Vancouver mayor says public safety vote lets residents share views they fear voicing | Daily Hive

Vancouver mayor says public safety plebiscite lets voters share views they fear expressing publicly

Mayor Ken Sim during ABC's press conference on Aug. 13, 2026, announcing the public safety plebiscite during the October 2026 civic election. (Kenneth Chan)

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says he and his ABC Vancouver party colleagues have reached a “tipping point” over the city’s addictions and mental health crisis and the associated resulting public disorder, as he formally launched a push to put two major public safety plebiscite questions directly to voters in the civic election on Oct. 17, 2026.

With ABC’s majority control of Vancouver City Council, the two public safety plebiscite questions are expected to be added to the civic election ballot form — in addition to the list of candidates to fill the seats of mayor, City Council, Vancouver Park Board, and Vancouver School Board, as well as the separate plebiscite questions on the capital plan.

Sim was joined by ABC city councillors and candidates and other supporters of the plan during a press conference held on the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 13 to further elaborate on the plebiscite.

As previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized on Thursday morning, the public safety plebiscite questions would ask voters whether the City should strengthen its laws against open-air hard drug use in public spaces and whether Vancouver should formally call on the B.C. government to establish a secure treatment facility with voluntary care and at least 100 involuntary care beds at the old St. Paul’s Hospital site — on a temporary basis, until Concord Pacific is ready to proceed with its redevelopment plans — or another suitable location.

On the morning of Friday, Aug. 14, during a Special Council meeting called by Sim, the ABC majority in City Council will formally approve both plebiscite questions. So far, the parties of the opposition city councillors have already issued statements indicating they will not support adding the questions to the civic election ballot.

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ABC’s approach, coming just over two months before the civic election, follows repeated public pressure from Sim on Premier David Eby’s BC NDP provincial government to create new involuntary care capacity within Vancouver, rather than concentrating newly announced facilities elsewhere in B.C.

“Vancouver will have become just another West Coast city with an exodus of residents to the suburbs and a slow decay inside our city”

Sim said he found it problematic that Vancouver residents have grown accustomed to scenes of public disorder from severe addiction and mental illness that should not be considered normal. He framed the plebiscite as an attempt to change both the City’s approach to public spaces and the provincial government’s healthcare response to people in severe crisis.

“It’s not kind, it’s not compassionate, and it’s not caring. A compassionate city doesn’t leave people suffering on our streets while asking neighbourhoods to live with the consequences. That isn’t a solution, and that’s the reality that we’re living right now,” said Sim during the press conference.

He said public safety is the issue he hears about most frequently from Vancouver residents and described it as his top priority. Sim also tied conditions on the streets to the long-term health and economic viability of Downtown Vancouver.

“We at the City of Vancouver, we’re trying to save Granville Street. We’re trying to save downtown. We’re trying to save our city. Let me be clear, if we lose any neighbourhood, we will lose our city. My fear is 50 years from now, Vancouver will have become just another West Coast city with an exodus of residents to the suburbs and a slow decay inside our city,” continued the mayor.

Opposition parties and other critics of Sim were quick today to accuse the mayor and ABC of using the public safety plebiscite for electioneering, with OneCity Vancouver calling the plan “totally unnecessary.” Both TEAM for a Livable Vancouver and the Vancouver Liberals argued that the municipal government already has the authority to crack down on public disorder, while the Liberals also dismissed the proposal as “political theatre” and a waste of money for the additional incremental cost needed to expand the City’s civic election organizing efforts.

However, Sim pushed back on that criticism, arguing that the plebiscite would provide the City with a very strong democratic mandate to pursue “a fundamental change on enforcement and healthcare in the City of Vancouver,” particularly given the opposition that police, municipal officials, and health authorities have historically faced over changes to how Downtown Eastside and public safety matters are handled when it comes to addictions, mental health, and homelessness issues. Similarly, the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) today called ABC’s plan a “gimmick that exploits the misery of the vulnerable for cheap political points.”

