Commissioners push back on city’s plan to dismantle Vancouver Park Board

The Vancouver Park Board is set to have its first meeting Monday since Mayor Ken Sim announced his intention to dismantle the elected body.

The current chair says not to expect the board to go without a fight, with four commissioners — including members of Sim’s ABC party — planning to push back on the proposal.

“The Park Board is independent of the mayor and council so the mayor has no authority to disband the Park Board. [That] would remove elected officials and simply put in his own appointees. That’s unprecedented in Canadian history, and the transition team also has no jurisdiction,” Brennan Bastyovanszky, who had been elected chair of the Park Board just prior to Sim’s announcement, told CityNews Monday.

Sim announced Wednesday that a motion would be brought to council this week to “ask the province to amend the Vancouver Charter and to eliminate the requirements” that will effectively “bring parks and recreation services under the oversight of city council.”

He called the board a “broken system” and added that getting rid of it would mean millions of dollars in savings for the city.

But Bastyovanszky said Monday that the mayor has “jumped the gun” with this decision, adding the “six-month timeframe is completely arbitrary.”

He says commissioners will be asked on Monday to “reaffirm their oath to office,” adding “if they don’t, they may be in breach of their fiduciary duty in the job.”

Bastyovanszky also explains that about 70 former Park Board commissioners have started a coalition to oppose Sim’s plan, and they are encouraging supporters to sign up to speak at the city council meeting on Wednesday.

-With files from Cole Schisler