Vancouver city council has approved a new flat rate of two dollars per hour for parking meters throughout the Chinatown neighbourhood.
Mayor Ken Sim says the community has called the cost of parking a barrier to visiting and doing business in Chinatown.
The new flat rate will take effect June 1st and run from 9 a-m to 10 p-m, seven days a week.
The pilot program will be in place until the end of 2024.
While no specific targets or benchmarks are included in the strategy, and questions remain over how effectively the dollars will be spent, the heightened focus on the region is being celebrated by agriculture groups in Canada.
A statement from the two trustees says the Vancouver police department hasn't adequately addressed the issue of racism within its ranks, so "cannot be trusted to seriously consider and address the safety and well-being of Black and Indigenous students" in area schools.
Nanaimo, Port Alberni and West Vancouver could see accumulations of nearly 25 centimetres by Wednesday morning while about 15 centimetres is expected for Greater Vancouver and Interior communities including Williams Lake and Lytton.
Protests broke out over the weekend in at least 10 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou, a scale that is highly unusual. Xi's government faces mounting anger at its zero-COVID policies that have shut down access to areas throughout China in an attempt to isolate every case at a time when other countries are easing controls.
The central principle of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy is that Canada acts for its national interests, while defending its values. The Strategy positions Canada as a reliable partner for the region, now and in the future. It constitutes an ambitious plan, which initially provides for an investment of nearly $2.3 billion over the next five years, said the statement.
Winter storm watches have been issued for parts of Fraser Canyon, Fraser Valley, Nicola region, the Okanagan Valley, Similkameen and South Thompson areas. The weather office says the storm is expected to bring up to 20 centimetres of snow.