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Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole questions the government during Question Period in the House of Commons, Thursday, November 25, 2021 in Ottawa. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole will once again allow his caucus to have a free vote on a government bill seeking to ban conversion therapy. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

O’Toole to allow free vote for Conservative MPs on new conversion therapy ban

Liberals introduced legislation for a third time in the House of Commons to criminalize the practice

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole questions the government during Question Period in the House of Commons, Thursday, November 25, 2021 in Ottawa. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole will once again allow his caucus to have a free vote on a government bill seeking to ban conversion therapy. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
RCMP released a composite sketch of the man whose remains were found near Merritt in late September 2019. (BC RCMP photo)

RCMP release sketch to help identify remains found near Merritt in 2019

Police believe the man may be from the Lower Mainland or even Alberta

RCMP released a composite sketch of the man whose remains were found near Merritt in late September 2019. (BC RCMP photo)
Highway 1 has been blocked with a tiger dam since Sunday, preventing travel between Abbotsford and Chilliwack. (APD photo)

Teachers bused, using other accommodations to deal with highway issues in Fraser Valley

Highway closure has led Abbotsford and Chilliwack teachers to use shuttle or stay in hotels

Highway 1 has been blocked with a tiger dam since Sunday, preventing travel between Abbotsford and Chilliwack. (APD photo)
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Flood waters surround a farm in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
B.C.’s year of extreme weather ‘consistent’ with climate change, meteorologist says
FILE – A COVID-19 rapid testing area is seen on the international arrivals level at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Friday, July 30, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Non-U.S. air travellers must take COVID test, isolate as feds try to slow Omicron spread
A sign showing limits on consumer gasoline purchases is seen on a fuel pump at a gas station in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
B.C. extends gas rationing, state of emergency until Dec. 14 as Trans Mountain remains offline
Rescue crews prepare to escort a group of stranded travellers on the Lougheed Highway near Agassiz (Photo/Vancouver Fire Rescue Services)
VIDEO: CFB Comox 442 Squadron recaps B.C. flood rescue mission
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FILE - In this combination of photos New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, appears during a news conference about COVID-19 at the State Capitol in Albany, N.Y., on Dec. 3, 2020, and his brother CNN anchor Chris Cuomo attends the 12th annual CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on Dec. 9, 2018. CNN said Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021, it was suspending Chris Cuomo indefinitely after details emerged about how he helped his brother, as he faced charges of sexual harassment.(Mike Groll/Office of Governor of Andrew M. Cuomo via AP, left, and Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

CNN suspends anchor Chris Cuomo for helping brother in scandal

Attorney General’s office found former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women

FILE - In this combination of photos New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, appears during a news conference about COVID-19 at the State Capitol in Albany, N.Y., on Dec. 3, 2020, and his brother CNN anchor Chris Cuomo attends the 12th annual CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute at the American Museum of Natural History in New York on Dec. 9, 2018. CNN said Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021, it was suspending Chris Cuomo indefinitely after details emerged about how he helped his brother, as he faced charges of sexual harassment.(Mike Groll/Office of Governor of Andrew M. Cuomo via AP, left, and Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
In this Monday, Oct. 16, 2017 photo, baby turkeys stand in a poultry barn at Smotherman Farms near Waco, Texas. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-LM Otero

Turkeys killed in flooding tumble out of truck, block traffic in Whistler,

Birds already dead, believed to have come from flood zones in the Lower Mainland

In this Monday, Oct. 16, 2017 photo, baby turkeys stand in a poultry barn at Smotherman Farms near Waco, Texas. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-LM Otero
Traffic backs up along the Lougheed Highway in the Harrison Mills area. In addition to mudslides and congestion, some drivers faced down a five-foot pothole that disabled multiple vehicles, according to eyewitnesses. (Photo/Russell Purcell)

UPDATE: Traffic slows along Hwy 7 after truck stalls, witnesses say

Stay connected to The Observer for the latest flooding information

Traffic backs up along the Lougheed Highway in the Harrison Mills area. In addition to mudslides and congestion, some drivers faced down a five-foot pothole that disabled multiple vehicles, according to eyewitnesses. (Photo/Russell Purcell)
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry meets with some of the first children to receive COVID-19 vaccines at a clinic in Victoria, Nov. 29, 2021. (B.C. government photo)

B.C. calls on retired medical staff to help with COVID-19 vaccinations

Booster doses for adults ramping up as 350,000 children eligible

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry meets with some of the first children to receive COVID-19 vaccines at a clinic in Victoria, Nov. 29, 2021. (B.C. government photo)
Chilliwack Search and Rescue vehicles. (Paul Henderson/ Chilliwack Progress file)

CSAR rescues young adult from Chilliwack River Valley Tuesday evening

Search and rescue called to property where evacuation order was issued hours earlier

Chilliwack Search and Rescue vehicles. (Paul Henderson/ Chilliwack Progress file)
Surrey RCMP worked with Homeland Security to place charges against a U.S. man for child luring. (File photo)

Homeland Security arrests U.S. man accused of luring Surrey child

Kevin McCarty, 35, is facing several charges in Oregon

Surrey RCMP worked with Homeland Security to place charges against a U.S. man for child luring. (File photo)
Katerina Anastasiadis, CEO of Abbotsford’s Chamber of Commerce, said the provincial government’s new mandatory five days of sick pay policy will create issues for small businesses. (Karolina Turek Photography)

Abbotsford chamber CEO calls 5 day paid sick leave irresponsible and poorly timed

New provincial policy begins in January, Katerina Anastasiadis fears it will hurt small businesses

Katerina Anastasiadis, CEO of Abbotsford’s Chamber of Commerce, said the provincial government’s new mandatory five days of sick pay policy will create issues for small businesses. (Karolina Turek Photography)
A photo of the crash on Highway 7 near Lake Errock. Facebook photo.

