ABC removes Councillor Rebecca Bligh from governing party

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Good morning, 

Nate with you today. I’ve just gotten back from a weekend trip to the frigid Rockies (-25°C is no joke). I certainly feel lucky to be able to travel for vacation and leisure, but I’d forgotten how exhausting it can be.  

A get-away can certainly be refreshing and rejuvenating, but just as often it feels like the preparation, coordination, expense, and general effort required before, during, and after a trip can leave you feeling more drained than when you left. Perhaps it was my mistake going somewhere colder rather than warmer for my vacation 🙃

While an extremely rare incident, the news of the plane that crashed on landing in Toronto did nothing to improve my current travel pessimism. Luckily, all the passengers survived, and most have now been released from hospital.

If you went away this long weekend I sure hope you experienced the former rather than the latter. But personally, I think I’ll be staying put in the city for the next few turns of the calendar.   

In today’s newsletter we’ve got a breakdown and analysis of the big news from city hall on Friday, plus a loaded selection of arts events. 

Let’s get into it!

— Nate Lewis, Vancity Lookout

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

WEATHER

Wednesday: 7 🌡️ 3 | 🌧️

Thursday: 6 🌡️ 3 | 🌧️

Friday: 7 🌡️ 5 | 🌧️

🏗️ 3: The number of documented accidents at the Oakridge construction site in 2024. In one case, a worker was killed. No one was injured in the other accidents but the risk was significant according to investigators. [CBC]

💰 $5 million: The payday new Canucks forward Drew O’Connor got when he signed a two-year contract with the club. The team recently acquired O’Connor in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. [VIA]

What happened: ABC Vancouver, the governing party at city hall, reduced their majority on city council last week in a Valentine’s Day break up with Councillor Rebecca Bligh. 

“It has become clear that [Bligh] is not aligned with the shared priorities and team-oriented approach that defines ABC Vancouver,” ABC President Stephen Molnar said in a statement announcing the split on Friday.

“Time and again, Councillor Bligh has shown that she is not a core value fit with ABC Vancouver. Rather than working with caucus to find common ground and advance solutions, she has chosen to put her own views ahead of the collective work of the team,” Molnar explained.

Speaking to reporters later that day, Bligh said she’d been informed of the decision in a “pretty one-way conversation,” with Mayor Ken Sim earlier that same day, according to CBC. 

"I would have assumed, or hoped, that a productive conversation about where we are not aligned in terms of policy would have happened ahead of this discussion, and it didn't," she said. 

Bligh will continue in her role as a city councillor and sit as an independent, she said.

Background: Bligh has a history of following her personal values when it comes to political party alignment. First elected as a city councillor with the Non-Partisan Alliance in 2018, Bligh quit the NPA the following year to sit as an independent due to what she called a far-right takeover of the party's board, according to the Vancouver Sun. 

However, there have been disagreements within the party since 2022, as ABC has used their majority in city government to make some big moves. 

Long time coming: While not directly addressed in ABC’s statement, Bligh’s formal split with the party comes after dissenting from some of her party colleagues on a couple of motions over the past six months.

Most recently – in response to Mayor Ken Sim’s plan to halt the construction of net new supportive housing in Vancouver – Bligh attempted to get input from the provincial government (who fund and operate these projects through BC Housing) on the implications of that idea before council votes on it at the end of February. 

Bligh, along with ABC councillors Lisa Dominato and Peter Meiszner, also voted against an ABC-led motion that would have ended Vancouver’s ban on natural gas for heating and hot water in new construction builds. Bligh switched her vote after getting more information on the proposal. 

Bligh also said she took issue with ABC’s attempt to suspend investigations by the city’s integrity commissioner, calling it a “targeted conspiracy,” in a CBC interview on Tuesday.

“While we may be elected within a party, we are expected to think and use critical thinking… That is what I have done at every single decision, even if it meant ruffling feathers or breaking rank,” Bligh said, according to CTV. 

Party exodus: In the 2022 election, ABC Vancouver successfully elected 17 representatives to city council, park board, and school board, plus winning the mayor’s office. 

