The Vancouver Park Board shot down a proposal to ban the use and display of balloons in any of its parks or facilities on Monday night.
The board had discussed a motion by Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon that proposed banning the items because they’re made of latex or plastic, non-renewable, and an “ever-increasing product in our landfills, beaches, waterways, oceans and other natural areas.”
But five park board commissioners voted against the motion.
The motion noted that animals that live on land and in the water “frequently misidentify deflated balloons as sources of food,” with sea turtles “especially vulnerable.”
“It’s that problem over time of where they end up,” Mackinnon had said previously.
Had the motion passed, it wouldn’t have involved fining people, but it might have involved having park rangers tell people they weren’t allowed to have balloons in parks and to “dispose of them responsibly,” Mackinnon clarified.
Commissioner Catherine Evans stated her opposition to the idea by simply saying “I’m voting against the motion, as it reads, because it’s too far too fast.”