Raj Dhaliwal (MyAbbotsford.Com)

Drove by this realty office on June 15th

Property tax due date is coming soon. Owners eligible for the Homeowner Grant must apply for it by the due date of July 2nd 2009. As permanent resident of the Province you qualify for the basic homeowner grant on your principal residence. People over 65 years of age, disabled/handicapped persons and a war veterans you qualify for additional homeowner grant.

For futher information about homeowner grants in BC call Home Owner Grant Administration Branch at 1-250-356-8904 or 1-250-387-8166. In abbotsford you can apply online at abbotsford.ca or complete and submit the application located on the front of the property tax notice. Full payment of taxes is not a requirement to claim the Home Owner Grant. A penalty of 5% will be applied to the grant, in addition to any outstanding taxes after July 2, and a further 5% penalty will apply to any outstanding amount after September 15.

Golden Ears Bridge - the $800 million project connecting Langley and Maple Ridge - will open to traffic on June 16, 2009. The six-lane bridge was originally scheduled to open July 1 but construction finished weeks ahead of schedule. This six-lane toll bridge spanning the Fraser River near the Surrey-Langley and Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge borders is expected to transform traffic patterns cut travel time between the cities. Mission residents will be able to get to Langley without going throu Abbotsford or Port Mann or waiting hours for the Albion Ferries. First thirty days will be free but after that there will be approximately $4 toll for cars. If you rent a transponder you can be eligible for some discount

A new shopping mall is planned @ the site near Abbotsford's Mount Lehman interchange across from the Fraser Valley Automall. The project, which has been given approval in principle by Abbotsford city council, will have access off Trans Canada Highway (# 1) and is expected to draw shoppers from Hope to Langley. It is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2011. Shape Properties developments is behind this 600,000-square-foot shopping mall. It is estimated to cost $170 million. Some new papers suggest that a Wal-Mart Supercentre could be the anchor tenant in the new development.

The central Bank of Canada held its key interest rate unchanged (on June 4th) at 0.25 percent. The decision to leave interest rates unchanged came as no surprise because the central bank said in April it would leave the overnight target at 0.25 per cent until the middle of next year, provided there isn't surprise increase in inflation. The central bank reaffirmed its pledge to hold rates where they are for almost another year. It made no mention of unconventional monetary easing, such as printing money $$$$$ to buy securities & bonds etc., upholding its view that further stimulus is not required any time soon. The sharp rise in the value of the Canadian dollar on exchange markets could hurt efforts by the Bank of Canada and Canadian governments to restart the country's economy, central bank governor Mark Carney said in his statement. “If the unprecedentedly rapid rise in the Canadian dollar, which reflects a combination of higher commodity prices and generalized weakness in the U.S. currency, proves persistent, it could fully offset these positive factors,” the Bank of Canada said in a statement today from Ottawa.