However, now in the second half of their term, the party has lost five of those elected officials, including Vancouver School Board Chair Victoria Jung, and three park board commissioners, all of whom left ABC after the party attempted to change governance structures, at the park board, and with the city’s integrity commissioner, respectively. 

Halting new supportive housing, asking the province to eliminate the elected park board, and suspending investigations by the city’s integrity commissioner were not part of the party’s 2022 election platform, according to BIV. 

Leadership questions: “Mayor Ken Sim has abandoned the core principles that brought me to ABC in the first place, and while this was not my decision, I think it’s the right direction for me and for our city,” Bligh said on Friday, according to Global. 

“I joined ABC because Mayor Ken Sim told us he wanted a diversity of opinions at the table. By his actions today, Mayor Ken Sim has shown that was never the case,” Bligh said on social media.

“Under [Sim’s] leadership, it’s more top-down, ‘this is what we’re going to do,’ and everyone has to get on board. If those are the core values that ABC now stands for and represents then I think it’s fair to say I’m not a core value fit,” Bligh told CBC on Tuesday.

“Some people say politics changes people… I don’t know if that’s the case in this instance, but what I do know is the values we ran on with ABC are no longer the values I see ABC reflecting in their policies,” Bligh explained, according to CTV. 

What it means: Bligh removal from ABC brings their majority on city council down to six councillors, plus the mayor. That’s still a comfortable majority to pass motions, particularly with two council seats being empty until the April 5th by-election. 

Thought-bubble: Based on their desire for a “strong, united team,” ABC seems to have favourably weighed removing a councillor whose support they couldn’t necessarily depend on, and put a potential voice of dissent outside the party’s intra-council channels, despite the risks of creating a new opponent at city hall.     

Bligh’s removal also functions to send a message to the rest of the caucus about keeping the party line. ABC Coun. Lisa Dominato also supported Bligh’s attempt to get more information from the province on the supportive housing file, and voted against the ABC majority on the gas ban. 

Looking ahead: Going forward, it will be intriguing to see if Dominato — on issues where she may be at odds with ABC and the mayor, like halting supportive housing builds – will continue to speak and vote at council based on her personal values and perspectives, or if Bligh’s removal will have a chilling effect and reinforce party discipline. 

If it’s the former, and Dominato continues to oppose some of ABC’s moves, it would be a challenging situation for ABC’s leadership. Not acting could embolden further dissent, while doubling-down on another expulsion could meaningfully chip away at ABC’s council majority, and significantly raise the stakes of the upcoming by-election.

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👮 Vancouver Police Chief Constable Adam Palmer announced he’ll be stepping down at the end of April after ten years in the top job. Mayor Ken Sim spoke fondly of Palmer, calling him “a role model, a mentor, a teammate, and a friend.” Palmer, who joined the VPD in 1987, said he’ll be doing “something else” once he retires from policing, but isn’t ready to say what it is. [City News]

🛑 Part of the Seawall around Stanley Park has been closed since Feb. 7 due to ice buildup and falling icicles. The section of path between the Lions Gate Bridge and Third Beach is now at risk of being hit by debris slides from the steep cliffs above, with the park board saying the area will remain closed until they’re confident the slope is stable. [City News] 

🍻 The city is considering allowing businesses that serve liquor to stay open later, every night of the week. The proposed changes would let downtown venues apply to stay open until 3 am, while restaurants in the rest of the city could keep serving until 2 am. Thoughts? Opinions? Let ‘em know here. [COV]

⚡ You can hardly go five minutes without seeing a Tesla on Vancouver’s streets. But opposition to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s politics and involvement in the U.S. government has led some electric vehicle advocates to try and distance themselves from the brand. One Vancouver EV advocate says getting behind the wheel of a Tesla isn’t a political statement for most drivers, adding he’s put a sticker on his car that reads “I bought this before Elon went crazy.” [CBC]  

