INSIDE: Scene in the City features Rotary, Food Show and more Pg. 14 T H U R S D A Y
September 20, 2012
3 N E W S ,
SPORTS,
WEATHER
&
Heat help to lead leaders
E N T E R T A I N M E N T abbotsfordtimes.com
Married couple capital of Canada
CHRISTINA TOTH CToth@abbotsfordtimes.com
T
he Canadian family is growing – in variety that is. The “traditional” family of father, mother and four kids is morphing into new configurations of single parents, common-law families, couples with no kids and same-sex married couples. However, in its 2011 census report on families, Statistics Canada said married couples remain the predominant family structure. The data shows married-couple families in Canada account for
Census reveals changes in what it means to be a family
67 per cent of all census families in 2011, down from 70.5 per cent in 2001. Among the 33 census metropolitan areas, the highest proportion of married couples were in Abbotsford - Mission (75.7 per cent), followed by Vancouver (73.8 per cent) and Toronto (74 per cent). Locally, this includes 20,055 couples with children, (or 49.8 per cent of all married couples), and 15,820 married pairs without children, (39.3 per cent of couples).
The remaining families included 1,945 common-law couples with children (4.8 per cent) and 2,425 without children (six per cent). Overall, there were 6.2 per cent more couples in the Abbotsford– Mission CMA than in the last census, with the highest jump in the rate of common-law couples with children, with an increase of 14.7 per cent, close to the national rise in this category. Across Canada, family combos that went up were common-law
families, which increased from 13.8 per cent to 16.7 per cent, while single-parent families rose slightly from 15.7 to 16.3 per cent. The other big news was that the number of same-sex married couples nearly tripled between 2006 and 2011, reflecting the first full five-year period for which same-sex marriage has been legal across the country. The census counted 64,575 same-sex couple families in 2011, up 42.4 per cent from 2006
Pilots crash & burn – Darren McDonald/Times
Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland surveys the thinning crowd during Monday’s concert inside the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre. The 1990s rock band took the stage at 11 p.m. – hours after many expected them to arrive, prompting droves of fans to abandon the weeknight show. Many who stayed showered the stage with boos and empty beer cups. Read a full review of the experience and see more photos at www.abbotsfordtimes.com.
Canada’s largest cities, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, had the largest proportion of same-sex couples. The 2011 census counted stepfamilies for the first time. They represented about one in eight couple-families with children – that figure was about 10 per cent in Abbotsford-Mission. Nationally, the census counted 7,861,855 couples, with or without kids. Br i t i s h Co l u m b i a re c o rd e d 1,048,350 couples, compared to see CENSUS, page A13
3½ years for Bacon accomplice
“Naive” Abbotsford trucker sentenced for cocaine trafficking
KEITH FRASER The Province
W
ayne Scott, the co-accused of Abbotsford gangster Jarrod Bacon in a major cocaine conspiracy, was sentenced to three and a half years in jail Monday. In imposing sentence, B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen said he accepted Scott, 56, was previWAYNE SCOTT ously of good character, was genuinely remorseful and was subservient to Bacon in the conspiracy. “I accept that he is a naive and unsophisticated man with no clear individual see SCOTT, page A10
The Salvation Army of Abbotsford and Mission
Independent Financial Services
Bote Miedema, CFP
201-2190 West Railway Sreet, Abbotsford, BC V2S 2E2
bote.miedema@raymondjames.ca
Conservative Investment Advice
Financial Advisor 604-851-4295
Member CIPF
WOULD YOU SHARE A BLESSING THIS THANKSGIVING?
Your gift of $5.00 will provide turkey dinner with all the fixin’s to one, or your gift of $20.00 will provide a delicious, nutritious meal to an entire family. To partner with us to provide Thanksgiving dinner for those who would otherwise go without, please call The Centre of Hope at 604-852-9305 with your donation today. Visit us on Facebook at The Salvation Army Centre of Hope - Abbotsford 34081 Gladys Ave. Abbotsford • 7221 Park St. & Lougheed Mission • 604.852.9305