Dysfunction and the search for accountability in Vancouver politics

It’s the latest example of dysfunction in local government, park board commissioner Brennan Bastyovanszky is attempting to have fellow commissioner Marie-Claire Howard sacked. 

The important context here is that the two commissioners are on opposite sides of the political feud that broke out over Mayor Ken Sim’s plan to abolish the park board. Bastyovanszky, a former member of the ABC party left to sit as an independent, while Howard stayed with ABC and supported Sim’s plan. 

There are very few ways to remove an elected official from office in Vancouver. Aside from a serious criminal offence or conflict of interest, there are a couple of procedural violations that could get someone kicked out of office — one of which is missing four meetings in a row without getting a leave of absence. 

Bastyovanszky’s motion points to three consecutive meetings that Howard missed, and a fourth where Howard was absent for a portion of the meeting. The motion says Howard has “demonstrated a consistent pattern of absenteeism…  raising serious questions about her capacity to serve in public office,” and asks for a legal opinion from city lawyers on whether the partial absence meets the standard for disqualification. 

Howard has been absent from 40% of regularly scheduled park board meetings since the start of 2024. Those absences were for personal and family reasons, Howard said. 

“It is pretty clear that this commissioner is flirting with stepping over that line, and is not really engaged in the decisions of the park board,” Stewart Prest, a political science professor at UBC, told Vancity Lookout.

“I disagree with her on a lot of stuff,” Bastyovanszky said, adding that he finds Howard difficult to work with. However, “it's important that she's at the table to offer a secondary opinion,” he said.

Howard declined to participate in an interview for this story but did provide written responses to questions from Vancity Lookout. 

Howard said her absences in early 2025 were due to personal loss, when her mother passed away. “It has been an incredibly difficult time for me and my family. Throughout this, I have continued my work in Vancouver and remain committed to serving Vancouver residents,” Howard said. 

Howard argued that the absences raised in the motion don’t meet the standard for disqualification, and getting a legal opinion is a waste of time and money. 

Prest agreed that Bastyovanszky’s motion is unlikely to lead to Howard’s removal. 

“I don't see this as ultimately culminating in a decision that would remove [Howard] unless they do actually miss four consecutive meetings,” Prest said. 

Board Chair Laura Christensen also doesn’t think Howard’s absences meet the threshold for disqualification. However, Christensen is frustrated with Howard’s lack of attendance, telling Vancity Lookout that Howard should step down if she can’t follow through with her commitments as an elected official. 

“I think if somebody didn't show up to work 30% of the time, people would not be surprised if they got fired. But somehow, [Howard] is still collecting a paycheck from the city, and really just checked out of the job,” Christensen told Vancity Lookout. 

Since taking office, Christensen shared she’s been managing two pregnancies and a baby at home, all without missing a meeting without leave. “Whatever else you’ve got going on in your life, you should be able to make that happen,” Christensen said. 

“I am not the first commissioner to miss meetings,” Howard said, but didn’t directly answer questions about why she hasn’t requested leave for any of her absences, which is standard procedure when officials need to miss meetings. 

Christensen also pointed out that, when Howard does attend, it’s almost always online, which makes it much more difficult for the chairperson. Howard has attended just four out of 30 meetings in person since the start of 2024. The most recent meeting in July was the first time she’d attended in person in just over a year. 

Howard told Vancity Lookout that she does not attend board meetings in person “due [to] the hostile environment which affects my mental health.”  

Personal and political tension has marked park board proceedings since Mayor Sim announced the plans to abolish the independent park board in December 2023. At a meeting that month, photos of Howard’s phone, taken from the public gallery, were posted online and became the subject of political intrigue.

Twenty-one months later, there’s no resolution. But the schism Sim’s plan created, with three former ABC commissioners leaving the party and three remaining in support, has created a “more poisonous” culture on the board, Prest, the UBC professor, said. 

“The very abrupt and high-handed approach [by Sim]... certainly polarized the park board itself and led to the kinds of dynamics we now see,” Prest told Vancity Lookout, adding that the issue is now a political struggle, making it less likely to be resolved in the best interest of Vancouverites. 

Ultimately, this dynamic has eaten up time and attention, led to worse decisions, and eroded effective governance. 

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