All three First Nations express support to abolish Vancouver Park Board

Downtown Vancouver skyline from Stanley Park. (4kclips/Shutterstock)

The three local First Nations within Vancouver have officially endorsed Mayor Ken Sim’s plan to abolish the elected body of the Park Board.

In an open letter dated March 1, addressed to the Government of British Columbia, the Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation, and Tsleil-Waututh Nation (MST) have jointly expressed their support to eliminate the separately elected body that governs Vancouver’s parks and recreation system.

Sim and his ABC-led City Council began the process in late 2023 to ask the provincial government to change the Vancouver Charter to not require the City of Vancouver to have a separately elected body overseeing the parks and recreation system.

These current responsibilities held by the Park Board’s seven commissioners would be transferred to the mayor and City Council.

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“We confirm that the MST Nations support the City’s initiative to amend the Vancouver Charter in the manner described above,” reads the letter signed by Musqueam’s Chief Wayne Sparrow, Squamish’s Chairperson Khelsilem, and Tsleil-Waututh’s Jen Thomas.

As part of the agreement, the Vancouver Charter will also be amended to align with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the requirements of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Members of the MST Technical Team will immediately begin work with officials with the provincial and municipal governments on this expanded aspect of the charter amendments, but the First Nations are also looking for a written commitment from both the provincial and municipal governments to begin the joint initiative on the legislation changes.

“We are grateful to Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation and Tsleil-Waututh Nation for their invaluable support and continued partnership,” said Mayor Sim in a statement today. “My team and I look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts with First Nations throughout this process to ensure our parks and recreation facilities get the care they deserve.”

The Musqueam Indian Band was the first First Nation to express their support for the elimination of the Park Board in December 2023, with the Tsleil-Waututh Nation subsequently indicating they would be open to discussions. Up until the release of this open letter, the Squamish Nation was the only local First Nation to not publicly comment on Sim’s move.

This announcement by all three First Nations fulfills in principal one of the three key requirements outlined by the provincial government that the City of Vancouver must address, with the other two requirements addressing park land ownership and the future of Park Board workers.

In late January 2024, City manager Paul Mochrie said these remaining two requirements are already fulfilled. He said park land ownership already legally falls under the City, not the Park Board, with the Mayor’s plan also proposing stronger park land protections, including the requirement for a unanimous vote within City Council and a referendum for a change of use. There would also be an accelerated process to reclassify more “temporary” parks as “permanent” parks, which is a power currently under City Council.

When it comes to the future of the Park Board workforce, Mochrie said the collective agreements or employment contracts of these workers is under the City, which negotiates these contracts on behalf of the Park Board. He also said the process to transition the Park Board’s governance and responsibilities to the Mayor’s Office and City Council is “relatively straightforward.”

However, the new majority makeup of the Park Board commissioners, led by three former ABC commissioners who are now completing their term as independents, and one Green commissioner, are looking to fight the Mayor’s Plan. In early February 2024, this Park Board majority approved the first steps towards a potential legal challenge.

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