Vancouver mayor gives mid-term interview at GVBOT
Posted February 19, 2025 6:50 am.
Last Updated February 19, 2025 2:07 pm.
Vancouver’s Ken Sim discussed his progress, roughly halfway through his term as mayor, in a public interview that was expected to be his third State of the City address.
Speaking at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade on Wednesday, Sim touched on a number of topics, many of them of interest to the region’s business community.
Sim noted Vancouver city council’s recent move to support the united approach and “align local, provincial, and national priorities as necessary to counter foreign policies to harm the Canadian economy or sovereignty” amid the threat of tariffs by the U.S.
Unanimously approved after a slight amendment by Sim, the motion, introduced by Coun. Pete Fry, means staff will initiate an “urgent” review of capital projects, suppliers, procurement, and trade agreement exposure and report back with “immediate and long-term strategies supporting the Team Canada approach.”
Sim was frank about the realities of the situation in conversation with GVBOT President Bridgitte Anderson Wednesday.
“I don’t want to give people false hope. That part is more of a signal, but we can have a bigger impact by being super nimble, where we may not be able to buy more products from local businesses, per se, but we can make it a lot easier to do business in the city of Vancouver a lot quicker,” he said.
When asked to give a grade for his administration’s progress overall halfway through his term, Sim counted fully funding the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) and Vancouver Fire Rescue Services among his achievements, metaphorically fixing the “leaky roofs” in the city.
He cited allowing a task force of external businesspeople to give recommendations, resulting in a claimed $26 million in “operational efficiencies.” To that point, Sim also highlighted the estimated $70 million that the city will save over 10 years if the council’s bid to dismantle the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation is eventually legislated.
Sim’s interview also focused heavily on the speed and efficiency his office and council have achieved, fast-tracking and automating permitting for many development permits and business licenses.
The mayor also praised the work of the VPD and highlighted the city’s new $5 million ‘Task Force Barrage’ aimed at tackling organized crime.
