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Chilliwack’s former director of development won’t see any jail time for approving illegal land deals in the late 90′s.

According to a story in the Chilliwack Times, Grant Sanborn’s lawyers reached a joint submission with crown prosecutors that gives Sanborn six months probation, 150 hours of community service, and an order to donate $5,000 to Ruth & Naomi’s Mission.

The submission was approved by Justice Miriam Maisonville, but the approval came with a bit of a tongue lashing.

Maisonville said City Hall’s pro-development culture under former mayor and current MLA John Les failed the public.

During sentencing submissions Maisonville heard how City Hall used “creative practices” to get around provincial land rules.

But Maisonville says creative is just a euphamisn for approving without scrutiny.

Sanborn was charged with breach of trust but pleaded guilty to some non-criminal charges instead.

Chilliwack MLA John Les joined the ranks of Liberals not running in the spring election.

Les says he’s been in politics for thirty years, and wants to take some time to enjoy life and didn’t want to wait until he was, as he put it, tottering on a cane.

He says despite how it might look it’s not a case of getting out while the getting’s good.

Les says he has confidence that his party can win the next election, but says make no mistake it won’t be easy.

“There is no doubt that the 2013 election will be a difficult one for the BC LIberal party. A lot of challenges, there’s no question about that. But the choice will be as clear as it always was. It’s a choice between an NDP government that has a completely different set of values than the free enterprise BC Liberal coalition.”

Les says he doesn’t have any set plans for his post-political life, and figures for now he’ll take some time to decompress and enjoy his gardening.

(Release from John Les on Aug30, 2012)

John Les announced today that he won’t be seeking a fourth-term as the MLA for Chilliwack in the May 2013 provincial election.

“This has been a difficult decision. Since first being elected to public office as an alderman in Chilliwack in 1983, there have been countless rewarding and fulfilling experiences” Les said. “I would particularly like to pay tribute to the two Premiers with whom I have had the pleasure to serve, Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark. Both are incredible people and both have made great contributions to British Columbia.”

Les is currently serving as Parliamentary Secretary to Premier Christy Clark, and since being elected as MLA in 2001 has served as Minister of Small Business and Economic Development and Public Safety and Solicitor General. Les was Mayor of Chilliwack for four terms between 1987 and 1999, having been first elected to City Council in 1983.

Les said leaving politics is bittersweet. He’s looking forward to new challenges and exploring new opportunities. But he’s going to miss all of the dedicated people – fellow MLAs, cabinet ministers, and staff members, who have worked so hard to build a better British Columbia for the last 11 years.

“It was an honour working with such dedicated people over the years. While we didn’t always agree on all issues, there was always a unity of purpose and direction that sustained us,” Les said.

“Most especially, I wish to thank my family for joining me on this extended journey. Political life is demanding and exacting, but it is with amazement I can say I have never lacked for complete support every step of the way. Many thanks are due to my wife Mattie and our six children. As well, my constituency assistant since 2001, Pam White, has provided loyal and dedicated service, for which I am grateful.”

Les also offered his thanks to the people of Chilliwack who have repeatedly placed their confidence in him – whether it was to elect him to city hall or to the provincial legislature.

“I trust I have been able to represent the people of Chilliwack well and hope they will forgive any shortcomings on my part,” Les said. “I am grateful that Chilliwack is a thriving and growing community. Our city is now home to the University of the Fraser Valley, the Pacific Regional Training Center of the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency, and the Justice Institute, all in the Canada Education Park, as well as many new private sector businesses. Our future is on the right track.

And what holds for Chilliwack, Les said, holds for the entire province.
“Our province went from worst to first and is now one of the leading jurisdictions in Canada, a remarkable achievement largely made possible by former Premier Campbell’s focus on economic opportunity and growth as well as investment in schools, universities, hospitals, highways, airports, and ports,” Les added. “Going forward, I am confident that Premier Clark will continue to build on these achievements with her ‘Jobs Agenda’, in particular her focus on LNG and resource development with the huge economic opportunities that can flow from those initiatives.

Les said British Columbia’s economic performance today is remarkably good, particularly in light of a fragile economic environment globally. Les will serve out his term as Chilliwack MLA and will continue to do everything he can to work for a prosperous future for all British Columbians.

“It is more important now than ever to stay the course on our economic plans,” Les said. “I will do everything I can to ensure Premier Clark and the BC Liberal government is re-elected in May 2013. Then, it will be time for me to think about other interesting opportunities I may want to explore.”

On Wednesday Kevin Falcon announced he was stepping down as finance minister and wouldn’t be running in the next election.
Hamish Telford with the UFV political science department says this is a huge blow to the Liberal party and should be the proverbial nail the coffin.  We’re hearing now that Chilliwack MLA John Les, Education Minister George Abbott and Children and Family Development Minister Mary McNeil will all announce today that they will be leaving.
Telford says he’s not surprised.

“I think they see the writing on the wall, that the party is going to go down to defeat, and I don’t think that they relish going to the opposition back benches for at least four years.  It would be awfully dreary to be on the opposition side of the house after being a cabinet minister for so long.”

Telford says this is a great opportunity for the BC Conservative party to make some headway, but says they need to roll out an economic policy, or get some big names in place as candidates.

Prior to Falcon’s announcement, other Liberals including Kash Heed, Bill Barisoff and Kevin Krueger had also declared their intention to step down.  Abbotsford MLA Mike DeJong says he will run again, while Abbotsford-Mission MLA Randy Hawes told us earlier this week he will make a decision in September.
Les has called a news conference at his office for 9:30 this morning….we will bring you the official word once we have it.