🤕 Canucks often-injured star goalie Thatcher Demko has been sidelined again, and won’t be joining the team on their upcoming five-game road trip. He’s officially listed as week-to-week. Luckily for Demko and the Canucks, the most recent injury is reportedly not to his knee, a previous issue which caused Demko to miss the bulk of last year’s playoff run and the first few months of this season. [Canucks Army]

📑 The provincial legislature kicked off its spring session on Tuesday, with B.C.'s new lieutenant-governor, Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia, calling it the “most consequential time for our province” since WWII. Lisogar-Cocchia’s throne speech emphasized the threat of American tariffs, calling them “unprecedented and unjustified,” and calling for Canadian unity to “fight back.” Meanwhile, Opposition leader John Rustad said Premier David Eby wants to blame someone for his failures. “I think it’s wrong to blame the Americans,” Rustad said. [CBC]

🚫 Last week, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie announced city council had decided to terminate a proposed 90-unit supportive housing project. It’s been a political saga, as the provincial government suspended the controversial project prior to the fall election, only to reinstate it at the same site earlier this month. Brodie said the province’s inconsistent handling of the project made the situation untenable for the city, while he and other councillors said they listened to local opposition to the project. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon expressed his disappointment at the decision, saying it hurts the overall health of the community. [Richmond News]

👩🏻‍⚕️ Dr. Victoria Lee, the president and CEO of Fraser Health since 2018, has been removed from her position, “effective immediately.” Lee and the board “mutually agreed” that Lee would move on to other opportunities. The health authority has been under scrutiny for various reasons, including the condition of an ER in Surrey, an instance of not releasing health records to loved ones, and an online harm reduction program that the province asked them to review. [Global]

Today, we’re featuring a newly built housing co-op in a terrific location on Fraser Street that’s specifically for the elders among us (you must be 55 or older to apply). The North Arm Housing Co-Operative has a total of 58 one-bedroom and studio apartments, with a multi-purpose senior’s centre on the main floor. One of the best parts… pet owners are welcome!

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The City of Others, a powerful dance and live music performance, explores how cities can be transformed from places of prejudice and loneliness to ones of collective belonging. Afro-Columbian dance company Sankofa Danzafro will be in Vancouver for three shows over two days, Feb. 21st and 22nd. Tickets $35+

Just For Laughs Vancouver is still rolling until February 23rd with various shows across the city. Tickets and more info 

The Taras Luka Quartet takes the stage at Zameen Art House on Granville Island to perform “Part of the Journey,” a captivating album blending Latin, Fusion, and Jazz influences. Tickets $25

The Museum of Anthropology at UBC will be hosting the 18th annual Coastal Dance Festival from March 4 to 6. The festival, organized by Dancers of Damelahamid, features Indigenous artists from across the Pacific Northwest, as well as from Montreal, Australia, and New Zealand. Most performances and events are included with museum admission, while two evening performances require tickets. More info

You can catch a variety of international films at the Cinematheque this week, including this evening with Agent of Happiness, a film following a government employee in the Kingdom of Bhutan, who’s collecting data on happiness. On Sunday, they’re screening the Vancouver premiere of Wang Bing’s Youth (Homecoming), about the cyclical nature of sweatshop labour in one Chinese city, following young workers as they return home for the New Year’s break. Tickets $15 

The Rio is showing Conclave this Friday and Saturday, and if you missed No Other Land at VIFF earlier this month you’ve got another opportunity to see the Oscar-nominated documentary this Saturday. Tickets $15 

1:1 Artists Select is a relatively new initiative at the Vancouver Art Gallery that invites artists to select a work from the VAG’s extensive collection to be displayed in dialogue with their own work. Currently on display are works by Vancouver-based sculpture artist Liz Magor and conceptual, process-based artist Eric Cameron. Tickets $29 or visit for free on the first Friday evening of the month (4-8pm, reservations recommended) 

Slow Looking is a new exhibit that invites contemplation, providing encounters of beguiling opacity and abstraction, directing us to a more complex, mediated encounter with the pieces on display. Opening Feb. 15 at Catriona Jeffries. More info

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