’s restaurant industry is absorbing cost pressures more sharply than the rest of the country, according to new data from EconoLease’s 2026 Hospitality Operator Report.
    The report reveals that the province’s hospitality sector is under financial pressure, due to tariffs, costs of upgrades to cooking equipment and disproportionately high startup costs.
    The report, released Sept. 15, surveyed 250 Canadian foodservice and hospitality operators and found that 90 per cent of B.C
  • Man arrested after midnight attacks in a Vancouver Island college campus’s residence

    Man arrested after midnight attacks in a Vancouver Island college campus’s residence
    Comox Valley RCMP are currently investigating an aggravated assault at Courtenay’s North Island College campus.
    Police responded to multiple calls at 12:53 a.m. reporting an assault with an edged weapon at one of the campus’s residence buildings. Police located two victims with injuries quickly after arriving at the scene. Officers identified and arrested the suspect, a 21-year-old man from Burnaby. The man is currently in custody pending a court appearance.
    As of 10 a.m., the scene
  • Abbotsford author analyzes the many names of God in new book

    Abbotsford author analyzes the many names of God in new book
    Theology has been at the core of Grace Fox’s work for many years, with her latest project diving into a topic she believes will be able to help countless people.
    The Abbotsford author has recently finished her new book, Names of God: Growing Strong, which analyzes the seven Hebrew names of God and explores what these names can reveal about Him.
    “God has shown us what He’s like through these names,” said Fox.
    By better understanding this, she said it supports people in the
  • Metallica will play in Vancouver for first time in 10 years next spring

    Metallica will play in Vancouver for first time in 10 years next spring
    Metal music trailblazers Metallica will perform in Vancouver next spring for the first time in close to a decade.
    The Saturday, May 8 date at BC Place Stadium will kick off an extended M72 World Tour, with Limp Bizkit and Avatar opening for the “Enter Sandman” band.
    Metallica last played in Vancouver in August 2017, also at BC Place.
    The new Live Nation-promoted tour, launched in 2023 and set to continue four years later, includes stadiums across North America, the company announced
  • 5 children rescued in the Philippines after B.C. sexual exploitation case

    5 children rescued in the Philippines after B.C. sexual exploitation case
    A New Westminster man has been charged with multiple child sexual exploitation offences in an international investigation that led to the rescue of five children in the Philippines.
    Gerard Saunders, who lived in New Westminster at the time of the alleged offences, is charged with possession of child sexual abuse material, making child sexual abuse and exploitation material and agreeing or making an arrangement with a person to lure a child, police said in a release Tuesday (Sept. 15).
    Saunders w
  • ‘No more band-aids:’ province chooses Campbell River areas for Working Forest Landscape Model

    ‘No more band-aids:’ province chooses Campbell River areas for Working Forest Landscape Model
    The Province of British Columbia, in partnership with the Na̲nwak̲olas Council and four of its member First Nations — Tlowitsis, We Wai Kai, Wei Wai Kum and K’ómoks — has identified areas near Campbell River as the first candidate area to explore a proposed Working Forest Landscape Model.The area was selected through targeted engagement with industry and existing land-use and forest-planning processes.
    The proposed model is a co-ordinated, three-zone approach t
  • Robert (Bob) Garth Barkman

    Robert (Bob) Garth Barkman
    In Loving Memory
    It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Robert (Bob) Garth Barkman on September 5, 2026 at Vernon Jubilee Hospital in Vernon B.C. at the age of 72 years. Bob was born November 28, 1953 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He came into the Dave Barkman family as a baby in Steinbach, Manitoba. As a child Bob would ride around on his bike with friends, play cops and robbers, and cowboys and Indians. In those days he would also accompany his dad, at times, to his constru
  • B.C. attorney general ‘hopeful’ on DRIPA changes this fall, but won’t commit

    B.C. attorney general ‘hopeful’ on DRIPA changes this fall, but won’t commit
    While B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma wouldn’t commit to amending the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) this fall after a summer of consultations with First Nations, she did say she is “hopeful” a path forward can be found.
    “Our government has been contacting various leaders. They gave us ideas. And we’re making really good progress,” she told reporters at the Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting in Vancouver on Tuesday. “I wi
  • Ski club unveils state-of-art training facility in Vernon

    Ski club unveils state-of-art training facility in Vernon
    It’s new. It’s state of the art.And it rests comfortably on a North Okanagan mountain.
    The Silver Star Freestyle (Ski) Club (SSFC) has unveiled its new dryland training facility at SilverStar Mountain Resort.
    The facility will create unprecedented training opportunities for freestyle skiers and snowboarders in B.C., Western Canada, and beyond.
    “This is a really exciting moment for freestyle skiing and snowboarding in our region,” said Carson Dorward, SSFC president. &ldqu
  • UFV agricultural report shines spotlight on decline of mid-size B.C. farms

    UFV agricultural report shines spotlight on decline of mid-size B.C. farms
    A recent Statistics Canada report revealed a $457 million net loss for the B.C. agricultural sector in 2024, but the BC Agriculture Council and BC Dairy have now responded with a study of their own.
    In a new report created by staff at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), the two agricultural groups cited findings that they said help paint the full picture of the current state of the agricultural sector.While Statistics Canada shared that the province’s farms suffered a total loss of
  • VIDEO: Team Leavitt wins pull time at Kelowna’s annual Haul for Hope