According to a recent study many BC drivers feel texting while driving was as risky as drinking and driving.

However 40 percent of those surveyed admitted to using their cell phones while driving.

Jill Blacklock with the ICBC road safety program says many of the drivers try to justify the cell use.

“They find a time where they think it may not be quite as dangerous.They’re stopped at a stop light so they’ll pop off a quick text or email. Or they’re not going in traffic very quickly so they’ll make a quick telephone call.”

Blacklock says distracted driving is the third leading cause of fatal car crashes, with an average of 94 deaths per year in BC.

ICBC has launched its annual campaign against distracted driving, Blacklock says you can download ring tones that remind you to not answer the phone while driving at the ICBC website.

(Photo courtesy of Kevin MacDonald of KAM Productions)

Early start for firefighters in Mission today.  They were called to E.S. Richards Elementary shortly after 6 this morning to a reported roof fire.  Upon arrival, there was black smoke and flames shooting from the roof.  The good news is they were able to knock the fire down quickly so the damage was contained to just one part of the school, but they are treating it as suspicious.  Police and fire investigators are looking into it.

The body found in the Fraser River on August 13th near Abbotsford has been identified as 66 year old Herbert Wells from Hope.

Wells fell into the Fraser July 28th while fishing north of Yale.

A search was mounted but with no success.

The body eventually turned up between a log boom and a barge.

BC Coroners will continue to investigate.

A North Vancouver teacher came through the Fraser Valley on the weekend as part of an odyssey of marathons.

Ian Cunliffe is running 22 marathons across BC to protest what he views as the harm that will be caused to the education system by Bill 22.

Cunliffe says the province’s stated education goals are at odds with its actions.

“We know that properly funded school libraries and teacher librarians actually raise literacy rates in schools. And we also know that the BC Liberal party is very interested in their position of early literacy. So what I don’t understand is how we can be all excited about early literacy while we are systematically closing the doors on libraries at schools across this province.”

Cunliffe says he’s been battling injuries but says the need to get the message out will keep him going through the last 4 marathons.

The President of Kinder Morgan’s Canadian operations, Ian Anderson, was in Chilliwack yesterday to speak to the Chamber of Commerce about the proposed twinning of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline.  He says the plan is to have their facilities application into the National Energy Board by the end of this year.  If that’s approved, then they’ll get into things like routing followed by a decision process with the NEB.

“That takes us to the end of 2015.  If we’re successful at that point and we have our permit, and we have our permission, we’ll proceed with construction over two summers, 2016 and 2017.”

He says one area where Chilliwack would benefit would be property taxes.  Kinder Morgan currently pays the city $650,000 a year, and it would go up to $1.4 million with the new pipeline.  He admitted however, that job creation locally would be almost negligible.

In terms of environmental impact, he claims they’ve had 78 spills reported since 1961, 5 of those in the valley and none in Chilliwack.  People in the room seemed quite surprised to hear him say that they have zero evidence that diluted bitumen is any different than normal heavy crude, and that they’ve been pumping it for 20 years with no issues.  This is a major point of  contention for groups like the Pipe Up Network, who claim that “dilbit” is heavier and more toxic, and would lead to a much more costly cleanup in the event of a spill.

Ben West with the Wilderness Committee says considering how much work needs to be done with first nations, and considering how many are already opposed to the project, there’s no way Kinder Morgan will be able to twin the current pipeline.

“My guess is, when we see an actual proposal from Kinder Morgan, the route is not going to go anywhere near the existing pipeline.  It might at some stages, but I think we’re really going to be talking about a whole new pipeline.  This isn’t a twinning, this is all new, just like the Enbridge pipeline….Kinder Morgan was just smart enough to buy an existing pipeline route because it would be easier to get it approved.  The level of opposition to pipelines in this province is really unprecedented.”

The plan is to run the line from Edmonton to Burnaby, load the oil onto tankers and export to Asia.  This is another concern for West.  He says people have to consider if all the risks are worth it.

“Do you want to bring a whole lot more oil through this community?  People in the Fraser Valley should have a right to say whether its OK with them for it to be for the sake of export.  It’s one thing to talk about bringing in oil for our own consumption, it’s a whole other thing to talk about bringing in more risk….health and safety, property values, local economy are all at risk, all for the sake of Kinder Morgan making a billion dollars a year on exports.”

A twinned pipeline would increase the amount of oil flowing from Alberta from 300,000 barrels per day to around 750,000 per day.  Anderson says one line would transport gas, diesel and lighter crudes, and one dedicated to heavier crudes.  The capital cost of the project is $4.1 billion.  Kinder Morgan will be gathering up information they’ve received from municipalities so far, and will develop public consultations in the fall, taylor made for each community.

fAMILY MEMBERS SAY MARK HAS BEEN FOUND IN SURREY.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.

Chilliwack RCMP have put out an alert about a missing person.  27 yr old Mark Brown has been missing from his home since Sunday.  He has gone away for several days in the past, but has always contacted his parents.  His family is concerned for his well being and he requires medication for some medical issues.  He is believed to be in the Chilliwack area.  Mark Brown is described as white, 5’8, 185lbs with very short brown hair and brown eyes.  He was driving a grey 2005, four door Chevy Cavalier, BC Licence Plate # 770-WCJ