The City of Surrey is launching a three-year plan to boost the number of new housing units to an average of more than four thousand per year.
A statement from the City of Surrey says the plan is enabled by 96-million-dollars in federal funding.
The plan aims to increase new unit delivery in the city by almost 28 per cent.
The statement says Surrey plans to improve the development processes for higher-density multi-unit housing projects and adjust zoning in areas around rapid-transit lines.
Mandatory immunization has been called for by the Liberals and Bloc Québécois, and supported by the NDP, as parties prepare for Parliament to resume following last month's federal election.
There are 5,172 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 187,564 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 374 people are in hospital and 153 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
Sheila Malcolmson, the province's minister of mental health and addictions, says the program will include 65 new or improved services, about 130 more staff and 195 new substance-use treatment beds.
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit municipal coffers hard as cities have watched transit ridership drop along with fare revenue. At the same time, cities have seen expenses rise, leading to budget holes that mayors have repeatedly sought federal cash to fill.
Fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents have been allowed back into Canada since August, provided they have waited at least 14 days since getting a full course of a Health Canada-approved vaccine and can show proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test.
The United States and Europe are pushing a Global Methane Pledge asking other governments to commit to cutting total methane emissions 30 per cent by 2030.