INSIDE: Now’s the time to call back east and start bragging Pg. 3 T H U R S D A Y
January 9, 2014
18 SPORTS,
WEATHER
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E N T E R T A I N M E N T ❭ ❭ chilliwacktimes.com
Livable & Affordable
Strahl in lobby drama
Compared to Vancouver, Chilliwack is a bargain Vancouver
Some question whether former MP should be allowed to lobby for pipeline
200,000
400,000
$
$
Chilliwack
Chilliwack
A two-storey, 2,100-square-foot home on Tyson across from Twin Rinks has four bedrooms, three bathrooms with new appliances, windows, roof, furnace, kitchen counters and an ensuite with heated floors, a tiger-claw bathtub and walk-in shower.
A one-storey, 766-square-foot home on Henley Avenue with two bedrooms, one bathroom, a detached garage and a private treed yard.
Vancouver A 488-square-foot studio apartment on West 4th that comes with . . . a bathroom. And shared laundry. Strata fees are $145.16 a month.
2,000,000
$
Chilliwack At this price point, you can buy any home on the market in Chilliwack, including 8025 Gibson Rd., a 7,878-square-foot home with five bedrooms and seven bathrooms. There is a triple garage on 3.162 acres plus an 890-square-foot, two-bedroom coach house. Oh ya, also a 32-foot-by-30foot shop with bath and mezzanine. How about a tile doggy shower, wet bar, a media room, a gym, a heated pool and, ahem, a bunker?
Vancouver
6311454
A 2,600-square-foot home on West 28th Avenue at “desirable” Mackenzie Heights. There are six bedrooms, three bathrooms. Three of those bathrooms, however, are actually in a basement suite, which “could be a mortgage helper.”
BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com
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hilliwack homeowners should have all received 2014 property assessments by now, documents that tell us what our properties are worth. But residents who have been in the community for a long time may take for granted the real “worth” of where they live. The city is surrounded by stunning mountains, two world-class recreational rivers and farmland as far as the eye can see. In Chilliwack, you can find a crowd . . . yet it’s rarely crowded. You can eat gourmet cuisine and meet the farmer who grows your food. You can climb a mountain in the morning then grab a frappuccino before you go sturgeon fishing in the afternoon The city has all the benefits of small-town and big-city life rolled into one. There is an argument to be made that you could do no better for quality of life and affordability of real estate. Where else in the Lower Mainland can you buy a single-family home with a yard for $200,000? President of the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB) Jesse Hildebrandt finds it easy to sell Chilliwack given its beauty, proximity to Vancouver and relatively low home prices. “Thirty per cent of our sales have been coming from out-of-town buyers,” he said. Hildebrandt said he had some recent clients See AFFORDABLE, Page 7
A 646-square-foot condo on West 3rd has one bedroom, one bathroom with new appliances and a TV/stereo system that swivels so it can be enjoyed in the bedroom or the living room. Strata fees are $241.85 a month.
950,000
$
Chilliwack This 6,035-square-foot Chilliwack Mountain home has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and is on 1.46 acres. “Private, gated estate designed to enjoy the beauty of nature with the nicely treed and landscaped property.”
Vancouver How about a one-storey, 975-square-foot detached house on West 41st with three bedrooms, one bathroom and a garage out back. Kind of a fixer upper but has potential. “Excellent location and fabulous opportunities.”
BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com
F
ormer Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon MP Chuck Strahl is facing criticism for lobbying the government on behalf of Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline while serving as head of the watchdog for Canada’s spy agency. The revelation he is working for Enbridge comes 18 months after he said he “won’t lobby governments.” Strahl registered the company he formed after leaving office in 2011, Chuck Strahl Consulting Inc., with Chuck Strahl the B.C. office of the registrar of lobbyists on Dec. 6, 2013. The client is listed as “Northern Gateway Pipelines L.P.,” a company he has consulted for since 2011. Under the category of “public office background” on his application, it says “The Lobbyist is not a former public office holder.” The issue for critics is that after Strahl retired from politics, he was appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper as chair of the Canadian Security Intelligence Services Review Committee (SIRC), the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) See STRAHL, Page 7
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CSOPA gets vocal with popular play
Price 60¢