ArtsConnect Tri-Cities Arts Council is a non-profit society and regional arts council. It was originally formed in 1969 as the Coquitlam Fine Arts Council (CFAC), to promote arts and cultural activities in Coquitlam. During 1983–1991 it changed its name to the Coquitlam Area Fine Arts Council (CAFAC) when it expanded its services to Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore, and Belcarra. From 1992–2002 the organization was known as the ARC Arts Council, to reflect the Council’s role as an Arts Resource Centre. In 2003, the board changed the organization’s name to ArtsConnect.

ArtsConnect is dedicated to “connecting people through the arts.” They act as an arts resource, providing information about arts and cultural events and opportunities to the community at large. They achieve this by providing forums, workshops, professional development, and events that reflect the community’s diversity of culture, ages, and interests. Additionally, ArtsConnect fosters opportunities for artists to showcase their work at events, exhibitions and performances. ArtsConnect’s goal is to create and expand awareness of the beneficial aspects of arts and culture on the well-being of its community and advocate for arts and cultural development in the region. Throughout its history, it received funding from the Government of British Columbia, municipal grants, fundraising, membership, and donations.

Governance of ArtsConnect is overseen by a Board of Directors, responsible for the management of a Council for the purposes of achieving its objectives. The Council consists of a President, Vice-President, and a Secretary/Treasurer. The Council itself has three types of committees: an Executive Committee, Standing Committees, and Special Committees.

ArtsConnect has undertaken and sponsored many arts and cultural initiatives, including an arts resource centre and library, arts facility and program development, their Youth Matters! initiative, and provided scholarships and grants for students, individuals, and projects contributing to the literary, visual, and performing arts in the community. It held annual events, such as Works in 3D, Vernissage, Faces of the World Arts and Culture Festival and many other exhibitions and events, workshops, and educational programs. Additionally, it maintained a partnership with Tri-Cities Community TV and aired an eponymous television program that ran on the local Shaw TV channel 4.

The Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources was established in 1908 under its first name, the Dept. of Lands (Department of Lands Act, SBC 1908, c. 31). Before 1908 the agencies responsible for the functions of the Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water resources were: (1) the Dept. of Lands and Works (Crown lands management, sales, pre-emptions and leases, lands surveying and mapping, timber inspection, forest protection and log scaling), and (2) the Dept. of Mines (water rights in regards to mining operations). The Dept. of Lands, headed by the Chief Commissioner of Lands, was given responsibility for public lands and water rights, and all matters connected therewith. (SBC 1908, c. 31, s. 5). These responsibilities included: (1) the management of all public lands, as per the Land Act, (RSBC 1897, c. 113); (2) administration of water rights, as per the Water Clauses Consolidation Act, (RSBC 1897, c. 191) [in 1892 by means of the Water Privileges Act (SBC 1892, c. 47), the government had reserved to itself the right to manage all water resources in the province that were unreserved and un-appropriated as of April 23, 1892]; and (3) land settlement programs for returned soldiers. In 1909, the enactment of the Water Act (SBC 1909, c. 48) resulted in the creation of the Water Rights Branch of the Dept. of Lands, under the management of the Chief Water Commissioner (re-named Comptroller of Water Rights in 1912). This legislation also resulted in the creation of Water Districts under the management of District Engineers, who would be responsible for management in the field of the Branchs responsibilities. In 1911, the Timber Department, including Timber Inspectors, forest protection services and log scaling operations, was transferred from the Dept. of Public Works to the Dept. of Lands. In 1912, the management of timber resources was formally added to the departments responsibilities with the enactment of the Forest Act (SBC 1912, c. 17). To accommodate these new responsibilities, the Forest Branch, under the Chief Forester, was created in the Dept. of Lands. In 1945, the Dept. of Lands was renamed the Dept. of Lands and Forests (Department of Lands Act Amendment Act, SBC 1945, c. 45). At this time, the department was reorganized into two branches, the Lands Service and the Forests Service. In 1962, the Dept. of Lands and Forests was renamed the Dept. of Lands, Forests, and Water Resources (Department of Lands and Forests Act Amendment Act, SBC 1962, c. 22). At this time, the department was reorganized into three branches, the B.C. Lands Service, the B.C. Forest Service, and the B.C. Water Resources Service. On December 23, 1975, the Dept. of Lands, Forests and Water Resources ceased to exist. The government established two new agencies, the Dept. of Forests and the Dept. of Environment, to replace it (OIC 3838/75). All activities associated with the forestry function were transferred to the Dept. of Forests (OIC 3849/75, 3868/75). With one minor exception, the remaining functions of the Dept. of Lands, Forests, and Water Resources were transferred to the Dept. of Environment (OIC 3843/75, 3844/75, 3846/75, 3852/75). In 1976, these organizational changes were reiterated in legislation (SBC 1976, c. 18)

Riverview Hospital was a Canadian mental health facility in Coquitlam, British Columbia. It operated as the Province’s specialized psychiatric hospital from 1913 until it closed in 2012. The hospital is located on sumiqwuelu, or in Halkomelem language, the Place of the Great Blue Heron, where Kwikwetlem First Nation took shelter for thousands of years. By the beginning of the 20th century, traditional healing knowledge in the area was supplanted by settler colonial medical practice.

Riverview Hospital was operated directly by the Province, originally under the Insane Asylums Act (1873), the Mental Hospitals Act (1940), and the Mental Health Act (1964) until 1988. A re-evaluation of contemporary approaches to mental health care through the 1960s to the mid-1980s brought about change to mental health service development in British Columbia. The Province created the British Columbia Mental Health Society (BCMHS) in 1988 and gave it the task of running Riverview pursuant to provincial health legislation. The BCMHS board began as Provincially-appointed trustees but by 1992, it was replaced by a community-based board of governors. After the establishment of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) in 2001, Riverview Hospital fell under the jurisdiction of its Mental Health & Addiction Services (now the BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services).

In 1904, the Province purchased 1,000 acres in Coquitlam for the construction of a new mental hospital (as well as Colony Farm) due to overcrowding at the Royal Hospital in Victoria and the Public Hospital for the Insane in New Westminster. Originally called the Hospital for the Mind at Mount Coquitlam, the hospital was named Essondale Hospital in honour of Dr. Henry Esson Young shortly after its opening. Young was the Provincial Secretary and Minister of Education and was responsible for establishing and managing the hospital.

The first building, West Lawn (then, the Male Chronic Wing) opened in 1913 to serve male patients. The patient population grew rapidly and soon led to more overcrowding. In 1922 the Boys’ Industrial School of Coquitlam (BISCO) opened to provide education, industrial training, and juvenile reform to boys sentenced to confinement by law. To accommodate more patients, Centre Lawn (then, the Acute Psychopathic Unit) opened in 1924. In 1930, East Lawn (then, the Female Chronic Unit) opened to ease crowding of female patients at the Public Hospital for the Insane in New Westminster.

After the First World War, more spaces for war veterans were needed in British Columbia. Thus a new Veteran's Unit opened at Essondale Hospital in 1934. In 1936, BISCO was moved; the school underwent renovation and reopened as a geriatric care unit called the Home for the Aged (later, Valleyview). This unit was administered under the Provincial Home for the Aged Act (1935). After the Second World War, veterans were moved to the Riverside unit on Colony Farm grounds. The original Veteran’s Unit expanded and became the Crease Clinic of Psychological Medicine, which opened in 1949 and operated under separate health legislation than Essondale Hospital. The Crease Clinic allowed for voluntary admission of patients who could terminate their hospitalization at will. In 1950, Essondale Hospital changed its name to Provincial Mental Hospital, Essondale. North Lawn (then, the Tuberculosis Unit) opened in 1955 to stem the spread of the tuberculosis common in the hospital's other units. By 1956 there were over 4,700 patients at the Provincial Mental Hospital, Essondale, the Crease Clinic, and the Home for the Aged combined.

In 1959 the charge of mental health services was transferred from the Provincial Secretary to the new Department of Health Services and Hospital Insurance. That year, the Valleyview geriatric care unit opened. Five years later in 1964, the British Columbia Mental Health Act was enacted. The Crease Clinic amalgamated with Essondale Provincial Mental Hospital in 1965 to function as one facility named Riverview Hospital. That same year, the Riverside unit was converted to a maximum security facility and was renamed the Forensic Psychiatric Institute.

From the 1960s to the 1980s Riverview Hospital began to face changes because of deinstitutionalization. Patient populations declined at Riverview Hospital due to a move toward outpatient care and community based centres for mental health services. Although Riverview Hospital was given formal status as a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of British Columbia in 1974, by 1981 patient population had dropped and parts of the hospital were closed and sold off to developers. In 1983, West Lawn closed and farming operations at Colony Farm were discontinued. Next followed twenty years of unit closures: Crease Clinic (1992), East Lawn (2005), North Lawn (2007), and in 2012, the last patients were moved from Centre Lawn. That year Riverview Hospital ceased its operations.

Currently, the Riverview Lands are home to three lodges where long-term intensive psychological rehabilitation is provided for individuals, administered through Fraser Health’s Mental Health network of services.

The Lieutenant Governor in British Columbia was established July 20, 1871.

The Lieutenant Governor is appointed by the Governor General acting by and with the advice of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada. Lieutenant governors are normally appointed for a period of not less than five years. The Lieutenant Governor fulfills several roles:

Vice-Regal
Directly represents the Queen of Canada, who is the legal Head of State in British Columbia. As Vice-Regal representative, the Lieutenant Governor acts as chief public representative and has the highest ranking position in the Provincial Government.
Represents the Crown as Chief Executive Officer during state and ceremonial events;
Acts as the vice-regal host for distinguished guests to British Columbia;
Perpetuates the traditional bond between the Crown, the Canadian Forces and uniformed services across British Columbia;
Supports an ongoing relationship between the Crown and the Indigenous Peoples of British Columbia and represents Her Majesty at appropriate events and ceremonies.

Constitutional
Upholds the constitutional framework in British Columbia. In this role the Lieutenant Governor personifies the Crown, which is both the apex and the unifying link in the constitutional and political structure of the province – executive, legislative, and judicial.
Ensures the continued existence of government in the Province of British Columbia;
Selects a First Minister as Premier of the Province;
Appoints and administers the Oaths of Office, Allegiance and Confidentiality to the Premier and members of the Executive Council;
Summons, prorogues and dissolves the Legislature;
Delivers the Speech from the Throne;
Provides Royal Assent to provincial legislation;
Signs orders-in-council, proclamations and other official documents before they have the force of law;
Presents Bills by Message into the Legislature when they involve taxation or expenditure of public money.

Celebratory
Celebrates, inspires and connects British Columbians, while promoting the history, culture and achievements of the province.
Recognizes distinguished British Columbians by presenting orders, decorations and medals, including prestigious award programs that carry the name of the Lieutenant Governor
Provides personal patronage to support and encourage worthy endeavours focused on public service, philanthropy, the arts and community volunteerism
Hosts and attends celebrations and social events to connect British Columbians
Showcases the heritage, art and culture of the province while hosting members of the Royal Family, heads of state, ambassadors, consuls general and other distinguished visitors

The provision of mental health services had its beginning in October 1872 when the Royal Hospital in Victoria was designated as the first Provincial Asylum under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Secretary.

On April 1, 1950 the British Columbia Mental Health Service was formally established and various mental health activities were amalgamated including New Westminster Hospital (which became Woodlands School), Colquitz Provincial Mental Hospital for the Criminally Insane (in Victoria), Essondale (including Crease clinic) and the Home for the Aged (in Coquitlam, Vernon and Terrace).

In 1959, Mental Health Services was transferred to the Dept. of Health Services and Hospital Insurance. The name was changed in 1967 to Mental Health Branch and changed again in 1975 to Mental Health Programs. The name reverted to Mental Health Services in 1980.

Between 1959 and 1968 the positions of Director and Deputy Minister were held by the same person. In 1968 the positions were separated, with Dr. H.W. Bridge as the Director of Mental Health Services, located in Vancouver, and Dr. F.G. Tucker as the Deputy Minister, located in Victoria. In September 1971 the position of Director was terminated. The statutory obligations of the Director were assumed by the Deputy Minister.

Riverview Hospital was a Canadian mental health facility in Coquitlam, British Columbia. It operated as the Province’s specialized psychiatric hospital from 1913 until it closed in 2012. The hospital is located on sumiqwuelu, or in Halkomelem language, the Place of the Great Blue Heron, where Kwikwetlem First Nation took shelter for thousands of years. By the beginning of the 20th century, traditional healing knowledge in the area was supplanted by settler colonial medical practice.

Riverview Hospital was operated directly by the Province, originally under the Insane Asylums Act (1873), the Mental Hospitals Act (1940), and the Mental Health Act (1964) until 1988. A re-evaluation of contemporary approaches to mental health care through the 1960s to the mid-1980s brought about change to mental health service development in British Columbia. The Province created the British Columbia Mental Health Society (BCMHS) in 1988 and gave it the task of running Riverview pursuant to provincial health legislation. The BCMHS board began as Provincially-appointed trustees but by 1992, it was replaced by a community-based board of governors. After the establishment of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) in 2001, Riverview Hospital fell under the jurisdiction of its Mental Health & Addiction Services (now the BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services).

