http://surrey-bc.ca/A RSS document generated from surrey-bc.caCopyright 2011 surrey-bc.cahttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=34Total employment rose by 19,700 persons from March to a seasonally-adjusted 2.32 million people, a surprisingly sharp gain of 0.9 per cent. This was one of the strongest month-to-month gains observed in the past five years and was a driver for national growth.Sat, 12 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=31New census data released Wednesday shows Canada’s population increased 5.9 per cent between 2006 and 2011 to 33.5 million, with the western provinces posting the largest growth. For the first time, the population of B.C. and the Prairies — which now make up 30.7 per cent of the country — is greater than that of Quebec and the Atlantic provinces.Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=30At the Union of B.C. Municipalities' annual meeting in late 2011, municipal politicians voted 55 per cent in favour of putting a halt to Hydro's Smart Meter Program until major issues associated with the $930-billion project could be addressed. Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=27"There were 50 kilos of cocaine in this," says Vogt, the Canada Border Services Agency's local expert on clandestine compartments. He notes the telltale signs: "The roof 's a bit low. This is plywood construction. That is all aftermarket." And he warns the compartment "reeks" of glue and other substances. "That is all lead-lined ... You have a car alarm to release it." Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=26Census Canada data reveals that many neighbourhoods in this Surrey enclave — which features scores of Sikh, Hindu and Muslim temples, masala restaurants and immigration lawyers — are concentrated along South Asian ethnic lines. About two out of three residents of this region — which stretches roughly five kilometres in diameter — are visibly South Asian. In other words, the strong majority of residents were born either in India and Pakistan or descended from those who were. Most have roots in the Punjab region of northern India.Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=25The officer who heads the province's gangs task force issued an "unusual" alert Tuesday to anyone with links to two notorious crime families after a known gangster was shot and wounded last week in Surrey, B.C. Supt. Tom McCluskie told reporters both that incident and the high-profile slaying of Red Scorpions' gang boss Jonathan Bacon in August amount to a high expectation by his 80 investigators that more attacks are on the way. "We're anticipating retaliatory violence, yes," he said at a news conference held at an office of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit in Delta, B.C. Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=24The Surrey school district is one of the few in the province that is still growing, by about 1,000 students a year. The result is hundreds of portables encroaching on playgrounds. Fraser Heights Secondary school, as one instance, has 16 portables on its grounds as it tries to squeeze 1,500 students into a school intended to accommodate 1,000. There are 254 portables this year in Surrey, 22 more than last year.Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=23Whistler gets voted a top ski resort year after year: Best Terrain, or Best Resort Overall or Vancouver best city to live. Visiting Whistler is like 2in1 package. You can visit Whistler for skiing and on the way visit Vancouver one of the best city in the world. Whistler is known as a trendy spot with great ski resorts, plenty for families, kids programs, and adventure zones. To enjoy the scenic view between Vancouver and Whistler, you should rent a Car, Vancouver Limo, Taxi or Bus.Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=22FortisBC announced today it has launched its renewable natural gas product offering for residential customers in the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Interior and the Kootenays. Eligible customers now have the option of designating 10 per cent of their household’s natural gas usage as renewable natural gas. FortisBC will then inject an equivalent amount of renewable natural gas into its distribution system from local renewable natural gas projects. Customers will be subscribed on a first-come, first-served basis, for about an additional $4 per month, based on an average annual consumption of 95 gigajoules (GJs).Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=21Surrey Fusion Festival kick off July 16 with a Kla-How-Eya pow-wow and then several stages will open with cultural drummers, dancers, musicians and singers. Other performers over the weekend will include Bombino, Raghav, Leela Gilday, Babe Gurr, Mojo Zydeco, Kytami, Jordan Cook and many more.Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=20B.C. Premier Christy Clark was in Surrey Friday to officially open the Maxxine Wright Centre, a refuge for pregnant women at risk of becoming homeless. Also pictured is Surrey-Tynehead MLA Dave Hayer. The Maxxine Wright Centre caters specifically to women who are pregnant or have young children and are homeless or at risk of homelessness, many of whom also face other barriers such as abuse or substance abuse issues. The $17.9-million project was made possible by funding from the federal, provincial and city governments as well as Atira Women's Resource Society, which manages and operates the Maxxine Wright Centre.Sun, 08 May 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=17Developer Jack Saran has alleged that former city planner Akonyu Akolo demanded a bribe before he would approve Saran's townhouse development.Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=16The Surrey Fusion Festival is B.C.'s largest multicultural celebration and last year featured more than 75 artists and headliners from around the world performing on four stages in Holland Park.Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=14March 1-31 at the Newton Cultural Centre, 13530 72 Ave., Surrey. Gallery hours Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sundays from 1-4 p.m. Artists in attendance on weekends. Featuring realist and abstract works in oils, watercolour, acrylic and graphite.Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=13After more than 30 years of grappling with the issue, on Dec. 13, 2010, Surrey enacted legislation allowing one secondary suite per home throughout the city.Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=12The project is to add 151 new patient beds to Surrey Memorial, arrayed throughout an eight-storey critical-care tower, an ER five times larger than the current space, and a new perinatal centre for high-risk newborns.Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=11It’s unfortunate that Stephen Harper chose Surrey, B.C., to make his remarks about gang-related crime rates “getting worse.” Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts has been trying so hard to change the image of the municipality, backed with statistics that show the city’s crime rate has decreased every year since 2003. Yet Mr. Harper did not pull crime statistics out of thin air. He was partly right in what he said. But in promoting the Conservative government’s approach to crime, Mr. Harper ignored general trends in homicide. Relying on out-of-date statistics, he distorted the numbers to back up his political agenda.Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=9METRO VANCOUVER -- As Metro Vancouver mayors once again grapple with ways to pay for transportation projects, the wide transit disparities across the region are threatening to stand in the way of a consensus. Talks have just begun, but mayors are already divided on potential options to fund projects such as the Evergreen Line and extra buses, ranging from road tolls to gas taxes, congestion charges and vehicle levies. "There's more appetite in Vancouver to look at gas taxes and bridge tolls," said North Vancouver District Mayor Richard Walton, chairman of the mayors' council on regional transportation. "But up the valley, they feel they're terribly underserved [for transit] and distance-related levies or taxes are not palatable.Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=8The Mounties' Surrey detachment issued a statement saying officers stopped a white Chrysler 300 around 11 p.m. Wednesday in the White Rock community near the U.S. border. The responding officer noticed the suspect, an unidentified lone male, had a gun and called for backup before the suspect fled the scene. Another officer saw the vehicle speeding about 10 kilometres north of where it was first pulled over and laid a spike belt across the road to stop the fleeing car, the statement said. Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=7Across the Lower Mainland, especially Richmond and Vancouver's west side, mainland Chinese buyers and immigrants are becoming a major part of the market, in some cases competing with each other through multiple offers. According to a report on new multi-family home sales in the Lower Mainland by Colliers, which recently opened a dedicated office in Shanghai to deal with the increasing demand, a total of 2,711 new multi-family units were sold in the region in the fourth quarter of 2010, making it the most active quarter of the past year.Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=6Vancouver received a 100/100 ranking for its health care services, education system and for its culture and environment rating. It also received an impressive 95/100 stability ranking. The report’s authors did note that Vancouver’s crime rate is on the rise. Vancouver’s murder rate of 2.6 per 100,000 is well above the Canadian 1.8 per 100,000 average.Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=5The B.C. Lions will get perhaps their toughest test of the CFL season when the open and close their 2011 regular season schedule against the Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes.Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=4Mayor Dianne Watts told The Leader from London Friday that she feels the trade mission holds tremendous promise. With her are Couns. Tom Gill, Linda Hepner, Barinder Rasode, some city staff and 24 local companies, who Friday morning were on a London stopover on the way to Mumbai.Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMThttp://surrey-bc.ca/News/?NID=3The City of Surrey has been named one of B.C.’s top employers for the seventh year in a row. The annual competition is organized by the editors of Canada's Top 100 Employers and recognizes organizations that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work.Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT