Vancouver city officials are vowing to combat the icy, wintery conditions plaguing the city and surrounding region.
At a press conference held Tuesday, the city's general manager of engineering said non-emergency construction work in the city has been halted so 260 staff members can be deployed to help deal with icy residential roads.
One hundred and fifty staff have already been redeployed to start salting, sanding and clearing neighbourhood streets.
The move comes after ice failed to clear away on its own accord, which tends to happen in the city as temperatures fluctuate.
"Typically we don't go in and clear the residential streets because there's so many more of them, and typically the weather breaks," said Jerry Dobrovny.
The icy conditions led to social media posts showing East Vancouver residents skating and playing hockey on some side roads.
The city has already used 7,000 tonnes of salt this year, seven times more than last year.
"I'm confident now that we have enough salt, but we're using an awful lot of it," said Dobrovny.
First responders are helping residents get access to salt, with 10 firehalls making salt available for the general public.
The snow has also left homeless people around the Lower Mainland scrambling for shelter.
Marita Herrling, 70, has been living at a homeless camp in Chilliwack for five months with her adult children.
One daughter had been living in a tent beside her before the weight of the snow collapsed her shelter, killing her.
"One of the tent posts caved in…and smashed her across the face," said Herrling.
Officials in the Fraser Valley region estimate that there's as many as 230 homeless people sleeping outside at this time of year.
Shelter workers say the number is unprecedented.
"I've been in this role now for four years and you've never heard of or seen what we are facing today," said Bill Raddatz, the executive director with Ruth and Naomi's Mission in Chilliwack.
While Vancouver battles icy conditions, cities in the Fraser Valley are bearing the brunt of the winter weather, with temperatures dropping to -20 C.
Some shelters have begun sending out vans in an effort to help bring homeless people to warm shelters.
However, those residents hoping for a break from the blast of wintery weather are out of luck, according to Environment Canada.
"Believe it or not, we actually have a chance of more snow come this weekend,” said Matt MacDonald, a meteorologist. "It might be the most snow we've seen so far this season."
With reports from CTV Vancouver's David Molko, Michele Brunoro and Tom Popyk