In 1904, the Province purchased 1,000 acres in Coquitlam for the construction of a new mental hospital (as well as Colony Farm) due to overcrowding at the Royal Hospital in Victoria and the Public Hospital for the Insane in New Westminster. Originally called the Hospital for the Mind at Mount Coquitlam, the hospital was named Essondale Hospital in honour of Dr. Henry Esson Young shortly after its opening. Young was the Provincial Secretary and Minister of Education and was responsible for establishing and managing the hospital.

The first building, West Lawn (then, the Male Chronic Wing) opened in 1913 to serve male patients. The patient population grew rapidly and soon led to more overcrowding. In 1922 the Boys’ Industrial School of Coquitlam (BISCO) opened to provide education, industrial training, and juvenile reform to boys sentenced to confinement by law. To accommodate more patients, Centre Lawn (then, the Acute Psychopathic Unit) opened in 1924. In 1930, East Lawn (then, the Female Chronic Unit) opened to ease crowding of female patients at the Public Hospital for the Insane in New Westminster.

After the First World War, more spaces for war veterans were needed in British Columbia. Thus a new Veteran's Unit opened at Essondale Hospital in 1934. In 1936, BISCO was moved; the school underwent renovation and reopened as a geriatric care unit called the Home for the Aged (later, Valleyview). This unit was administered under the Provincial Home for the Aged Act (1935). After the Second World War, veterans were moved to the Riverside unit on Colony Farm grounds. The original Veteran’s Unit expanded and became the Crease Clinic of Psychological Medicine, which opened in 1949 and operated under separate health legislation than Essondale Hospital. The Crease Clinic allowed for voluntary admission of patients who could terminate their hospitalization at will. In 1950, Essondale Hospital changed its name to Provincial Mental Hospital, Essondale. North Lawn (then, the Tuberculosis Unit) opened in 1955 to stem the spread of the tuberculosis common in the hospital's other units. By 1956 there were over 4,700 patients at the Provincial Mental Hospital, Essondale, the Crease Clinic, and the Home for the Aged combined.

In 1959 the charge of mental health services was transferred from the Provincial Secretary to the new Department of Health Services and Hospital Insurance. That year, the Valleyview geriatric care unit opened. Five years later in 1964, the British Columbia Mental Health Act was enacted. The Crease Clinic amalgamated with Essondale Provincial Mental Hospital in 1965 to function as one facility named Riverview Hospital. That same year, the Riverside unit was converted to a maximum security facility and was renamed the Forensic Psychiatric Institute.

From the 1960s to the 1980s Riverview Hospital began to face changes because of deinstitutionalization. Patient populations declined at Riverview Hospital due to a move toward outpatient care and community based centres for mental health services. Although Riverview Hospital was given formal status as a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of British Columbia in 1974, by 1981 patient population had dropped and parts of the hospital were closed and sold off to developers. In 1983, West Lawn closed and farming operations at Colony Farm were discontinued. Next followed twenty years of unit closures: Crease Clinic (1992), East Lawn (2005), North Lawn (2007), and in 2012, the last patients were moved from Centre Lawn. That year Riverview Hospital ceased its operations.

Currently, the Riverview Lands are home to three lodges where long-term intensive psychological rehabilitation is provided for individuals, administered through Fraser Health’s Mental Health network of services.

The Audio-Visual Department at Essondale was officially established in 1947. Essondale Hospital had a single silent 35 mm film projector and sound and film projector during the 1920s and 1930s, and held weekly dances on an amplified phonograph as early as 1938. In 1940, two 35 mm sound on film projectors were installed on ward A2 in West Lawn. During this period, audio-visual equipment was largely used for patient enjoyment.

In 1946, audio-visual equipment for educational, clinical, and recreational purposes was organized at Essondale under Guy H. Walker, the head of the audio-visual department. At this time, they acquired 16mm films to show on wards for patients who could not attend films in ward A2. They also managed still projectors for slides and transparencies. In 1947, the department had three staff members and held regular picture schedules. They began collecting a 16mm library of both educational and recreational videos. Additionally, they had a phonograph record library and wired sound equipment into patient dining rooms, the lawns, and airing courts.

In 1948, the department acquired a still camera and fully-equipped darkroom for producing slides and prints. The audio-visual department began documenting all aspects of the hospital through their photography program and printed photographs in-house.

In 1953, the department moved to Pennington Hall where, for the first time, they had the advantages of an adequate auditorium for screening films. They countined programming wired music and radio across buildings and on the lawns and even extended their range out to the Riverside Unit at Colony Farm.

In 1966, the department became incorporated into the Industrial Therapy Department in order to consolidate their resources in one location. It was then known as the Audio-Visual Division.

Riverview Hospital was a Canadian mental health facility in Coquitlam, British Columbia. It operated as the Province’s specialized psychiatric hospital from 1913 until it closed in 2012. The hospital is located on səmiq̓wəʔelə in Halkomelem language, the Place of the Great Blue Heron, where Kwikwetlem First Nation took shelter for thousands of years. By the beginning of the 20th century, traditional healing knowledge in the area was supplanted by settler colonial medical practice.

Riverview Hospital was operated directly by the Province, originally under the Insane Asylums Act (1873), the Mental Hospitals Act (1940), and the Mental Health Act (1964) until 1988. A re-evaluation of contemporary approaches to mental health care through the 1960s to the mid-1980s brought about change to mental health service development in British Columbia. The Province created the British Columbia Mental Health Society (BCMHS) in 1988 and gave it the task of running Riverview pursuant to provincial health legislation. The BCMHS board began as Provincially-appointed trustees but by 1992, it was replaced by a community-based board of governors. After the establishment of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) in 2001, Riverview Hospital fell under the jurisdiction of its Mental Health & Addiction Services (now the BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services).

In 1904, the Province purchased 1,000 acres in Coquitlam for the construction of a new mental hospital (as well as Colony Farm) due to overcrowding at the Royal Hospital in Victoria and the Public Hospital for the Insane in New Westminster. Originally called the Hospital for the Mind at Mount Coquitlam, the hospital was named Essondale Hospital in honour of Dr. Henry Esson Young shortly after its opening. Young was the Provincial Secretary and Minister of Education and was responsible for establishing and managing the hospital.

