‘Disaster-like’: Community group questions B.C.’s response after review of Lapu-Lapu Day attack

Local organizers say they’re pleased with the City of Vancouver’s final report on event planning safety after the April attack on a Filipino street festival, but say the province has failed to respond to the tragedy appropriately.

On Thursday, Vancouver officials published a review of public safety at outdoor events, finding the Lapu-Lapu Day festival was assessed as low risk, with no indication to suggest it was to be the target of a vehicle-ramming attack that killed 11 people and injured dozens more.

In a statement Friday, Filipino BC, a non-profit community group, says it’s grateful to the city for carrying out the review, and it looks forward to seeing its recommendations “swiftly implemented.”

The group says the review highlighted the urgent need for a provincial-level incident management guide, claiming that the attack inexplicably did not trigger the province’s standard emergency response mechanisms.

“As we’ve seen, the impacts of this event have followed a disaster-like trajectory—with trauma, long-term care needs, and community-wide ripple effects. Although the seriousness of the situation has been acknowledged, the delivery of tangible support and resources has been slow and inconsistent. Because this is not classified as a natural disaster, commitments to long-term assistance remain limited,” said Filipino BC.

Meanwhile, it says community groups —Filipino BC included — have had to fill the gaps in the province’s response.

“Communities stepped in out of necessity; coordinating emergency and recovery programs, connected people to trauma-informed, culturally sensitive care, and addressed gaps in the system through the facilitating of longer-term resources and social services. While this support has been critical, it is not sustainable.”

Filipino BC is asking all levels of government to take on a bigger, more coordinated role to ensure the basic needs of those impacted are met.

“Particularly given that the neighbourhood most affected is both chronically underfunded and predominantly racialized.”

In a statement to 1130 NewsRadio, Minister of State for Community Safety and Integrated Services Terry Yung said, “Our government has just received the City’s final report, and is reviewing the content and findings as we move forward together following this senseless and troubling incident.

“We hear the concerns that have been raised by Filipino BC and we look forward to engaging further with Filipino BC, the City of Vancouver, VPD, event organizers, and our municipal and police partners to see how we can incorporate the recommendations of this report into the ongoing work stemming from the Province’s Commission of Inquiry into Community Events Safety.”

—With files from Ben Bouguerra and The Canadian Press.