The two public safety plebiscite questions would be advisory rather than legally binding, but ABC has emphasized that a favourable result would give the next City Council a strong voter-backed mandate to not only aggressively pursue changes at the municipal level but also apply greater pressure on the provincial government to prioritize new treatment facilities and other meaningful policy changes and measures within Vancouver.

“I can tell you a lot of people are afraid to say how they feel in public because they feel intimidated”

Sim also asserted that many Vancouver residents have been reluctant to publicly share their true views on public disorder, crime, and the current approach to addictions and mental health issues because they fear being criticized or intimidated.

“I’m at a loss. I don’t know why it’s a bad thing to ask the voters and the residents of Vancouver for their opinion to have a say in this incredibly important conversation,” said the mayor, pushing back against opponents who have characterized the advisory plebiscite as little more than an expensive opinion poll.

“This one’s coming from the heart here. I get the opportunity to have conversations throughout the city with a lot of individuals, and I can tell you a lot of people are afraid to say how they feel in public because they feel intimidated. And so, this gives us an opportunity to have every single resident who wants to come out and vote — to vote on this issue without any kind of coercion or intimidation.”

Sim acknowledged that the City does not have complete control over the outcome of either public safety plebiscite question, if approved — particularly the creation of a new healthcare facilities, which falls under provincial jurisdiction and carries very significant costs. But Sim argued that a decisive result would send a political message to both the next City Council and the provincial government.

“No one’s ever had an opportunity to voice their opinion en masse, not only directly to the City of Vancouver and future Council, but to Victoria,” said the mayor.

“I think people need to know, definitely in Victoria, they need to know how important this issue is and how frustrated residents are.”

Without the public safety plebiscite questions, the City’s budget to conduct the 2026 civic election was previously estimated at $9.4 million, which is double the budget for the 2022 civic election due to the new efforts to significantly expand voting opportunities. Sim said adding the public safety plebiscite component would increase the cost by four to six per cent — between $380,000 and $560,000. This would potentially bring the total civic election cost to up to just under $10 million.

But Sim also noted that the municipal government also spends more than $100 million annually on additional policing, fire and rescue services, sanitation, park maintenance, bylaw enforcement, and other municipal services to deal with the significant public disorder impacts he attributes to “failed provincial policies” and provincial government costs downloaded to the City. This takes away from the City’s capacity to invest in new and improved community and recreational centres, public parks, infrastructure, and other traditional City services, with municipal tax dollars paid by Vancouver residents and businesses going towards covering provincial responsibilities instead.

For the first public safety plebiscite question, Sim said the City wants voters to decide whether Vancouver should extend its existing regulation of conduct in public spaces to the open-air consumption of hard drugs. He pointed to existing municipal restrictions on activities such as smoking, excessive noise, and disorderly conduct as examples of the City already setting limits on behaviour in shared spaces.

ABC’s argument is that stronger municipal rules could give police and bylaw officers another tool to respond to highly visible public drug use, while also re-establishing a broader societal expectation around acceptable conduct in public parks, sidewalks, public plazas, SkyTrain stations, and other shared public spaces.

“We have an incredible corporate citizen in Concord”

The second public safety plebiscite question would seek a public mandate for the City to pressure the B.C. government to establish a major new treatment facility in Vancouver, with ABC proposing the soon-to-be-vacated old St. Paul’s Hospital campus as the preferred location.

Sim said the City is seeking a minimum of 100 involuntary care beds, along with additional voluntary treatment capacity. He emphasized that both involuntary and voluntary care capacity is needed.

When asked by media, Sim described the existing St. Paul’s Hospital campus on Burrard Street in Downtown Vancouver’s West End neighbourhood as the fastest practical opportunity because it is a functional major hospital that would otherwise sit empty over the coming years.