The first building, West Lawn (then, the Male Chronic Wing) opened in 1913 to serve male patients. The patient population grew rapidly and soon led to more overcrowding. In 1922 the Boys’ Industrial School of Coquitlam (BISCO) opened to provide education, industrial training, and juvenile reform to boys sentenced to confinement by law. To accommodate more patients, Centre Lawn (then, the Acute Psychopathic Unit) opened in 1924. In 1930, East Lawn (then, the Female Chronic Unit) opened to ease crowding of female patients at the Public Hospital for the Insane in New Westminster.

After the First World War, more spaces for war veterans were needed to meet the overcrowding and West Lawn and Centre Lawn. Thus a new Veteran's Unit opened at Essondale Hospital in 1934. In 1936, BISCO was moved; the school underwent renovation and reopened as a geriatric care unit called the Home for the Aged (later, Valleyview). This unit was administered under the Provincial Home for the Aged Act (1935). After the Second World War, veterans were moved to the Riverside unit on Colony Farm grounds. The original Veteran’s Unit expanded and became the Crease Clinic of Psychological Medicine, which opened in 1949 and operated under separate health legislation than Essondale Hospital. The Crease Clinic allowed for voluntary admission of patients who could terminate their hospitalization at will. In 1950, Essondale Hospital changed its name to Provincial Mental Hospital, Essondale. North Lawn (then, the Tuberculosis Unit) opened in 1955 to stem the spread of the tuberculosis common in the hospital's other units. By 1956 there were over 4,700 patients at the Provincial Mental Hospital, Essondale, the Crease Clinic, and the Home for the Aged combined.

In 1959 the charge of mental health services was transferred from the Provincial Secretary to the new Department of Health Services and Hospital Insurance. That year, the Valleyview geriatric care unit opened. Five years later in 1964, the British Columbia Mental Health Act was enacted. The Crease Clinic amalgamated with Essondale Provincial Mental Hospital in 1965 to function as one facility named Riverview Hospital. That same year, the Riverside unit was converted to a maximum security facility and was renamed the Forensic Psychiatric Institute.

From the 1960s to the 1980s Riverview Hospital began to face changes because of deinstitutionalization. Patient populations declined at Riverview Hospital due to a move toward outpatient care and community based centres for mental health services. Although Riverview Hospital was given formal status as a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of British Columbia in 1974, by 1981 patient population had dropped and parts of the hospital were closed and sold off to developers. In 1983, West Lawn closed and farming operations at Colony Farm were discontinued. Next followed twenty years of unit closures: Crease Clinic (1992), East Lawn (2005), North Lawn (2007), and in 2012, the last patients were moved from Centre Lawn. That year Riverview Hospital ceased its operations.

Currently, the Riverview Lands are home to three lodges where long-term intensive psychological rehabilitation is provided for individuals, administered through Fraser Health’s Mental Health network of services.

The British Columbia School of Psychiatric Nursing was established at East Lawn, Riverview Hospital (then the Female Chronic Unit and Essondale Hospital, respectively) in 1930. It was the first training school of its kind in B.C. When the unit opened in 1930, there was an immediate need for trained psychiatric nurses. Firstly, a six-month post-graduate course was offered to train registered nurses quickly, whereupon they became supervisors for new nurses enrolled in the course. In 1931, a nursing instructor, Miss C. A. Hicks, was appointed and the School expanded from a single course to a two-year psychiatric nursing program. The first graduates from the School received their diploma in 1932. That year, the program was extended to a three-year term which continued until 1951 when it again became a two-year program.

Because of the historical gendered beliefs held by the medical profession at the time, psychiatric nurses and students were female. With roots in Victorian viewpoints on gender, women were considered to be best equipped for nursing because they were considered to possess a moral capacity and natural compassion suited to patient care. Men were initially only considered mental hospital attendants. However in 1937 the School opened its enrollment to male psychiatric nurses.

Prior to 1951, psychiatric nursing was not a regulated profession in British Columbia and students enrolled in the program were employed as civil servants. With the establishment of the Psychiatric Nurses Act (1951) graduates were bound by standards of practice and education and were not considered civil servants until the successful completion of the program.

Riverview Hospital remained the home of the School of Psychiatric Nursing until 1972. But due to a decline in patient population, the School moved to the British Columbia Institute of Technology in and was renamed the Psychiatric Nursing program. The last class from the Riverview Hospital program graduated in 1973.

Due to Provincial budget cuts in 1984, the Psychiatric Nursing program was reduced to a one-year program and moved to Douglas College, where it remains today.

The Burquitlam Community Association (BCA) was established in 1997 to advocate for the residents of Burquitlam and foster a strong sense of community in the area. It grew out of an effort by citizens to stop a proposed Sky Train route through the Miller Park area because of concerns over potential ecological damage to the forest and bird habitat. The BCA was instrumental in lobbying the City of Coquitlam and the RCMP to provide a satellite police station in the Burquitlam area, which was established in the Burquitlam Plaza. The group successfully advocated for the conversion of a city-owned lot at 515 Ebert Avenue into a community garden, which is now managed by the Burquitlam Community Organic Garden Society. The BCA was active in the consultation process with developers and contractors for the Millennium Line SkyTrain extension through Burquitlam. The BCA regularly organized all candidates meetings during elections to ensure the interests of Burquitlam residents were taken into account.

In 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other outstanding issues, the Board of Directors determined that the time had come to dissolve the Association. In accordance with the Societies Act, a Special General Meeting was held on May 27, 2021 and a motion was approved to officially dissolve the Association. All funds were returned to major donors and distributed to local non-profit organizations.

Burquitlam Elementary School was founded in 1970 and was located at 550 Thompson Ave, Coquitlam, British Columbia. It was responsible for providing public education from preschool to Grade 7 to members of the neighbourhood of Burquitlam and also offered a daycare program and programs and services to children with special needs. Throughout its history, Burquitlam Elementary School was faced with three probable school closures (in 1979, 1984, 1987) and finally closed in 2003 due to budget cuts in the School District. Currently, the Mediated Learning Academy is housed in the old Burquitlam Elementary School building.

The Burquitlam Lions Club was established in 1960. The Club was a part of Multiple District 19, Zone H-5 of Lions Clubs International. Like all Lions Clubs worldwide, the mission of the Burquitlam Lions Club was to create and foster a spirit of understanding among all people for humanitarian needs by providing voluntary services through community involvement and international cooperation.

