British Columbia News

The Surrey Fire Service and the Surrey Fire Fighters Association, Local 1271, helped raise $628,674 on behalf of Muscular Dystrophy Canada in 2009 and 2010. In recognition of their work, Muscular Dystrophy Canada awarded Surrey Fire Fighters with the Public Relations Award of Excellence.

Metro Vancouver’s Regional Planning Committee has unveiled a new Regional Growth Strategy that will guide the way the region develops to accommodate the additional one million residents expected by 2040.

The Distinguished Budget Presentation Award has been awarded to the District of Maple Ridge by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for its latest budget.

An eastbound bus lane on Marine Drive in West Vancouver and transit priority features will significantly improve bus service out of West Vancouver thanks to a partnership between the Government of Canada, Province of British Columbia, TransLink, District of West Vancouver and Park Royal Shopping Centre.

The City of Abbotsford has partnered with Abbotsford Connected Neighbourhoods to take a different type of Pepsi Challenge.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Quesnel Volunteer Fire Department, and its members invite the public to celebrate with them.

Victoria City Council has voted in favour of a new land use model for the updated Official Community Plan that would see the development of walkable, complete neighbourhoods for Victoria over the next 30 years.

In preparation for its 2011 Community Banner Painting Festival and the United Nation’s International Year of Forests, the City of Port Moody is announcing two new calls for banner designs based on the theme forest.

Canadian Sport Centre Pacific and Esquimalt Recreation have announced that their partnership, which provides easy local access to high performance facilities through the GymWorks program, will continue.

The Province and the City of Cranbrook have signed an agreement that will support the community’s future economic development.

The Corporation of Delta used two GMF grants to conduct two feasibility studies - one that evaluated the use of renewable energy technology in the Ladner Municipal Precinct Area, and the other which considered how to expand and retrofit the Sungod Recreation Centre.

The Province and the City of Grand Forks have signed an agreement that will support the community’s future economic development.

The Nanaimo Recycling Exchange, in partnership with Mid Island Co-op, is launching a new mobile service to rid householders of their Styrofoam (properly identified as expanded polystyrene, or EPS) and divert it to be processed, recycled and re-used.

The B.C. government has approved a wastewater management strategy proposed by the Capital Regional District (CRD) that will for the first time treat up to 40 billion litres of sewage per year before it is discharged into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The Government of Canada is making an important safety investment in the Trail Regional Airport, by investing $215,704 to replace the existing runway sweeper.

The International Downtown Association has recognized the City of New Westminster with a 2010 Downtown Merit Award for the New Westminster Downtown Community Plan

A Green Municipal Fund grant to the Sunshine Coast Regional District will be used toward the development of a governance framework for sustainability.

The City of Dawson Creek and Shell recently reached an agreement to build the City’s Reclaimed Water Plant.

The Province and the Village of Clinton have signed an agreement that will support the community’s future economic development.

Today, volunteers led by the Okanagan Falls Parks and Recreation Department will clean up the peninsula between Christie Memorial Beach and Kenyon Parks Beach on the South Shore of Skaha Lake.

A Green Municipal Fund grant has been awarded to the City of Chilliwack to develop an air quality, energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) action plan addressing municipal and community-wide activities.

The Capital Regional District (CRD) is celebrating the official launch of a new education and reference tool - MyRecyclopedia.ca - to encourage sustainable behaviour across the region.

The Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) named Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows as the “#5 top Canadian investment cities”; and for the second consecutive year the “#2 top BC investment towns” and “the place to live for lifestyle.”

Sharing the honour with the Smithsonian Institute, the City of Burnaby Archives is the winner of ArchivesNext’s “Best Re-purposing of Descriptive Data” award for “Charting Change: An Interactive Atlas of Burnaby’s Heritage” initiative.

Victoria City Council has decided to proceed to a referendum on borrowing up to $49.2 million to replace the 86-year old Johnson Street Bridge.

The LED streetlights being tested in downtown Port Coquitlam are now even more energy-efficient with the addition of an adaptive lighting control system.

The Capital Regional District (CRD), The Land Conservancy of BC (TLC) and the Province of British Columbia are pleased to announce the first group of Western Forest Products lands have been purchased by the CRD.

The Cariboo Regional District Board and its member municipalities of Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House and Wells are expressing united support for the Prosperity Gold Copper Mine project proposed by Taseko Mines.

With the consent of the Comox Valley Regional District Board, the Islands Trust innovative property tax exemption program - previously available in the southern Gulf Islands - is moving northwards to the Denman and Hornby Island Local Trust Areas.

This fall, the City of Kelowna will begin construction on a communication tower and traffic management centre that will support and enhance the new rapid bus system and emergency services.

Reducing the possible threat of wildfire is the goal of a partnership project underway between the Central Okanagan Regional District and Westbank First Nation.

The Province and the District of Vanderhoof have signed an agreement that will support the community’s future economic development.

Over 35 tons of tires were dropped off at the first ever tire round up in Kimberley, making the July 29th event an overwhelming success.

Upgrades will allow a broader range of aircraft to use the airport, while supporting the expansion of aviation-related business, industry and training opportunities in Campbell River.

On July 30, Metro Vancouver’s Board of Directors approved a new Integrated Solid Waste and Resource Management Plan that outlines an aggressive program of waste reduction and recycling along with the establishment of additional Waste-to-Energy capacity.

The Okanagan Basin Water Board and the Okanagan WaterWise Team have built a new website to ensure Okanagan water conservation and protection have a strong online presence.