B.C. government halts bill to abolish Park Board over First Nations concerns | Daily Hive

B.C. government halts legislation to abolish Park Board over First Nations concerns

Christine Boyle. (Christine Boyle)

Less than three weeks after the BC NDP-led government introduced legislation outlining the next steps toward potentially abolishing Vancouver Park Board’s elected commissioners, the bill has been abruptly withdrawn for further consideration and debate in the current legislative session — exposing a sharp divide and growing tension between the leadership of the provincial government and the City of Vancouver.

In a statement on Monday evening, B.C. Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Christine Boyle said Bill 26 will not be heading into second reading later this fall.

“The City of Vancouver has more work to do clarifying their intended direction, including working with Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Wautuh Nations,” she wrote in a post on X. “In the meantime we have shared work that I look forward to continuing making progress on together.”

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On October 10, Boyle first announced that legislation had been tabled to dissolve the Park Board, and transfer the governance responsibilities of the commissioners to the mayor and Vancouver City Council.

The legislation outlined that City Council would be given the powers to dissolve the Park Board by approving its own bylaw, but only if a majority (over 50 per cent) of residents approved the abolition in a referendum. The full jurisdiction of Vancouver’s parks, communities, and recreational facilities would be transferred to the City.

The sticking point: Parkland transfers to First Nations exempt from referendum requirement

Early on in the timeline of Mayor Ken Sim’s abolition proposal, the City had proposed stronger protections for parkland uses than what currently exists, with the municipal government requesting that permanent park designations be removed only from a mandatory unanimous vote of support from all 11 members of City Council, entailing the 10 city councillors and the mayor. There could also be potentially an added step of a referendum, such as adding it as a question in the civic election ballot.

In Boyle’s proposed legislation, she made a requirement for permanent parkland transfers to require both an unanimous vote in City Council and a referendum. But she also carved out an exception for permanent parkland being transferred to First Nations be exempt from the referendum requirement.

The exception made for First Nations — which would have removed residents’ ability to have the final say over all permanent parkland transfers — drew strong opposition from Mayor Sim, who said he would not support the legislation in its current form.

“To be clear, neither I nor City Council have ever formally requested any provincial changes of this nature. Had the Province shared with us this legislation in advance, we would have made our position clear,” said Sim in a statement on October 14, reacting to the legislation.

“We value our strong relationships with the Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation, and Tsleil-Waututh Nation, and remain committed to working together on shared priorities in the spirit of reconciliation. At the same time, I will not support, nor will I bring forward, a referendum that would allow any park land to be transferred without the direct consent of Vancouver residents.”

According to Boyle, as a measure of reconciliation, this exception for First Nations parkland transfers was requested by the City of Vancouver’s former city manager Paul Mochrie, who suddenly departed from the City in July 2025. In early September 2025, Donny van Dyke began his role as the new city manager.

The three local First Nations had originally supported Sim’s abolition push, with a joint letter addressed to the provincial government in March 2024 indicating their endorsement — provided that provincial legislation for the Vancouver Charter be also amended to align with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the requirements of the provincial Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Shortly after Sim announced his opposition to the legislation’s framework earlier this month, Premier David Eby stated the provincial government would be open to work with the mayor to change the requirements.

“We’ve done our best to bring it forward, and keep the various and sundry requests of the mayor and Council, as well as the administration of the City of Vancouver,” said Eby when asked by media during an unrelated press conference.

“He doesn’t want that section in the bill — that’s okay with me, and we’ll pass his bill for his Park Board issue and his City. We’ll work with the mayor to address that concern.”

First Nations request more consultation

But last week, the leaders of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations wrote a letter to Boyle, informing her that there was a need to perform more consultation with them on the proposed legislation as a condition of their support, as they stipulated in the original letter in March 2024.

In a post on X on Monday evening responding to Boyle’s comments, Mayor Sim blamed the provincial government — not the City — for failing to carry out the First Nations consultation on the proposed legislative changes, noting that the provincial government had not shared the bill with the City before it was tabled.

“The Province failed to consult with local First Nations and the City of Vancouver ahead of the introduction of this legislation in its current form. Our position has been clear all along. It’s the responsibility of the Minister to properly engage on her own legislation,” wrote Sim.

With less than a year remaining before the October 2026 civic election, time is running out for Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC Vancouver party to abolish the Park Board — a goal on which Sim has staked considerable political capital. The controversial effort has already come at a great direct cost: ABC lost its majority on the Park Board after three commissioners broke ranks in late 2023, announcing shortly after Sim unveiled his abolition plan that they would serve out their terms as independents. Sim has also previously voiced frustration with the provincial government’s delays with introducing legislation for nearly two years.

It also became a wedge issue in the April 2025 by-election to fill two vacant city councillor seats.

Before being elected MLA for the riding of Vancouver-Little Mountain in late 2024, following the provincial election, Boyle served as a Vancouver city councillor under the OneCity Vancouver party. During their time on City Council, Boyle and Sim had a notably strained relationship, with Boyle frequently opposing Sim’s policies — including his proposal to abolish the Park Board. In July 2025, Boyle changed cabinet roles — transitioning from the B.C. Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation to the new B.C. Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, as a part of Premier Eby’s broader cabinet shuffle.

Mayor Sim argues that abolishing the Park Board’s current structure of elected commissioners and placing its responsibilities directly under the City would result in more efficient park and recreation management. He contends that this change would improve facilities, reduce costs, and create a single line of political accountability through the mayor and City Council.

At present, there is confusion and a lack of accountability: while the mayor and City Council have the final say over Park Board’s operating budget and capital programs, it cannot directly influence the decisions down the chain due to the Park Board’s separate legal status. Moreover, aside from two other cases, Vancouver’s system of a separately elected Park Board is unique in both Canada and the United States. In nearly all cities, such as within the other municipal jurisdictions in Metro Vancouver, park operations fall directly under the authority of the mayor and City Council.

The issue over the future of the Park Board is also unfolding amid growing tension over Aboriginal title and land rights in the province, and the BC NDP-led government’s approach with reconciliation.

Recent court rulings — the decisions involving the Cowichan Tribes and Haida First Nation — have raised new major concerns about the security of private property and the provincial government’s transparency in its land negotiations with First Nations.

Earlier this fall, the BC NDP introduced legislative changes that would allow municipal governments to hold secret closed-door meetings when discussing confidential or “culturally sensitive” information shared by First Nations — a move the provincial government says will strengthen collaboration, but which would also limit public transparency.

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