Every individual Lions Club establishes its own service priorities in addition to programs supported and recognized by Lions International (typically programs focusing on Sight, Hearing, Diabetes Awareness, Youth Outreach and International Understanding). But Burquitlam Lions Club also supported local initiatives, notably organizing and collecting Christmas hampers for the needy, conducting social programs for the elderly, providing music bursaries (Mary Olfield), organizing Easter egg hunts and serving food at community events, and helping local families in need with projects such as wheelchairs, ramps, lifts, educational tools, and equipment. Additionally, at the Multiple District level, they aided in supporting Camp Squamish and Camp Horizon for disabled individuals.

The Burquitlam Lions Club was also responsible for funding two care centres: the Burquitlam Lions Intermediate Care Centre (1981-2016) and L.J. Christmas Manor Seniors Home.

During its existence, the Burquitlam Lions Club met the first and third Wednesday of every month at the L.J. Christmas Manor. However, due to decreasing membership numbers, the Club dissolved on July 1, 2018.

Caisse Populaire Maillardville was a francophone credit union that grew to serve 9,500 members in Maillardville, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody and Chilliwack. It was founded in 1946 and originally called La Caisse Populaire Notre Dame de Lourdes Credit Union. It’s guiding vision was to “unite the French community through financial solidarity." As a closed bond credit union, it required that its members be French-Canadian Catholics and served solely the French-speaking community of Maillardville. In its very beginnings, the credit union was run out of the home of Alma and Arthur Fontaine at 405 Marmont Street.

As the community grew and its need for banking services expanded, a small stucco building was erected for the credit union’s use on the corner of Brunette Avenue and Nelson Street. In 1950, the name was officially changed to the Caisse Populaire de Maillardville Credit Union to gain support not only from Our Lady of Lourdes parishioners, but also those of the newly-opened Our Lady of Fatima church. In 1951, the credit union instituted a special savings program, or “school program” for children attending Maillardville Catholic schools.
In order to remain keep pace with larger financial institutions, in 1956 the credit union opened to non-Catholic francophone members. In 1957, their small building was moved to 1013 Brunette Avenue, and over the next forty years, underwent many expansions and alterations. To continue to offer competitive financial services, in 1968 a resolution was put forward and passed to open membership to English-speakers.

In 1989, the credit union decided to try and garner a greater market share for itself, and decided to change their name to one that would be meaningful in English and French. The credit union offered a thousand dollars to any individual who could come up with a suitable bilingual name. They received over six hundred submissions in the contest and the board selected "Village Credit Union." Village Credit Union expanded to other locations in the Lower Mainland during the 1990s, but due to loan delinquency and losses, Village Credit Union dissolved and merged with Vancity Credit Union in June of 2005.

The Canadian Federation of University Women - Coquitlam (CFUW Coquitlam) is a local chapter of the national Canadian Federation of University Women that was granted charter status in April, 1969. CFUW Coquitlam is a voluntary, non-profit, self-funded organization that offers a forum for educated women to meet for camaraderie, intellectual curiosity, involvement, and service to the community.

CFUW membership includes predominantly graduates from across Canada and abroad. CFUW- Coquitlam encourages informed and active participation in public affairs though education, advocacy, and action. Through Graduate Women International (GWI), the Canadian Federation of University Women provides leadership and support to women around the world to participate in decision making at the local, national, and international levels.

Over the years, CFUW Coquitlam has taken on several significant projects, including helping to establish the first Coquitlam Public Library. In its current incarnation, the club manages several bursary funds that assist with the costs of post secondary education. The club provides bursaries to each of the nine secondary schools in School District #43, as well as two art scholarships, and administers the distribution of the Millennium Bursary through Douglas College and a bursary for Simon Fraser University students through an endowment fund established by the club in 1996. CFUW Coquitlam also offers a number of interest groups and events to its members, including book clubs, education groups, lunch groups, movie nights, and walking groups, among others. Monthly general meetings feature guest speakers and the conduct of regular business.

In 1913, the offices of the Canadian Photo Co. were located at 512-518, 615 Pender St W and the company was listed in Henderson's Vancouver Directory with the names O.J. Rognon and F.P. Stevens. In 1914 and 1915, F.P. Stevens is listed as Manager and the address is listed as 512, 615 Pender St.In 1916, the company was taken over by W.F. McConnell and W.J. Moore and the offices were moved to 433 Seymour Street. By 1921, Wilfred F. McConnell is listed as the sole proprietor at 433 Seymour Street. By 1930, Mrs. W. McConnell is listed as a commercial photographer at 433 Seymour Street. 1933 is the final year the company is listed in the Directories but the address changed to 441 Seymour Street.

Managed by O.J. Rognon and F.P. Stevens in 1913 (Rognon continued as a photographer in 1914), then by Stevens alone between 1914-1915. W.F. McConnell and W.J. Moore managed the company between 1916-1921. H.H. Vinson worked here as a photographer in 1914 and H.E. Bullen was a photographer here in 1921-1923.

In 1889, the Ross, McLaren Mill was opened at Millside, an area near New Westminster, British Columbia. The mill had cost $350,000 to build, and was headed by President James McLaren, a Quebec timber investor and President of the Bank of Ottawa, and Vice-President Frank Ross. Production at the mill began in 1890. In addition to new facilities and a large amount of capital to support it, the mill also possessed the transportation benefits of frontage on the Fraser River and a spur line to the Canadian Pacific Railway system. However, despite these advantages, the mill soon faced several events that affected its production in a negative way. In addition to the death of McLaren, the mill also experienced a decreased demand for timber due to a general economic depression in 1892. Even when other mills began to recover in 1895, Ross, McLaren’s productivity was curtailed by the silting of the Fraser River, which made it impossible for large vessels to reach the mill.

All of these factors contributed to the company’s decision in 1899 to place the mill and its timber rights up for sale. An American investment syndicate, headed by Lester David of Seattle and Mr. Jenkins of Minneapolis eventually purchased the mill in 1903. The new owners sought to resolve the mill’s difficulties by dyking the area, and holding the federal government accountable for dredging the Fraser River channel and ensuring its accessibility to ships. Now called Fraser River Saw Mills, the mill was finally re-opened in 1905, as the largest mill in the Pacific Northwest. By 1906, the mill was already setting records for production levels and over 250 labourers were employed. As a result of the increased production levels and staff, both the mill and Millside were expanded; this included the construction of the Fraser Mills Sash, Door & Shingle Company Limited.

Production at the mill was so high by 1907, in fact, that the mill was nearly shut down due to a lack of available labour. The mill was taken over by an investment syndicate headed by A.D. McRae of Winnipeg and Senator Peter Jansen of Nebraska. The new owners instituted a major re-organization of the business. A half million dollar renovation and expansion of the original mill buildings was implemented and improvements made to increase transportation access to the mill via the Fraser River. The name of the town was changed from Millside to Fraser Mills.

