Liz Evans, executive director for the PHS community society holds up a injection kit at Insite in Vancouver on May 6, 2008. Vancouver opened the first legal clinic in 2003 to offer addicts a supervised injection site. Insite was opened as part of a harm-reduction plan to tackle an epidemic of HIV-AIDS and drug overdose deaths in Vancouver. The city has also embarked on a plan to regulate marijuana dispensaries through municipal zoning bylaws and business licence regulations. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

A look at some innovations outside the typical realm of services most Canadians expect their municipal governments to provide:

WINNIPEG: In 2002, the city joined other levels of government to increase population through the family links of refugees. The Winnipeg private refugee sponsorship program helps cover refugee support when a private sponsor can't meet his or her commitment. In the four years after its inception in 2003, the program registered an average of nearly 650 cases per year, affecting about 1,200 individuals. The number of cases has been increasing steadily, rising to as many as 1,100 in 2007. Refugees come from more than 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.

KITCHENER, Ont.: Kitchener says it is the birthplace of the blue box program, which is used around the world to reduce waste and increase recycling. Stewardship Ontario says Kitchener brought in the first curbside recycling program in 1981 and since then Ontario's blue box has become a blueprint for similar programs in more than 150 countries.

VANCOUVER: The city opened the first legal clinic in 2003 to offer addicts a supervised injection site. Insite was opened as part of a harm-reduction plan to tackle an epidemic of HIV-AIDS and drug overdose deaths in Vancouver. The city has also embarked on a plan to regulate marijuana dispensaries through municipal zoning bylaws and business licence regulations.

HALIFAX: Halifax Regional Municipality approved the continuation of a program in March 2015 to help residents switch to solar energy after a two-year pilot project. Under the program, homeowners can finance the switch through a solar collector account with the municipality. The program aims to complete 450 installations of a variety of solar technologies every year.

TORONTO: The city's official plan encourages that public art be included in all significant private-sector developments. Under the program, the city's planning department works with developers and builders on a component of public art for projects that are in development review or have been the subject of an application for amendments to the official plan and rezonings. The Percent for Public Art Program aims to make buildings and open spaces more attractive and interesting, requiring that artwork be clearly visible at all times from publicly accessible areas.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2016