Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim held an emergency meeting with the city manager and police chief on Thursday, after a bizarre public hearing that received many calls from the United States.
People from outside Vancouver and even outside Canada called into a public hearing on the city’s controversial villages plan.
Councillors grilled the callers on their reason for phoning in and if they had any connection to Vancouver.
The plan would rezone 17 single-family neighbourhoods to allow six-storey multi-unit buildings.
With the influx of callers, Wednesday’s public hearing went from morning to midnight.
“We do not want that democratic institution disturbed or disrupted,” Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said, calling it an act of foreign interference.
“Individuals who have no connection to Canada, who have no connection to Vancouver, who are calling from a foreign country to clog up our system. That’s where people will lose confidence,” Sim added.
A B.C. hospitality union, Unite Here Local 40, says it organized some of the out-of-town speakers, including some from California.
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The union argues that the villages plan benefits developers without guaranteeing affordable housing.
“I think it’s just bad form to encourage this as an active campaign, and it does not benefit anyone perhaps other than donors or interested parties,” said Pete Fry, a Vancouver city councillor with the Green Party.
“But it certainly doesn’t impact the outcome of our decision making.”
Vancouver police confirmed they are investigating and say if the calls meet the threshold of foreign interference, they could be referred to the RCMP.
“We’re going to take it seriously because we can’t have people interfering, if that’s the case, in our institutions, in our city, in what’s going on locally that impacts you and I from somewhere abroad,” Chief Const. Steve Rai with the Vancouver Police Department, said.
“So we’re going to look at that seriously.”
Sim is asking the province to amend the Vancouver Charter so only Canadians can register to speak at public hearings.
Ken Sim is probably on a call with Meng Wanzhou right now
So Unite 40 are so pathetic they cant even find locals to support them they gotta hire yankees to help them?
He wouldn’t have a problem with the developers of projects being foreign. It’s all the area citizens who don’t agree with the villages plan and extreme height of a new downtown highrise proposal.
Their plan sound horrible. People don’t want to live in condos. They are destroying single family homes. Insanity. So what if people call from out of province. They knew where they are from, so why not take time to ask each caller why are they calling and does it affect them. Mean while how many areas in BC are owned by China and other countries and of course the aboriginals taking all our land and making the provincial and federal government controlled by only aboriginals.
Meanwhile Ken Sim and City Hall are totally fine with the massive surge in severance payouts totaling over $6 million., Ken Sim is the most corrupt mayor Vancouver has ever had. Period
Ken Sim is the most corrupt mayor Vancouver has ever had. Period
Meanwhile Ken Sim and City Hall are totally fine with the massive surge in severance payouts totaling over $6 million. The controversy centers on a high-volume reduction of non-union staff, a secretive exit package for the former city manager, and initial refusals by City Hall to disclose the true costs to taxpayers. Further proof that Ken Sim and his supporters are nothing more than hypocrites
The importance of free speech and debate in a democratic society cannot be overstated. Having foreigners speaking at Council Meetings doesn’t really make sense but is it truly such a huge problem that we have to make it top news and Council’s top problem today?
The questions that Global and everyone should be asking is:
Is this truly a problem needing this much scrutiny and tax payer’s dollars at this point? Maybe but how does the city actually know after 1 or 2 meetings? They are rushing to fix something again without proper due process. Why? What is the City trying to do? That should be a red flag.
For example, If there are only 5-10 speakers out of 300 calling in that are foreigners is that truly a huge issue that needs a change in the charter at this point? Probably not. Why not monitor and see if it continues then re-access. If it blows up and large % of foreigners are calling in then maybe we need to spend resources on this. Are the few people really swaying the City Council’s decision and is it really taking up that much time?
I agree that there are a lot of speakers as of late at the City of Vancouver but other cities have next to no one at council meetings? Council and news should look at why the decisions are so controversial as of late at the City of Vancouver? Was it like this in previous councils?
I suggest that Global and others should investigate and really ask Ken Sims and Council harder questions and dive into the story and ask them why all of a sudden and is it truly an issue that requires whole sale change to a system?
What’s the consequence less people being engaged? That could be the outcome of making this an issue and should not be the answer if so.
The more road blocks to public input the less free speech and debate that will happen. If people are passionate about an issue, then that usually means there are real issues with those decisions and we should focus on the reason there are so many people opposed rather than a few anomalies in the process (unless it grows and becomes a real issue). We need more MEANINGFUL public engagement. Not just Survey’s. Public hearings are the most important engagement in the process. At this point the facts don’t show a true issue requiring this much news or scrutiny from the City and we should question why Council is making it such a big deal all of a sudden and without monitoring it for a while to see if it truly is a big problem warranting this much effort? (IMO).
Oh, I’m sorry retards, City Council is not supposed yo be a call in radio show.
Who else is as stupud as Ken Sim?
I am a member of this union and have never liked its sneaky practices. I hope the full extent of the law is brought to bear on them. They have posters plastered over the union board about hotel rooms for tourists and tents for workers (suggesting the membership are homeless)
“That’s when people lose confidence”
We lost confidence un all of you a long time ago. It’s amazing how you can’t see the hatred everyone has for you all.
I wouldn’t call it foreign interference.
Just one more local NIMBY, BANANA and CAVE’s using their progressive networks to create fake support and obstacles.
I’d bet money this is just one crusty old basement suite “wanna be” Kits hippy using Grinder to rally support .
More anti-development liberal go fund me crowd.
Just like road gluing “local” protesters, tree chaining dirt bags, and random tent encamping cause du jour flea bags!
Leftist!