The re-organization of the business culminated in 1910, with the purchase of enough timber rights in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island for the company, now called the Canadian Western Lumber Company Limited, to be considered to have the largest private holdings in the world. Through direct or indirect purchase, the Canadian Western Lumber Company Limited acquired full or partial ownership of the following companies by 1916: Canadian Tugboat Company Limited; Coast Lumber & Fuel Company Limited; Coast Lumber Yards Limited; The Columbia River Company Limited; Columbia Western Lumber Yards Ltd.; Comox Logging and Railway Company; Crown Lumber Company, Limited; Fraser Mills Sash, Door, and Shingle Company Limited; Lumber Manufacturers’ Yard Limited; Security Lumber Company Limited.; and Western Canada Sawmill Yards Limited. Later acquisitions include The Golden Light, Power and Water Company Limited. In 1954, the Canadian Western Lumber Company, Limited was acquired by Crown Zellerbach Canada Limited. The immediate successor company to Crown Zellerbach Canada Limited was Fletcher Challenge Limited of New Zealand, which purchased the company in 1983 and, with further acquisitions, became Fletcher Challenge Canada Limited in 1987. In 2000, Norske Skog, a Norwegian paper company, acquired all of Fletcher Challenge's pulp and paper assets, and a majority interest in Fletcher Challenge Canada Limited. This resulted in the formation of Norske Skog Canada Limited.

Centennial Secondary School is a high school located at 570 Poirier Street, Coquitlam, British Columbia. It was established in 1967, the centennial year of Canadian Confederation. In 2013, the school began plans to demolish and redesign the school building. In September 2017, students and faculty moved into the new building and demolition of the old school was completed in May 2018.

Colonial settlement of the area between New Westminster and Pitt River along the Fraser began in the 1920s in the pursuit of trapping, fishing, and logging. Industry and more intensive colonial settlement began with the opening of the Fraser Mills sawmill on the north bank of the Fraser in the last years of the 19th century.

Coquitlam comprised an area of approximately sixty-five square miles that had been surveyed by Royal Engineer A.L. Breakenridge in 1863. In the late 1880s, the landowners and pre-emptors living in the area petitioned the province to incorporate as a Municipal District.

The area was incorporated by letters patent dated July 25, 1891 as the Corporation of the District of Coquitlam. The letters patent called for the nomination of five councillors and a reeve and the first meeting of a municipal council were assembled in Kelly’s Hall on August 22nd, 1891 at Westminster Junction, now within the City of Port Coquitlam. The first reeve was R.B. Kelly and the first councillors were E.A. Aitkins, James Fox, S.W. Lehman, James Morrison, and J. Shennan. The first City Clerk was R.D. Irvine.

In 1894, a portion of the Maple Ridge Municipality between the newly formed Corporation of the District of Coquitlam and the Pitt River was added to the Coquitlam municipality, following a petition by the landowners to the province.

In 1913, the land owners in the area known as Westminster Junction wished to limit their tax liability for the development of the rapidly growing district and to establish their own tax base. A petition was sent to the province and the area seceded from the Corporation of the District of Coquitlam, forming the City of Port Coquitlam.

In the same year, The Canadian Western Lumber Company decided to incorporate the area surrounding Fraser Mills and the Corporation of the District of Fraser Mills was incorporated by letters patent in 1913. The Corporation of the District of Coquitlam and the Corporation of the District of Fraser Mills amalgamated in November 1971, when both districts revoked their letters patent and new letters patent was issued incorporating the area as the District of Coquitlam. Supplementary letters patent were issued in 1973 and 1986 to reflect changes in municipal boundaries.

Effective December 1, 1992, the District of Coquitlam’s status was changed by new letters patent to that of a city municipality and it became known as the City of Coquitlam. Today, it is bordered by the municipalities of Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Burnaby, and New Westminster as well as the Fraser River to the south, the Pitt River to the east, and the Coastal Mountains to the north. It includes the community of Maillardville, a region near Fraser Mills settled by French Canadians in the early part of the 20th century.

History of the municipality’s bylaws indicates both the perceived remoteness of the region and its rapid urbanization. Road taxation began in 1897, the sale of liquor was first regulated in 1909, and municipal health regulations were first passed in 1912. Coquitlam had electricity by 1911, and plans for running water began in 1916. The building of a separate fire hall in 1946 and expansion of water service in the mid-1950s indicate a particularly vigorous period of population growth. The municipality assumed responsibility for paved roads and sidewalks by 1961. Zoning changes in the 1970s and 1980s reflect a change in land use from agricultural to single-family suburban residential and low-density apartment housing. An average of two development permits was issued every month by the early 1980s.

The town centre, developed in the 1980s and 1990s, provides cultural and recreational facilities and includes the Coquitlam Centre Mall, the Evergreen Cultural Centre, the Public Safety building, City Hall, the Pinetree Community Centre, the City Centre Aquatic Complex, the Coquitlam Public Library, the City Archives, and Douglas College. The population of Coquitlam has more than doubled from the 1970s to the present day.

City Clerks, District and City of Coquitlam
R.D. Irvine 1891-1899
John Smith 1899-1913
A. Haliburton 1913-1917
Robert Newman 1918-1927
Alan M. Shaw 1928
William Russell 1928-1947
F.L. Pobst 1947-1972
R.A. Leclair, acting clerk, 1965, 1966 1967
H.F. Hockey, acting clerk, 1967
Ted Klassen, acting clerk, 1967
Ted Klassen, 1972-1991
Sandra Aikenhead, 1991-1994
Warren Jones, 1994-2000
Trevor Wingrove, 2000-2002
Sonia Santarossa, 2002-2008
Jay Gilbert, 2008-present

Reeves and Mayors, District and City of Coquitlam
R.B. Kelly 1891-1896
E.A. Atkins 1897-1903
Ralph Booth 1904-1908
D.E. Welcher 1909-1910
James Mars 1911-1913
L.E. Marmont 1918-1922
George H. Proulx 1923
R.C. MacDonald 1924-1941
J.W. Oliver 1942-1944
L.J. Christmas 1945-1969
J.L. Ballard 1970-1971
James L. Tonn 1972-1983
Louis Sekora 1984-1998
Jon Kingsbury 1998-2005
Maxine Wilson 2005-2007
Richard Stewart 2008-present

The position of the City Clerk was established at the first meeting of the District of Coquitlam Council on August 22, 1891 and R.D. Irvine was engaged at the salary of “not more than $50.00 for the balance of year”. Originally the treasurer, assessor and records manager for the District, the City Clerk eventually became Municipal Council liaison with a separately appointed Treasurer. The Clerk’s chief function is to be secretary to Council, Council Select and Special Committees, to the court of property tax revision and secretary to the Board of Variance and Family Court Committee. The Clerk is responsible for Council correspondence and for civic public relations. The Clerk is also the Returning Officer for elections to Council and the School Board and is the custodian of the municipality’s bylaws. Since the Clerk’s Office has responsibility for record keeping, its records serve as one of the more diverse sources documenting Coquitlam’s development as a municipality.

The area between New Westminster and Pitt River along the Fraser River in British Columbia became settled in the pursuit of trapping, fishing and logging beginning in the
1820’s. Industry and significant settlement began with the opening of Fraser Mills sawmill on the north bank of the Fraser in the last years of the 19th century. Coquitlam comprised an area of approximately sixty-five square miles that had been surveyed by Royal Engineer A.L. Breakenridge in 1863. By the late 1880s, it became evident that the area should be incorporated into a Municipal District, and to this end, a petition was made by a majority of the landowners and pre-emptors living in the area. By letters patent dated 25 July 1891,
the area was incorporated as the Corporation of the District of Coquitlam. The letters patent called for the nomination of five councillors and a reeve and the first meeting of a municipal council were assembled in Kelly’s Hall in 1891 at Westminster Junction, now within the City of Port Coquitlam. The first reeve was R.B. Kelly and the first councillors were E.A. Aitkins, James Fox, S.W. Selman, James Morrison and J. Shennan. The first City Clerk was R.D. Irvine.

In 1893, that portion of the Maple Ridge Municipality between the newly formed District of Coquitlam and the Pitt River was added to Coquitlam municipality. The City of Port Coquitlam and the District of Fraser Mills both ceded from the District of Coquitlam in 1913 in order to limit their tax liability for the development of the rapidly growing Coquitlam District and to establish their own tax base, taking just over a almost 7000 acres of land away from the Coquitlam District. Fraser Mills rejoined the District on 1 November 1971, when both districts revoked their letters patent and a new letters patent was proclaimed incorporating the area as the District of Coquitlam. Supplementary letters patent were issued in 1973 and 1986 to reflect changes in municipal boundaries. Effective 1 December 1992, the District of Coquitlam’s status was changed by new letters patent to that of a city municipality and it became known as the City of Coquitlam. Today, it is bordered by the municipalities of Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Burnaby and New Westminster as well as the Fraser River to the south, Pitt River to the east and the Coastal Mountains to the north. It includes the community of Maillardville, a region near Fraser Mills settled by French Canadians in the early years.

History of the municipality’s bylaws indicates both the remoteness of the region and its rapid urbanization. Road taxation began in 1897, the sale of liquor was first regulated in 1909 and municipal health regulations were first passed in 1912. Coquitlam had electricity by 1911, and plans for running water began in 1916. The building of a separate fire hall in 1946 and expansion of water service in the mid-1950s indicate a particularly vigorous period of population growth. The municipality assumed responsibility for paved roads and sidewalks by 1961. Zoning changes in the 1970s and 1980s reflect a change in land use from agricultural to single-family suburban residential and low-density apartment housing. An average of two development permits was issued every month by the early eighties.

The town centre, developed in the mid 1970s, provides cultural and recreational facilities and includes a public safety building, a new City Hall, community centre, a high school and college. The population of Coquitlam has doubled from the 1970s to the present day. A dyking project began in the 1990s has eliminated the Coquitlam River flooding and bridge washouts that sometimes occurred in the last century.

City Clerks, District and City of Coquitlam
R.D. Irvine 1891-1892
W. Alexander Philip 1892-
John Smith 1899-1913
A. Haliburton 1913-1917
Robert Newman 1918-1927
Alan M. Shaw 1928
William Russell 1928-1947
F.L. Pobst 1947-1972
R.A. Leclair, acting clerk, 1965, 1966 1967
H.F. Hockey, acting clerk, 1967
Ted Klassen, acting clerk, 1967
Ted Klassen, 1972-1991
Sandra Aikenhead, 1991-1994
Warren Jones, 1994-2000
Trevor Wingrove, 2000-2002
Sonia Santarossa, 2002-2008
Jay Gilbert, 2008-present

Reeves and Mayors, District and City of Coquitlam
R.B. Kelly 1891-1896
E.A. Atkins 1897-1903
Ralph Booth 1904-1908
D.E. Welcher 1909-1910
James Mars 1911-1913
L.E. Marmont 1918-1922
George H. Proulx 1923
R.C. MacDonald 1924-1941
J.W. Oliver 1942-1944
L.J. Christmas 1945-1969
J.L. Ballard 1970-1971
James L. Tonn 1972-1983
Louis Sekora 1984-1998
Jon Kingsbury 1998-2005
Maxine Wilson 2005-2007
Richard Stewart 2008-present

