Third Annual Truth & Reconciliation Walk White Rock
Thousands of White Rock and South Surrey residents turned out yesterday morning at Grand Chief Bernard Charles Plaza on the White Rock waterfront, to remember and honour the memory of children who were imprisoned in residential schools across Canada.
Semiahmoo leader HARLEY CHAPPELL delivered a powerful and touching speech to the crowd as he honoured all those that were present.
The crowd then walked in somber silence along the promenade to Semiahmoo park.
The gathering at the park included a moving dance and performance from the Semiahmoo Youth group made up of the children of Chief CHAPPEL.
The ceremony in the park ended with survivors and family representatives of residential schools being invited on stage to receive beautiful colourful floral arrangements and acknowledgment of their presence.
Chief CHAPPEL'S daughter Kamara delivered a beautiful touching speech explaining what the day meant to her. There were not many dry eyes in the crowd.
What is opened and closed for Truth and Reconciliation Day
Canada Post will be closed on Monday, Oct. 2 with no collection or delivery of mail on that day.
Public schools from K-12 across the province will be closed on Monday in observance of Truth and Reconciliation Day.
Banks are closed on Monday.
B.C. Transit will be operating on its regular service on the Saturday and Monday.
TransLink buses, SkyTrain, and SeaBus will operate on its usual schedule over the weekend. The West Coast Express will not operate on Saturday or Monday.
Who Let The Dogs Out?
...White Rock, that's who
Calling all dog owners.
Starting Sunday, October 1, dogs will be permitted on the promenade until March 31.
Dogs have to be leashed and licensed and are not allowed on the White Rock Pier at any time.
Capacity crowd last evening @ The Hills Golf course
Concerned resident/Organizer AMANDA MILFORD
When it was announced the Semiahmoo First Nations in conjunction with the Federal Government had plans to install a bio-fuel plant on its lands in South Surrey, very few noticed.
The community has now come together in a grassroots fashion to communicate their concerns to all levels of government, including Surrey and White Rock councils. The next steps are the formation of a committee to channel information to the community. There are also plans for a Town Hall meeting which will be announced in the near future.
Speaker after speaker raised concerns to health and air quality, impact on the Little Campbell river, increased truck traffic, as well as possible negative impact on property values in the Summerfield and surrounding districts of South Surrey.
Watch for further information here on the electronic pages of THE SUN.
Scan the above code with your camera.
You will be liked to all the current printed information that is available to date on the planned bio fuel plant.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Read DON PITCAIRN'S editorial below in THE NAKED TRUTH TNT
Closed
White Rock City Hall and facilities will be closed on Monday, October 2, 2023, for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and will reopen on Tuesday, October 3.
City facilities include:
Engineering and Municipal Operations – 877 Kiel Street
Centennial Park Leisure Centre – 14600 North Bluff Road
Horst & Emmy Werner Centre of Active Living – 1475 Anderson Street
Kent Street Activity Centre – 1475 Kent Street
White Rock Community Centre – 15154 Russell Avenue
There are no garbage, recycling and green waste collection changes.
Sign up for collection change notifications with White Rock Recycles at whiterockcity.ca/waste
Request for Service
Report non-emergency problems to the City through our online platform, Request for Service. For example, you can report things like illegal dumping, sidewalk issues, or problems within our parks.
DUE TO civic holiday(s) the next regular meeting of council will be Monday October 16, 2023 4 p.m.
September 27, 2023
White Rock & Surrey Escape Housing Supply Act
Housing targets for the first 10 municipalities selected as part of the Housing Supply Act have been released, laying the foundation for tens of thousands more homes to be built faster in areas with the greatest needs.
To support implementation, the Province will continue to provide local governments with resources to speed up approval processes, including $10 million for continued implementation of the Development Approvals Process Review, and the Province’s work accelerating and streamlining provincial permitting across multiple ministries and developing a new digital permitting process. This is funding in addition to the $1-billion Growing Communities Fund launched in February 2023 and the recently announced $51 million to support local governments in meeting new density initiatives.
The first 10 municipalities were selected for housing target assessment in May 2023 under the authority of the Housing Supply Act, which allows the Province to set housing targets in communities with the most urgent housing needs. The Province consulted with the selected municipalities during the summer to set the final housing target orders. These housing targets are net new units to be completed within five years.
The target orders for each municipality:
City of Abbotsford – 7,240 housing units
City of Delta – 3,607 housing units
City of Kamloops – 4,236 housing units
District North Vancouver – 2,838 housing units
District of Oak Bay – 664 housing units
City of Port Moody – 1,694 housing units
District of Saanich – 4,610 housing units
City of Vancouver – 28,900 housing units
City of Victoria – 4,902 housing units
District of West Vancouver – 1,432 housing unit
The housing targets put forward by the Province mark a 38% increase in overall housing to be built in these communities over what was projected to have been created based on historic trends.
Surrey RCMP corrects record on homicide of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Surrey RCMP is releasing a statement to correct misinformation surrounding the actions of our officers, in their initial response and while on scene at the homicide of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey on June 18, 2023.
On Saturday September 23, 2023, Surrey RCMP received a request from an international media outlet which contained a list of questions directed at multiple police agencies with a deadline the following day. This did not provide an adequate opportunity to respond. Subsequently a story was published which contained inaccurate information on the police response to this homicide.
Surrey RCMP recognizes the importance of ensuring that accurate information is being reported on the homicide of Mr. Nijjar.
The first 911 call in relation to this incident was received at 8:27 p.m. and the first officers arrived on scene in under four minutes, with more officers arriving on scene shortly after.
It was suggested that there was a conflict regarding which police agency would “head the investigation”, however as the police of jurisdiction, Surrey RCMP is responsible for all police investigations in Surrey. There is nothing to indicate this investigation was delayed in any way, either in the initial response or in subsequent investigative steps.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) was called out and assumed conduct of the investigation with the continued support of Surrey RCMP. IHIT takes lead on all homicide investigations in the Lower Mainland with the exception of Delta and Vancouver. We are confident all necessary investigational steps are being taken to hold those responsible for the homicide accountable.
Anyone with further information who has not already spoken to police is asked to contact the IHIT Information line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
This was a public act of violence which has caused members of our community to feel unsafe. In response to community concerns, Surrey RCMP has increased patrols around Gurdwaras and Temples. Surrey RCMP’s Diversity Unit has met with the Sikh and Hindu communities in Surrey and the unit continues to work closely with them to foster communication and engagement.
Please note: IHIT cannot provide further details on any aspects of the ongoing investigation and will not be commenting further at this time.
