A weekly roundup of noteworthy news in municipalities across B.C.
Reason for concern in Abbotsford with the unemployment rising to 10.5 per cent through February. This makes the Abbotosford-Mission census metropolitan area (CMA) the second highest of 33 municipalities across the country that were part of Statistic’s Canada’s latest labour force survey.
Clayton residents in Surrey are surprised and saddened by the removal of a stand of 10 mature flowering cherry trees from Clayton Park.
The City of Surrey’s decision to remove the trees, which surrounded the park’s bowling green facility, was reached in consultation with the Surrey Lawn Bowling Club, which had actively lobbied for the removal, citing maintenance and safety concerns.
The discussion around regional waste continues with Vancouver Coun. Andrea Reimer stating that she does not believe the process now advancing is skewed in favour of a conventional incinerator over emerging low-emission technologies like gasification.
Great news for households in need in the Columbia Basin region as federal and provincial investments spur a new program, the Affordable Rental Housing initiative (ARHi). The Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) has also partnered with the Province in this initiative to deliver essential affordable rental housing.
The Surrey International Film Festival has just been announced for the upcoming summer! Starting six years ago as the Surrey High School Film Festival, it has now become a two-day, multi-aged, international event.
As a means of battling the illegal dumping of mattresses since the regional district banned them from landfills, Metro Vancouver is urging the province to make furniture retailers add a recycling fee to the price of each mattress or couch they sell.
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