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Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart is asking the province for a financial lifeline of up to $200 million to make up for fees, licences and fine payments the city is losing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the mayor said Wednesday.

The city is losing $4 million to $5 million a week, even with the savings from having parks, libraries and other civic facilities closed, and is absorbing additional costs from playing its part in the pandemic response, Stewart said.

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“We are bleeding money right now and worried about property tax defaults by those who usually pay property tax,” Stewart said during a new conference on Wednesday where he talked about a range of dire possibilities, “so we have to be ready for this.”

Without provincial help, Stewart said the city will be faced with stark choices about cutting “front-line services,” which would mean layoffs in addition to the 1,500 temporary notices issued to employees of civic facilities such as libraries, recreation facilities and theatres closed due to public health orders.