The history of the Columbian newspaper can be traced back to 1859. The New Westminster Times, the predecessor of the newspaper, was published on Sept. 17th, 1859 by Leonard McClure. In 1861, Leonard McClure sold the Times to a group of New Westminster citizens who renamed the paper, the British Columbian whose first issued appeared on February 13, 1861. John Robson, a future premier of the province, was appointed as its editor. The newspapers office was located at the south side of Columbia Street in Lytton Square. In March 1862, the office moved several doors east along Columbia. After the consolidation of the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia in 1868, the local economic conditions worsened and Robson moved the newspaper to Victoria in 1869 where it was eventually bought by a competing newspaper, the Daily British Colonist.;Robson returned to New Westminster in 1880 and purchased a local paper, the Dominion Pacific Herald in 1880. In August, 1881, his brother, David Robson, joined John Robson. Robson with the help of his brother published the first issue of the new British Columbian in January 1882. However, in 1883, John Robson again returned to Victoria to pursue his political ambitions and left the newspaper in the hands of his brother to manage until 1888, when the newspaper changed ownership. In this year, the newspaper was purchased by the five Kennedy brothers: George was the editor, Robert, the business manager, with the remaining three brothers being responsible for other duties. Throughout its early years the newspaper was published several times a week, but it was not until 1886, when the newspaper became a daily paper and was renamed the Daily Columbian. After the great New Westminster fire of 1898, the newspaper ceased publication for one month. The newspapers offices were destroyed and all its records lost. Forced to publish in Vancouver for the next year, on Oct. 8, 1898 the daily issues recommenced after the fire. The newspaper returned to New Westminster the following year. On Sept. 9, 1899 the newspaper moved into a building at Victoria Gardens, on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Clarkson. In 1900, a group of local citizens with the help of Richard McBride, another future premier, purchased the paper. Ownership of the paper was transferred from the five Kennedy brothers to the following new shareholders: G. E. Corbould, Fred Buscombe, Charles Wilson, T. S. Annandale, W. J. Mathers, J. W. Johnston and George V. Fraser. The new owners were shareholders in the Columbian Company Limited which was incorporated on May 17, 1900. The Kennedy brothers continued on the staff. In 1900, James Davis JD Taylor, a future MP and senator, was appointed as its managing editor (E). In 1902, JD Taylor became a shareholder. In April, 1906, J. D. Taylor became a director of the company. Subsequently, Taylor bought out the rest of the original shareholders. The Taylor family maintained ownership of the paper throughout the remainder of its history. For a time, the Columbian owned several other newspapers. In 1907, the company bought the Chilliwack Progress and operated until 1923. The Columbian also operated the Delta Times from 1909 to 1922.;C. Davis Taylor, J. D. Taylors only son, joined the paper in 1921. In 1924, he became a shareholder. In 1927, he became a director. At the time of his early death in 1940, he was the managing editor. In May, 1941, J. D. Taylor died at age 77. Subsequently, ownership of the Columbian Company was passed to his two daughters Miss Dorothy Taylor and Miss Mary L. Babe (Mrs. M. L. Emes), his daughter-in-law, Mrs. C. D. Taylor (Mrs. Walter Goodwin) and grandson, Richard D. Rikk Taylor. During WWII, there was only little or no growth as necessity and equipments were impossible; however, during the post WWII boom, the Columbian Company was able to expand its operations. Although during its early years, the newspaper was a political newspaper with several owners also being politician, the newspaper took a more independent line during its later period. The three successive editors were first, R. A. Mac McLellan, who retired in 1948. The next editor, Dorothy G. Taylor, daughter of Sen. J. D. Taylor, as also editor of the popular weekly edition of The Columbian that served the Fraser Valley until 1950. She resigned her position in 1954 and retired. I. E. Bill Hambly was editor from 1954. In 1972, the newspaper moved its operations to North Road in Coquitlam. In 1980, more than 200 staff member were working under the direction of R. D. Rikk Taylor. It was one of Canadas few remaining independent family-owned newspapers. In the early days, the circulation of the newspaper was only a few hundred copies. By 1941, daily circulation was 3,000. In the 1940s, the Columbian had reached 5,000 circulation and served only New Westminster. However, by 1964, the paper reached 22,000 circulation and served not just new Westminster, but neighbouring communities as well with five separate weekly editions: the Burnaby Columbian, the Coquitlam Columbian, the New Westminster Columbian and the Surrey Columbian, and Fraser Valley Columbian. In 1971, daily circulation was 36,000. In 1980, the daily press reached a high of 39,000. Including the affiliated Columbian weeklies, circulation reached 120,000. There were also community newspapers published under the name of Today from 1979 to 1983 for Burnaby, Coquitlam, Fraser Valley, New Westminster, and Surrey/North Delta. The Company also operated a commercial printing division, Craftsmen Printers. Circulation of the newspaper began to decline in the late seventies and burdened by increasing debt, the newspaper laboured to stay in business. A final attempt of the owners to raise more capital by selling a portion of their equity in the paper failed. Forced into bankruptcy, a receiver was appointed on October 11, 1983 to wind up the affairs of the business. The last issue of the newspaper was published on November 15, 1983. The Columbian Company was dissolved on November 10, 1988.

Originally known as the King Albert High school, Como Lake High School opened in 1951, serving students from Grad 7-11. It is located at 1121 King Albert Avenue, Coquitlam, British Columbia.

Como Lake Preschool was founded in 1952 by Mrs. A Bennie and Mrs. Ellen Iveson in a rumpus room in the Sapperton District of New Westminster. When Mrs. Iveson moved to Coquitlam in 1954, the play group became more formalized and was relocated, first to a rented garage, then to the Como Lake United Church. The first teacher was hired in 1956 for morning classes of about twenty four and five year old children. In 1964, the preschool relocated again to the Scout Hall in Blue Mountain Park, where it remained until its dissolution. Como Lake Preschool operated as a parent participation preschool, which involved parents cooperating to run the preschool with qualified teachers.

Established by an Act of the B.C. Legislature in 1992, the Coquitlam Foundation is a registered charity which provides a vehicle for compassionate citizens to build enduring legacies; gifts that keep on giving to their community in perpetuity.

In November of 1991 Norm Cook (Secretary) introduced the concept of a Community Foundation for Coquitlam to Gordon Fulton (Chair). The two concluded that it was a very valuable project and set out to find others who might be interested in starting a Community Foundation. The ‘Original 6’ consisted of Bill Brown, Brian Canfield, Norm Cook, Ted Nikiforuk (Treasurer), Larry Rose and Gordon Fulton (CHair). The first meeting took place on January 15, 1992. The Board was originally volunteer-based. But in 2008, the level of the Foundation's activity necessitated the move to a model with staffing.

Since 1992, visionary donors have built the foundation into a growing endowment that helps local individuals and non-profit organizations meet community needs. As an endowment, the capital is retained and earnings on funds are generated for the benefit of the community.

Coquitlam Heritage Society officially registered as a non-profit on September 25, 1984. They began operating in the lower level (basement) of Mackin House in June 1993. The initial objectives of the CHS were to restore Mackin House and turn it into a heritage house museum. The renovations were completed in 1999 and CHS opened Mackin House Museum to the public.

Today, CHS offers numerous services to Coquitlam’s residents. In addition to yearly exhibits in Mackin House, the CHS offers seasonal tours of the Fraser Mills Train Station and CP Rail 1970’s Caboose in Heritage Square. They also operate year-round as a Tourism Information centre for the City of Coquitlam. Yearly exhibits in Mackin House run from September to June. They also set up rotating exhibits across the community and provide a variety of events and workshops for all ages.

The CHS's collection includes local artifacts of importance as well as the oral histories of community members. Their mission is to preserve, honour and promote Coquitlam’s heritage.

In 1938, under School Trustee E.G. Daniel's leadership Coquiltam Junior High School was built to serve the growing need for schools in the community. The school served students from Grade 7-9. In 1944, new rooms were built for a High School. In 1946 grade 11 was added and in 1947, grade 12 was added.

Coquitlam Minor Hockey Association, established in 1963, is a Tier 1 minor hockey association in the Greater Vancouver area within the Pacific Coast Division. Their mission is to provide the children and young adults of Coquitlam with the opportunity to play recreational hockey in a safe, enjoyable, and challenging environment.