DriveBC: Highway 7 closed, again, following crash near Deroche Bridge

Reports of crash involving semi-truck and dumptruck by Lake Errock

A photo of the crash on Highway 7 near Lake Errock. Facebook photo.
Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley will both see another 20 to 40 millimetres of rain today. (Pixabay)

Heavy rains will continue to pour on Lower Mainland today, Dec. 1

Another 20 to 40 mm can be expected before it tapers of by evening

Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley will both see another 20 to 40 millimetres of rain today. (Pixabay)
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C. Representative for Children and Youth, speaks to a reporter in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. A progress report on a plan to address Indigenous racism in British Columbia’s health-care system says Indigenous patients continue to disproportionately die as a result of the impacts of racism and the two public-health emergencies. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Little progress made to combat anti-Indigenous racism in B.C. health care: report

Author says progress has been made in 10 of initial report’s 24 recommendations

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C. Representative for Children and Youth, speaks to a reporter in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. A progress report on a plan to address Indigenous racism in British Columbia’s health-care system says Indigenous patients continue to disproportionately die as a result of the impacts of racism and the two public-health emergencies. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Mudslide closed Highway 7 near Agassiz Tuesday Dec. 1 but it reopened to alternating traffic. (DriveBC)

Landslide closed Highway 7 in both directions near Agassiz, now reopened

DriveBC reported slide came down on the Lougheed Highway before Seabird

Mudslide closed Highway 7 near Agassiz Tuesday Dec. 1 but it reopened to alternating traffic. (DriveBC)
A droplet of water falls from an iceberg delivered by members of Arctic Basecamp is placed on show near the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. The four ton block of ice, originally part of a larger glacier, was brought from Greenland to Glasgow by climate scientists from Arctic Basecamp as a statement to world leaders of the scale of the climate crisis and a visible reminder of what Arctic warming means for the planet. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Study suggests Arctic to see more rain than snow earlier than expected

Researchers say a rainy North would also have devastating consequences for people and wildlife

A droplet of water falls from an iceberg delivered by members of Arctic Basecamp is placed on show near the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. The four ton block of ice, originally part of a larger glacier, was brought from Greenland to Glasgow by climate scientists from Arctic Basecamp as a statement to world leaders of the scale of the climate crisis and a visible reminder of what Arctic warming means for the planet. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Office towers, hotels and condos are seen in downtown Vancouver, on Sunday, October 25, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Report finds 4 of 5 Canadian workers have felt burnout during pandemic

Ceridian survey also finds 1 in 5 have looked for a new job

Office towers, hotels and condos are seen in downtown Vancouver, on Sunday, October 25, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Bins of sand are placed across the road next to a wall of sandbags along rail tracks to form a temporary dike in the Huntingdon Village area of Abbotsford, B.C., Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

More than two dozen weather warnings in effect across rain-sodden British Columbia

Central coast could see up to 150 millimetres of rain, Fraser Valley could get up to 100 mm

Bins of sand are placed across the road next to a wall of sandbags along rail tracks to form a temporary dike in the Huntingdon Village area of Abbotsford, B.C., Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Evacuation orders were put in place for two properties at the bottom of Sumas Mountain on Nov. 30, 2021. (City of Abbotsford)

Evacuation orders and alerts issued for properties on Sumas Mountain in Abbotsford

Residents of two properties ordered to leave with five others put on standby

Evacuation orders were put in place for two properties at the bottom of Sumas Mountain on Nov. 30, 2021. (City of Abbotsford)
Residents of Riverview Drive in Hope fill sandbags on Nov. 29, 2021, one day before the District of Hope issued an evacuation alert for 114 homes on the Coquihalla River. (Jessica Peters/ Hope Standard)

More than 100 homes put on evacuation alert on Coquihalla River in Hope

‘Residents will be given as much advance notice as possible prior to an evacuation’

Residents of Riverview Drive in Hope fill sandbags on Nov. 29, 2021, one day before the District of Hope issued an evacuation alert for 114 homes on the Coquihalla River. (Jessica Peters/ Hope Standard)
Flood waters coming from the United States is seen crossing into Canada and Abbotsford, B.C., Monday, November 29, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

South coast cities record wettest fall on record as atmospheric river drenches B.C.

Environment Canada meteorologist says rain will subside on Thursday

Flood waters coming from the United States is seen crossing into Canada and Abbotsford, B.C., Monday, November 29, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward