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.
The announcement comes after Premier David Eby and Mitzi Dean, minister of children and family development, met with members of the group AutismBC and other stakeholders, including the First Nations Leadership Council and B.C.’s representative for children and youth.
Workers applying for EI will be eligible for the more-generous benefits starting on Dec. 18, with advocates praising the move but urging the government to make good on its promise for a much bigger overhaul of the system. Qualtrough made the announcement while visiting the Canadian Cancer Society's regional care centre in Vancouver.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, said that COVID-19, RSV and influenza are continuing to co-circulate at high levels. While RSV activity seems to have levelled off, Tam said she expects it to remain elevated for weeks to come.
Finance Minister Selina Robinson says much of the added surplus comes from higher personal and corporate income taxes, while sales taxes and natural gas royalties were also higher. Robinson says $2 billion of the added revenue has already been earmarked for cost-of-living measures announced since the summer.
Cpl. Alex Berube says in a statement they have learned that the plane was transporting two passengers out of a logging camp back to Port Hardy. Coast guard helicopters and boats were sent to the search area but no survivors have been found.
The province has yet to reach the point of scrapping operations, said Dix Thursday, as he faced Opposition calls for his resignation. Parents and the Opposition have decried lengthy waits at emergency rooms across B.C. for children suffering serious respiratory symptoms.