The move by Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC Majority to abolish the Vancouver Park Board is undemocratic, and deprives citizens of their rightful participation in decisions that significantly impact the community, parks, services, and public spaces.
The Vancouver Park Board has a long and cherished legacy of service to Vancouverites, and we believe it is in the best interest of the community to maintain its existence – and strengthen its effectiveness.
Greens believe that the residents of Vancouver have the right to voice their opinions and directly participate in decisions that impact the future of our public spaces. Any proposal for such a significant change should be subject to a voter referendum during the next municipal election.
We call on the Province of BC to:
- Retain the Vancouver Park Board as a crucial, democratically elected entity responsible for the development and management of our parks and recreational facilities.
- Preserve the democratic process and allow Vancouverites to have a direct say in matters that significantly affect our community and public spaces.
- Ensure that any proposal to abolish the Vancouver Park Board is subject to a city-wide voter referendum at the next municipal election.
- Ensure that the City of Vancouver’s commitment to UNDRIP and the Park Board’s Commitment to the co-management of Vancouver parks with First Nations is upheld.
We urge you to consider the sentiments of the community and uphold the importance of public input in decisions of this magnitude.
Please sign below to protect Vancouver Parks, and preserve our local democracy.
We also encourage you to connect with your elected Provincial representatives and urge them to reject the Mayor’s misguided efforts to abolish democracy in our parks.
MLAs representing Vancouver:
- Vancouver-Fairview - George Heyman
- Vancouver-False Creek - Brenda Bailey
- Vancouver-Fraserview - George Chow
- Vancouver-Hastings - Niki Sharma
- Vancouver-Kensington - Mable Elmore
- Vancouver-Kingsway - Adrian Dix
- Vancouver-Langara - Michael Lee
- Vancouver-Mount Pleasant - Joan Phillip
- Vancouver-Point Grey - David Eby
- Vancouver-Quilchena - Kevin Falcon
- Vancouver-West End - Spencer Chandra Herbert