B.C. government tables legislation to dissolve the Vancouver Park Board

The B.C. government has tabled legislation to dissolve the Vancouver Park Board.

This legislation comes in response to a request from the City of Vancouver, but it will be up to Vancouver’s council if — and when — it holds the assent vote and passes the bylaw.

Vancouver residents will be able to vote on whether they approve of a dissolution or not.

If passed, jurisdiction over all areas designated as parks in the city of Vancouver would then transfer to the Vancouver city council.

1:48 Sim pleads with Eby to follow through and make change to abolish park board

The B.C. government says the new legislation would require a unanimous vote by Vancouver’s council, along with the assent vote, for removing a permanent park designation.

As requested by the city, permanent parkland being transferred to First Nations would be exempt from the assent vote, the B.C. government confirmed.

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The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation was established in 1889 as an independent statutory body to oversee and manage parks in Vancouver.

In December 2023, the Vancouver city council passed a resolution to ask the province to dissolve the park board and transfer all the board’s powers, assets and obligations to the council.

Abolishing the park board has proven controversial.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim campaigned on keeping and fixing the elected body in the 2022 municipal election, but months later, he reversed course, saying it was too broken to repair.

Sim argues that cutting the body would eliminate red tape and redundancies, while saving the city about $7 million a year.

Critics — including four sitting park board commissioners, three who initially ran under Sim’s ABC Slate — say it fulfils an important democratic role.

If passed by the legislative assembly, the proposed changes to the Vancouver Charter would come into effect when the legislation receives royal assent, according to the B.C. government.

In a statement on Thursday, Sim said they are “hopeful that this announcement finally provides the clarity and direction needed to move this process forward… our goal has always been to provide the world-class parks and recreation facilities that Vancouverites deserve.”