Prepare to pay for plastics in 2021!
At Monday’s last council meeting of the year, Surrey city council passed a bylaw banning plastic shopping bags, as well foam cups and takeout containers in all restaurants and grocery stores.
However there are exceptions – plastic still being allowed to package bulk foods, produce, frozen foods, meat, small hardware items and other goods – will still be allowed.
The bylaws been submitted to the Ministry of Environment, with no word on when exactly it will go into effect.
A three month drug trafficking investigation has come to an end, with Surrey RCMP undergoing what they call a ‘significant cannabis seizure’ that included cannabis-infused potato chips!
Anyone else hungry?!Other items RCMP confiscated from the house in Whalley included ten pounds of bulk cannabis bud, a whole wack of cannabis butter, THC gummies and MDMA.
More than 300 vape pens were also found and more than $5,000 in cash.
Four men known to police with ties to gangs were arrested.
Less than a week since it started, more than half a million British Columbians s have been approved for the provinces one-time Recovery Benefit of up to $1,000, many already seeing the lump sum deposited into their bank account.
You have until next summer to apply for the payment.
In order to apply will need to know your your net income from your 2019 tax return, social insurance number, drivers license number, and direct deposit info/
The NHL has released each team’s full schedule for the kickoff to the 2021 season January 13th that includes Vancouver taking on Edmonton on opening night.
The 56-game regular-season schedule will end first week of May, with the Stanley Cup playoffs kicking off May 11th!
Health Canada has approved a second COVID-19 vaccine for use in Canada. Up to 168-thousand doses of the drug developed by U-S biotech firm Moderna are due to arrive in Canada before the end of the month. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said deliveries could begin within 48 hours of approval. The vaccine approval follows the greenlighting of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine on December 9th.
COVID-19 vaccine clinics are now underway in every health region in B-C and more than 41-hundred people have received the shot so far. B-C health officials say Pfizer has explained how to safely transport its vaccine, while Moderna, the company developing another COVID-19 vaccine that’s being reviewed by Health Canada, has done the same. Health officials say that means the vaccine will be available at more locations across the province in the coming weeks. They urged people to continue following public health rules while reporting 12 more deaths and 444 new cases of COVID-19.
The federal government says it has put enhanced screening in place at Canadian airports and borders to identify travellers arriving from the United Kingdom. It’s part of its effort to ensure the new variant of COVID-19 doesn’t make its way into the country. Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says the new variant hasn’t been detected yet in Canada. But she says the country remains on a trajectory for an even stronger resurgence of COVID-19 over the next two months.
The tourism and hospitality sector should soon get a boost after B-C more than doubled its fund to help businesses struggling through the pandemic. Tourism Minister Melanie Mark says the 55-million-dollar infusion follows recommendations from a provincial task force report earlier this month. The task force called on the province to at least match the 50-million dollars allocated to the tourism sector in September’s economic recovery plan.
B-C has temporarily capped the fees food delivery companies charge to restaurants at 15 per cent as part of a plan to help the struggling sector.
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says an additional limit of five per cent has been set for related fees, such as payment processing for online orders, while the cap doesn’t apply to small delivery service businesses. He says restaurants are struggling to cope with the impacts of COVID-19 and some delivery companies have been charging fees up to 30 per cent.
Adam Walker, parliamentary secretary for the new economy, says Canada’s three major food delivery companies were consulted as part of the cap that is similar to that established in other jurisdictions.