Providence Health Care’s existing hospital operations is expected to largely vacate its Burrard Street campus when the new St. Paul’s Hospital in the False Creek Flats opens in Spring 2027. ABC envisions making use of at least portions of the old hospital campus during the potentially lengthy period before Concord Pacific is ready to proceed with its massive high-density, mixed-use redevelopment of the 6.6-acre site. Concord Pacific acquired the old hospital site in 2020 for its redevelopment potential after Providence Health Care fully vacates the premises.

The old St. Paul’s Hospital campus on Burrard Street in Downtown Vancouver’s West End. (Jeff Whyte/Shutterstock)

According to ABC, the developer has provided its tentative endorsement of the concept, and indicated that new construction for the redevelopment of the site would not occur for up to 10 years.

“The St. Paul’s site is, when you look at all of the options that are available to us in the City of Vancouver, it’s the most turnkey solution out there. Is it a long-term solution? Probably not, but there will be a time between moving over to the new St. Paul’s next year and what the property owners figures out what they’re going to do with it,” said Sim.

“I actually think we have an incredible corporate citizen in Concord. We’ve had a conversation, and they’ve said they are willing to step up and support any administration in Victoria or Vancouver on this incredible important issue. We’re very fortunate to have corporate citizens like Concord, who are seen beyond regular business and standing up for the community.”

However, Concord Pacific was more cautious when asked to publicly comment on its support and willingness to enable the site’s interim use as an addictions and mental health treatment facility. They also noted that Providence Health Care has extended its lease of the property beyond 2027.

Last year, a Providence Health Care official told Daily Hive Urbanized most researchers will remain at the old hospital campus for an additional year and a half after the new hospital opens, until the new 12-storey Clinical and Research Centre building — currently being built next to the 2026-completed new main hospital building — opens in 2029.

“We are open to cooperate with the appropriate levels of government on any plans they may put forward. At St. Paul’s request last year, Concord has already extended the lease with the hospital beyond 2027. At this time, we do not have enough details to make further comment on the matter,” Matt Meehan, the vice president of planning for Concord Pacific, told Daily Hive Urbanized today upon inquiry.

Sim said the old St. Paul’s Hospital site already has capacity for more than 70 beds for such specialized healthcare uses, and argued that failing to address severe addiction and mental illness is itself adding strain to emergency departments and healthcare workers.

Asked how the provincial government could staff another 100 involuntary care beds at a time when B.C.’s healthcare system is already struggling with workforce shortages, based on recent comments by Premier Eby, Sim put responsibility squarely on the provincial government.

“With all due respect, they should do their job. That’s what they were elected to do. They are in charge of health care,” said Sim bluntly.

“There’s compassion fatigue and there’s fatigue in our emergency boards as we speak and the whole health care space. If we don’t deal with this issue, it’s going to make that issue worse. It’s going to actually make it even harder to find health care professionals to work in our hospitals. At the end of the day, with all due respect, being the premier is a hard job and we’re holding them accountable. And if that’s the response from the premier, then maybe the premier should be looking at other things to do.”

The mayor also rejected the idea that Vancouver residents requiring involuntary treatment could simply be sent to new facilities elsewhere in B.C.

He argued that treatment closer to a person’s home, family, and support network can improve recovery prospects and said Vancouver should have treatment capacity for local residents. He described the city as having the most acute need in the province and said sending a person experiencing a mental health crisis to a bed in Prince George would make little sense.

“We’ve invested heavily in harm reduction, but not enough in prevention, treatment, and enforcement. The consequences are felt citywide. That is not compassion.”

Sim was joined at the announcement by ABC elected officials and candidates, people with lived experience, Downtown Van president and CEO Jane Talbot, and clinical psychologist and addictions researcher Dr. Julian Somers.

Kimmie Jensen spoke about her own experience with addiction and recovery, telling the audience and media her sobriety date was Oct. 7, 2009. Jensen said being arrested and subsequently detoxing became a turning point that eventually allowed her to pursue an abstinence-based recovery program. She stressed that she was speaking from her own experience and acknowledged that other approaches may work for some people.

