Frankly Speaking

Frank Bucholtz photo Federal infrastructure minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced on Thursday that the federal government will commit to providing $108 million of the $235 million total cost to upgrade Highway 1 to six lanes between 216 and 264 Streets in Langley. Other funding partners are the B.C. government, represented by Premier John Horgan and Transportation Minister Claire Trevena at the ceremony, and the Township of Langley, represented by Mayor Jack Froese. At long last, the NDP government has committed to follow through with a project announced by their predecessors - at least a portion of the project. In March, 2017, the BC Liberal government announced it would widen Highway 1 from four to six lanes as far east as Whatcom Road in Abbotsford. A day afterwards, former transportation minister Todd Stone told CHNL Radio in Kamloops on that the project was “tender-ready” back then. Two years later, the province has announced the widening from 216 to 264 Streets, at...

Three years after the shocking murder of high school student Serena Vermeersch by a lifetime criminal, he has finally pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Raymond Lee Caissie, 46, entered the plea in court on Sept. 14. His guilty plea may be the only decent thing he has done in the past 25 years, Caissie was let out of jail in June, 2013 after serving a 22-year sentence for raping a woman in Abbotsford at knifepoint in 1991. It was a particularly brutal case. He confronted her while she was working at a museum in Abbotsford, abducted her, sexually assaulted her and left her tied to a tree, but not before making her withdraw money from her account at a bank machine. He also stole her car. Two days later, he robbed a woman pushing a two-year-old child in a stroller. That incident took place in a park. Caissie had been in trouble before that. He was in and out of jail from the time he was 15. He was released from prison a short time before the Abbotsford case, after being c...

Jinny Sims (top), newly-elected MLA for Surrey-Panorama, could be in the provincial cabinet should the NDP take power. If the BC Liberals remain in power, new Surrey-White Rock MLA Tracy Redies (bottom) could be in cabinet. We won't know which party will take power until sometime next week at the earliest, after absentee ballots are counted. As the uncertainty over which political party or combination of parties will form the next provincial government continues, it’s worth contemplating how the South Fraser and Fraser Valley regions will be represented in the new government. Of course, there need to be local MLAs in the cabinet. There also needs to be a strong commitment by cabinet and caucus members to work towards resolving important issues affecting communities in the eastern portion of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. This is the fastest-growing area of B.C. and has many pressing issues which require the attention of the provincial government. These inclu...

Artist's drawing The Port Mann and Golden Ears bridge tolls are a major itrritant to people in many Lower Mainland communities. Both the NDP and BC Liberals are trying to curry favour with them by promising partial or complete removal of the tolls. Last Sunday ushered in the provincial election campaign for Surrey and many other South Fraser residents - two days ahead of the official start. Both major political parties promised good news for drivers south of the Fraser who regularly pay tolls. The BC Liberals kicked off the promising spree, saying Sunday that if the party is re-elected, bridge tolls will be capped at $500 per vehicle per year, for drivers with TReO stickers on their windshields. Significantly, this would apply to both the Port Mann Bridge (owned by the province) and the Golden Ears Bridge (owned by TransLink). The amount of tolls that would have been paid by drivers after they reach the $500 mark will be covered by the province. The BC Liberals’ p...

The issue of bridge tolls should be an important one in the May provincial election, particularly in the 19 seats between Chilliwack and Delta where drivers are most directly impacted. Gary Hee is running as an independent candidate in Surrey South, specifically on a promise to remove the tolls. Photo copyright nobridgetollsinbc.com A review of bridge tolling policy won’t happen until after the next election. The decision by Transportation Minister Todd Stone is clearly in the interests of the current BC Liberal government, but it may not be in the interest of bridge users. The best time to apply pressure to any government is just before an election ­- not afterwards. Stone said last month there is no rush to do such a review. The province has decided it is going ahead with the Deas Island bridge which will replace the Massey Tunnel, and it will be tolled. “If they (the Mayors’ Council) move forward with a tolled bridge to replace the Pattullo, that would leave the...