Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says city won’t get rid of any parks, just the board

Amid concerns that getting rid of the Vancouver Park Board could mean a loss of prized parkland in the city, Mayor Ken Sim says that’s not going to happen.

“I want to be very clear: as long as I’m mayor, parks will always be parks in the City of Vancouver,” Sim told CityNews Friday.

Under the current system, a two-thirds majority vote on council and Park Board is required to remove any parks from the city’s inventory.

Sim says he’s going to bring in new protections for green spaces.

“We’re going to change it so it has to be unanimous in the chamber, so all 10 councillors and mayor of the day have to be in favour, plus it would go to referendum,” he said.

Opponents of Sim’s bid to eliminate the Park Board have circulated a list on social media of green spaces designated as temporary parks, including Choklit Park, Spanish Banks, Devonian Harbour Park, and dozens of others. Former ABC Park Board commissioner Laura Christensen pointed out that parks without permanent status wouldn’t be protected.

However, Sim says the city will move to designate those spaces as permanent parkland.

“We would love to move as many parks as possible to permanent status,” Sim said.

“As a resident of Vancouver, I want our parks to be vibrant. We want all of our park space — we actually want more park space. The challenge that we have is we have jurisdictional issues in the City of Vancouver as it relates to parks.”

Sim says currently, once parks become permanent, the city has to ask the Park Board for permission to fix city infrastructure in those spaces. He adds once the Park Board is folded under the city’s control, those “jurisdictional issues” won’t exist.

Sim deflects criticism that move is ‘anti-democratic’

Several current and former Park Board commissioners banded together in the wake of Sim’s announcement, saying he has “no mandate” to get rid of the Park Board.

The mayor has also faced criticism for running a whole slate of Park Board commissioners, then moving to get rid of the 137-year-old institution just one year into his tenure.

But Sim doesn’t see it the way others do.

He says he has made it clear that “we are going to run elected Park Board commissioners with the view of fixing the system, and if we couldn’t fix the system, we would go to the province and make a change. So, we’re doing exactly what we said.”

Sim explains he’s making the move now because it became clear to him that the system “is broken.”

He adds the city is already working with the province on amendments to the Vancouver Charter on housing, and the timing is “expedient” to make an amendment to get rid of the Park Board.

On Thursday, Dec. 14, Minister of Municipal Affairs Anne Kang signalled the province was open to getting rid of the Park Board, provided the city can put together a transition plan that satisfies several points.

“There are a number of items that need to be addressed, including land ownership and the future of the workers at the park board, and we need to make sure First Nations are consulted. We are asking the City of Vancouver to provide the province with a transition plan to address these considerations so we can move forward together,” Kang said.

Sim says the city has been in conversations with the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations about the plan, adding more formal consultations will now take place.

As for staff working in Vancouver’s parks, Sim says there won’t be any layoffs.

“There is a battle for talent. We need our people. We want our people. Our people are amazing,” Sim said. “When it comes to our people that actually maintain our parks and work on our parks with love, there will actually be more opportunity for them.”

Ultimately, Sim says he’s willing to forge ahead with dismantling the Vancouver Park Board despite the criticism.

“I truly believe the vast majority of people elected us to be bold, to actually do what’s right for the city — even if it comes at political cost.”