    VIDEO: Team Leavitt wins pull time at Kelowna’s annual Haul for Hope
    The KF Centre for Excellence in Kelowna was an exciting place to be the morning of Sept. 15.The annual Haul for Hope fundraiser took place starting at 9 a.m. with 13 teams raising funds for Hope Air and competing for the best time in pulling a 67,000 pound WestJet plane.There to share her story with competitors was Penticton’s Rhonda Caron, a Hope Air patient who was diagnosed with acute leukaemia.Caron stayed with family in Vancouver while receiving treatment she could not get locally, bu
  • MacMaster, Leahy bring teen kids for Celtic Family Christmas concert in Surrey

    MacMaster, Leahy bring teen kids for Celtic Family Christmas concert in Surrey
    Natalie MacMaster, Donnell Leahy and their growing musical family will be in Surrey to perform “A Celtic Family Christmas” concert this fall.Live Nation Entertainment announced their show, to feature “exciting new versions of all your classic Christmas favourites,” for Sunday, Nov. 22 at Bell Performing Arts Centre. Tickets are sold starting 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18 on livenation.com.
    In the early 2000s MacMaster and Leahy balanced raising seven musically gifted children,
  • Abbotsford teen arrested after bear-spraying another youth at Mission Leisure Centre

    Abbotsford teen arrested after bear-spraying another youth at Mission Leisure Centre
    A 15-year-old Abbotsford boy was arrested after allegedly bear-spraying another teen at Mission Leisure Centre last week.
    According to Mission RCMP’s weekly “Community Connection” crime recap, an assault with a weapon charge is being recommended after the incident on Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 8).
    Police said the victim was also a 15-year-old boy from Abbotsford, who was trying to wash off the bear spray in the spray park when RCMP arrived.
    The suspect fled the area, but officers
  • Body found in burning vehicle in Victoria

    Body found in burning vehicle in Victoria
    The Victoria Police Department says they’re investigating a vehicle fire where a person was found dead in the 700-block of Queens Avenue – which has been closed most of the day.
    Around 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15, a VicPD officer who was on their way to work came across the burning vehicle and called 911. The Victoria Fire Department attended and extinguished the flames within minutes of arrival, police say.
    “Major Crime Unit detectives are investigating and have a robust prese
  • Aman Singh seeks seat on Abbotsford board of education

    Aman Singh seeks seat on Abbotsford board of education
    Amandeep (Aman) Singh will seek a seat on the Abbotsford board of education on Oct. 17.
    Singh is one of 20 candidates vying for the seven available school trustee positions.
    He was raised in Abbotsford, where he completed his primary and secondary education and continues to live with his family.
    He said he learned from his parents the importance of hard work, respect, family and giving back, and he understands firsthand the important role schools play in shaping young people and supporting famil
  • Harbour Air acquisition of Pacific Coastal to create B.C. regional airline group

    Harbour Air acquisition of Pacific Coastal to create B.C. regional airline group
    Harbour Air is set to acquire Pacific Coastal Airlines, bringing the two British Columbia-based carriers under common Canadian ownership while keeping their brands and operations independent.
    The airlines announced the proposed acquisition on Sept. 15, saying the deal would combine Harbour Air’s seaplane network with Pacific Coastal’s wheeled-aircraft network to expand regional connectivity across B.C.
    The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and the airlines did not provide
  • CBSA removes 111 individuals linked to extortion from Canada since August 2025

    CBSA removes 111 individuals linked to extortion from Canada since August 2025
    The Canada Border Services Agency has removed 111 people from Canada since August 2025 who have been linked to extortion.The CBSA said in a news release Monday (Sept. 14) that most of those removed have been in the Pacific region, which includes B.C. and the Yukon. The agency issued 91 orders for people in the Pacific region, removing 58 individuals. The agency said it issued 50 removal orders for individuals in the Greater Toronto Area, removed 23 people, and issued 47 removal orders in the Pra
  • New partnerships bringing drone and aerospace innovation to Kelowna

    New partnerships bringing drone and aerospace innovation to Kelowna
    Kelowna is going to be the home of drone and aerospace innovation in B.C.
    ​The City of Kelowna, Kelowna International Airport (YLW), FireSwarm Solutions and Okanagan College (OC) have launched partnerships to build a future hub for AI-enabled drone and aerospace innovation.
    ​A Memorandum of Understanding was recently signed by FireSwarm and the City of Kelowna, along with a second one between FireSwarm and Okanagan College.
    ​FireSwarm is a Canadian aerospace and defence startup
  • Driver crashes into train in the Lower Mainland

    Driver crashes into train in the Lower Mainland
    One person was taken to hospital in serious condition after a collision with a moving train in Maple Ridge Monday night.
    Maple Ridge RCMP were called to the scene at around 10 p.m. on Sept. 14, by the Haney Bypass and 225 Street, where they learned a vehicle traveling eastbound on Haney Bypass veered off course.
    It drove through a gate and onto the railway tracks where it collided with a moving train.
    The 54-year-old male driver, and sole occupant of the vehicle, was safely removed by Maple Ridg

Follow @AbbotsfordNws on Twitter!