The Save Our Park Board Coalition congratulates Premier David Eby and the MLAs elected from all the parties in the October 19 BC provincial election.

The Coalition brings together the Association Presidents Group (APG) representing 19 Vancouver Community Centres, thirty former Park Board Commissioners, and a coalition of concerned Vancouver citizens.

The Save Our Park Board Coalition supports democratically elected governing bodies. This is a major reason why the weoppose Mayor Ken Sim’s proposal to eliminate the democratically elected Vancouver Park Board.

During the last Vancouver civic election in 2022, over 171,000 citizens cast ballots to elect a Park Board to a four year term. Mayor Sim and his ABC party did not proposeeliminating the elected Park Board as part of their platform so there is no mandate. We do not believe the Mayor and seven City Councilors have the right to deny Vancouver citizens their choice.

Over the last months, the Save Our Park Board campaign has collected over 7000 signatures from Vancouver citizens, both at community events and with an online petition, opposed to the dissolution of the elected Park Board.

Mayor Sim’s proposal to abolish the Park Board midterm cannot proceed without the provincial government making amendments to the Vancouver City Charter. The Save Our Park Board Coalition would like to remind Premier Eby of comments he made at an all-candidates meeting prior to the election where he said he didn’t think dissolving the Park Board would be a priority for a new NDP government before the next Vancouver municipal election in October 2026.

We also note that the BC opposition parties have both made it clear that the decision about the future of the Vancouver Park Board requires a mandate from Vancouver voters.

Premier Eby’s government faces important issues related to health care, affordability, public safety and reconciliation. The Save Our Park Board Coalition believes any decision on the future of the Park Board should be made by the citizens of Vancouver.