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What the possible dissolution of the Vancouver Park Board could mean for community centres.

Could a 2025 byelection give Vancouver voters a chance to weigh in on the park board’s fate?

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The Save Our Park Board Coalition congratulates Premier David Eby and the MLAs elected from all the parties in the October 19 BC provincial election.

The Coalition brings together the Association Presidents Group (APG) representing 19 Vancouver Community Centres, thirty former Park Board Commissioners, and a coalition of concerned Vancouver citizens.

The Save Our Park Board Coalition supports democratically elected governing bodies. This is a major reason why the we oppose Mayor Ken Sim’s proposal to eliminate the democratically elected Vancouver Park Board.

During the last Vancouver civic election in 2022, over 171,000 citizens cast ballots to elect a Park Board to a four year term. Mayor Sim and his ABC party did not propose eliminating the elected Park Board as part of their platform so there is no mandate. We do not believe the Mayor and seven City Councilors have the right to deny Vancouver citizens their choice.

Over the last months, the Save Our Park Board campaign has collected over 7000 signatures from Vancouver citizens, both at community events and with an online petition, opposed to the dissolution of the elected Park Board.

Mayor Sim’s proposal to abolish the Park Board midterm cannot proceed without the provincial government making amendments to the Vancouver City Charter. The Save Our Park Board Coalition would like to remind Premier Eby of comments he made at an all-candidates meeting prior to the election where he said he didn’t think dissolving the Park Board would be a priority for a new NDP government before the next Vancouver municipal election in October 2026.

We also note that the BC opposition parties have both made it clear that the decision about the future of the Vancouver Park Board requires a mandate from Vancouver voters.

Premier Eby’s government faces important issues related to health care, affordability, public safety and reconciliation. The Save Our Park Board Coalition believes any decision on the future of the Park Board should be made by the citizens of Vancouver.

Jerry Fast, Chair

Association Presidents Group
On behalf of the Save Our Park Board Coalition
778-233-2525

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The post Save Our Park Board appeared first on Kitsilano Community Centre located in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The APG believes Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s attempt to abolish the elected Vancouver Park Board is undemocratic. We do not believe 8 City Councillors can decide to abolish the Park Board elected by thousands of Vancouver citizens in October 2022. We believe the Park Board can only be removed after a civic election in October 2026, and only if Vancouver citizens have made that choice. Neither the City nor the Province have a mandate to remove the Park Board.

Mayor Sim’s motion was announced and then passed within one week without any engagement with the Community Centre Associations and other key stakeholders. There was no transition plan to demonstrate the alleged benefits of such a decision. The reasons announced have been questioned by many stakeholders including dozens of former Park Board Commissioners and Community Centre Associations.

The elected Park Board has served Vancouver well for over 130 years. Voters created an elected Park Board because they wanted parks and recreation to be a high-profile priority in Vancouver. Commissioners run for office because they are passionate about protecting and expanding our parks and recreation programs. It is their priority concern and responsibility. The Mayor’s proposal would have Commissioners replaced by City Councillors who have a multitude of responsibilities resulting in a less responsive and effective working relationship for community stakeholders. City parks and recreation will not be the first priority for City Councillors.

The APG rejects the Mayor’s claim that the Park Board is broken. We believe it has been critically underfunded by City Council for several decades. Many of the examples cited by the Mayor for the elimination of the Park Board are in fact already the City of Vancouver’s responsibility. They own and maintain the buildings and infrastructure in the Park Board system. For example, Park Board frequently recommends renewal and expansion of Community Centres for additional space to accommodate children’s programs but it is City Councillors who decide on the funding. Parents complain that program spaces for their children are inadequate. Those concerns should be directed to City Hall.

The APG will continue to urge MLAs to not proceed with the Charter amendments to remove the elected Park Board. A decision to eliminate the elected Park Board must be determined democratically in the next municipal election if it remains part of the ABC platform. Let the voters of Vancouver make such an important decision.

For more information please contact:

Jerry Fast: 778 233 2525
Email: jerryfast@shaw.ca

Kathleen Bigsby: 604 202 3726
Email: kmbigsby@gmail.com

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Dear Community Centre Patron:

You may be aware that Vancouver City Council, by a vote of 8-3 on December 13 last, passed a resolution to eliminate the 7 elected Vancouver Park Board Commissioners, and to ask the provincial government to pass legislation to transfer the Park Board responsibilities to a City department under the direct control of City Council.

The elected Park Board has existed for more than 130 years. The Commissioners are elected by the citizens of Vancouver every four years during the municipal elections (last held in October 2022). Because they are elected, they are responsible to, and accountable to the citizens of Vancouver, not the Mayor and 10 City Councillors.

The sole mandate of the Commissioners is the preservation, protection and development of parks and recreation programs and facilities in our City. They prioritize this important work because they are elected to do so. City Councillors, on the other hand, are elected with a much broader mandate, to deal with all the issues around city infrastructure; sewer, water and garbage services; police and fire departments; housing and development issues; the drug crisis, homelessness, etc. Parks and recreation are not their first priority.

Your Community Centre Association works with the Park Board staff and Commissioners to develop and run community-based programming. Issues and needs arise where we work with the elected Commissioners who have the decision-making authority to deal with our concerns. We have, over the years, developed a working relationship with the Commissioners. We don’t want that to change.

The Association Presidents Group (APG), representing 17 Community Centre Associations across the City of Vancouver, is requesting your support in rejecting Mayor Ken Sim’s attempt to abolish the democratically elected Vancouver Park Board. We do not believe it is democratic for 8 people on City Council to eliminate the 7 Commissioners elected by the thousands of voters in Vancouver. Mayor Sim did not ask the voters in October 2022 for a mandate to do so: in fact, he said he would retain the elected Park Board.

The APG has taken a strong stand against the Mayor’s decision. We have written to the Mayor and Councillors expressing our opposition. We have also written to the Provincial MLAs representing Vancouver asking them to oppose this change. We need their support because the provincial legislation governing the City of Vancouver (called the Vancouver Charter) must be amended to make such a change possible.

We are asking for your support in making your opposition known to Premier David Eby. You can use the link below to send a message directly to the Premier. You can use the links below to write to all Vancouver MLAs, and the Minister of Municipal Affairs who is responsible for making changes to the Vancouver Charter.

We hope we can count on your support to retain our elected Park Board.

→https://saveourparkboard.ca/action/

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