Deep dive: What just happened to the park board and what comes next

What happened: Speculated on last night, confirmed in the evening, and now a reality today, Mayor Ken Sim announced he’s bringing forward a motion to the next council meeting to ask the province to change Vancouver’s charter to end the park board and combine its responsibilities with council, according to CBC

Justification: Sim justified the move by arguing two elected bodies presiding over the city were “broken” and that the system “doesn’t work,” according to CBC. He emphasized that it was about management and “restoring” the parks. He said at the press conference that it would result in “streamlined operational efficiencies” and budget savings, but not change how the parks operate.

• The park board is the only body like it in North America — with the exception of Minneapolis — that has a separate elected body from council. It’s responsible for parks, recreation facilities and budget and capital plan that goes with it. 

Sim also blamed the board for recent problems, like the looper moth infestation that will cause 160,000 trees in the Stanley Park to be cut down, according to reports from the press conference.

• He said green space would not be lost as part of the merger, according to CBC. 

Reminder: Sim originally ran on ending the park board during the election, but eventually backtracked during the campaign. (You might say he’s backtracking on the backtrack).

Drama: Sim was joined by three park board members from his ABC Party. The other three, Laura Christensen, Brennan Bastyovanszky, and Scott Jensen, did not attend and did not support the move. Christensen shared an email from the mayor’s chief of staff, in which she said they’d been removed from the ABC Party, according to Global. Christensen noted it was the first communication they had received on the topic.

• Jensen took to Twitter to say he was “keeping that promise” of managing the park board. He also retweeted a Change.org petition that was launched this morning in favour of preserving the board. 

As noted by CBC reporter Justin McElroy, these three members were considered the moderates on the board, and blocked the appointment of a more conservative ABC member as chair. 

 Some speculation: Former park board commissioner Aaron Jasper speculated that one reason Sim is doing this is to open up public golf courses to development, according to CBC. Sim stated right off the bat at the press conference there would be no material change in how parks operate.

Reading between the lines: The lack of communication with existing members illustrates the mayor’s team understood that this would cause a media storm, and wanted to stay on top of the rollout. Putting aside whether they should’ve informed those members, the members would’ve likely brought it to the press given their response so far. 

What it means: The decision would further entrench the power of Sim’s council to enact change, giving them more power over critical functions that people interact with on a day-to-day basis, such as parks and recreation facilities. Recent decisions such as removing a Vancouver Public Library board member and replacing them with a donor to his ABC party, indicate a further trend of centralizing and more oversight from their team.

Yes, but: Will there actually be a huge pushback considering council shifting the board towards a structure that every city in North America uses? 

A poll conducted in 2022 on whether to keep the board showed that 52 percent of people agreed or strongly agreed that the city should eliminate the park board, according to CTV. Those downtown were especially in favour, at 63 percent. Those in favour of keeping it were at 29 percent. 

The poll also showed a steady increase in opposition, with 44 percent opposed to keeping it in 2020. That represents a 12 percent increase over two years. 

• What comes next: The motion would create a working group to ensure a smooth transition. The province would need to approve the change since the Vancouver Charter is a provincial statute. 

Other interesting info: Is the mayor favouring certain outlets over others that are more critical? We can’t say this for sure, but he did grant an interview to the Vancouver Sun and Daily Hive, but not Justin McElroy from the CBC. 

• Dig deeper: You can watch the entire press conference here.