Jensen argued for greater opportunities for people to detox, stabilize, and move toward longer-term recovery, describing the difficult process she personally went through before regaining clarity and stability.

ABC city councillor candidate Lorraine Lowe drew on her six years working in Chinatown, where she said she witnessed both increasingly severe individual crises and the deterioration of conditions affecting the surrounding neighbourhood. She was the executive director of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden for nearly six years from 2018 to 2024, a period when Chinatown saw overwhelming challenges due to its adjacency to the Downtown Eastside. Since 2024, she has served as the executive director of the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre.

Lowe argued that the effects on people experiencing addiction and on surrounding communities are connected, saying neighbourhoods need to remain safe and accessible while people in crisis receive meaningful help.

“We’ve invested heavily in harm reduction, but not enough in prevention, treatment, and enforcement. The consequences are felt citywide. That is not compassion. It’s a quiet, steady erosion that often goes unnoticed, but its cumulative impact is undeniable,” said Lowe.

“That is how a city hollows out. Not in one dramatic moment, but one doorway, one storefront, and one family at a time. And the most heartbreaking part is that the person in the doorway is still there. Often sicker, more isolated, and in greater danger than the year before. One broken system. Two sets of casualties. Neither one received the help that they need. Our neighbourhoods thrive only when we ensure our streets remain safe and accessible for everyone.”

Over 1,500 welfare checks this year to date by BIA team to see if people are still alive

Talbot offered the perspective of the business community within Downtown Vancouver’s Central Business District and Granville Entertainment District, saying public safety has for years been the top priority among her business improvement association (BIA) membership.

“We can have deep compassion for people experiencing severe addiction and mental health crises and believe they deserve access to shelter, appropriate treatment, and care. And, I have come to know that normalizing open drug use in our public shared spaces has resulted in a less inviting, less healthy public realm in Downtown Vancouver,” said Talbot.

“For our businesses, this is not an abstract policy discussion or an imagined impact. They can attest to the limits of current interventions every day. At the front doors, on the sidewalks, outside of their businesses, and through the accounts of their employees, customers, and visitors.”

Talbot provided new figures from her BIA’s community safety team. Since the beginning of 2026, over a little more than the first seven months of the year, she said her organization has recorded more than 2,100 incidents of open drug use within its jurisdiction, more than 1,500 welfare checks, and nearly 1,100 instances of drug paraphernalia.

She highlighted the welfare checks in particular, saying each represents an instance in which a BIA team member had to determine whether someone encountered on the street was still breathing.

Talbot said visible disorder can influence whether residents and visitors feel comfortable coming downtown to shop, dine, attend entertainment, or work, with consequences for businesses and the broader Downtown Vancouver economy. At the same time, she called for a response that combines treatment, mental healthcare, outreach, appropriate care, and enforcement rather than relying on one measure alone.

Somers similarly argued that the existing system too often moves people repeatedly between the street, emergency departments, hospitals, and the justice system without resolving the underlying problem.

“My colleagues and I have detailed a dysfunctional revolving door, leading from the street to emergency rooms, to hospitals, to jail, and back to the street,” said Somers. “That is not treatment. That’s a system managing a crisis instead of solving it.”

Somers advocated for a more recovery-oriented approach with greater voluntary and involuntary treatment capacity. He pointed to changes underway in Ontario and Alberta, as well as Portugal’s treatment-focused system, to argue that governments can maintain stronger standards for public spaces while providing more intensive care to people experiencing severe addiction. Those comparisons and assessments were presented by Somers as part of his case for a policy shift.

“There is no hidden tradeoff in what I am recommending,” said Somers.

“We can hold high standards for how our sidewalks, parks, and transit stops function, while caring deeply for each person living in crisis. These two things must coexist, and avoiding that conversation isn’t protecting anyone.”

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