It’s now all but official that the Vancouver Park Board abolition will go ahead as the majority ABC Council has planned, but some of the reactions to the news have been wild.
Yesterday, the BC government indicated that it supports the Vancouver plan in principle.
Still, further work must be done to fully enshrine it, including a transition plan from the City of Vancouver.
Many are dismayed by the province’s decision and alarmed further by the Vancouver Park Board potentially being a thing of the past.
“And I’ll say it one more time: say goodbye to Stanley Park,” said one user on X.
Someone else pointed out that Stanley Park is federal land leased by the City.
Straight up fascism.
— Jeff Cavanagh (@JeffCavanagh1) December 15, 2023
Saray Blyth-Gerszak was a little more forward in her response to the motion being approved in council on Wednesday.
Fuck you @KenSimCity
— Sarah Blyth – Gerszak (@sarahblyth) December 14, 2023
Some had more balanced takes, like that there should be a referendum on the issue and that BC Premier David Eby needs to consider that ABC actually told voters they wouldn’t abolish the park board.
Overall, the reaction has been quite divisive. In one thread, you could find words like “good” supporting the move, with the following response saying “disgraceful.”
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Some reactions were shocked that the BC government would support the City of Vancouver’s decision to abolish a democratically elected park board, with some suggesting they still don’t necessarily see this being finalized.
Don’t hold your breath. I don’t think the province is going to draft anything until it sees the transition plan. They will likely find fault with that. Its going to go multiple rounds
— Gordon Anderson (@a14286983) December 15, 2023
A former park board commissioner also doesn’t believe it’s over yet.
Not so fast! lots of questions don’t start your victory dance yet https://t.co/ndAMPsMc2d
— John Coupar (@JohnCCoupar) December 14, 2023
Out of roughly 250 parks in Vancouver’s public park system, over 140 have “permanent” status. The remainder are technically “temporary” parks, based on a City of Vancouver staff report in early 2022 providing an inventory, including some parcels of Spanish Banks in Point Grey and Sunset Beach in the West End, which are some of the city’s most high-profile and longstanding beach parks.
“Make no mistake about it, as long as I’m mayor of Vancouver, parks will always be parks, and golf courses will always be golf courses. We’re going to ask the provincial government to actually strengthen the protections,” Ken Sim told Daily Hive Urbanized in a previous interview.
Where do you stand on the debate? Let us know in the comments.
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With files from Kenneth Chan