‘We are regretably pressured into a predicament not of our producing,’ says Environmentally friendly Party’s Tom Digby
Eco-friendly Bash park commissioner Tom Digby ideas to introduce a movement at the Feb. 5 park board meeting to request up to $20,000 be spent on lawyers to request lawful information on “the merits and chance of success” of quashing Mayor Ken Sim’s transfer to abolish the elected board.
The request is in reaction to Sim’s announcement in December and afterwards movement authorized by his ABC vast majority of councillors to abolish the board and carry parks and recreation under management of metropolis council.
“We are regretably compelled into a predicament not of our making,” Digby explained. “And we really feel there is a powerful basis to thrust back again towards the mayor on lawful grounds, as properly as political grounds. But we need at minimum these two prongs of the approach doing work in tandem.”
Digby’s movement exclusively requests unbiased counsel. He explained that in-property attorneys doing the job for the City of Vancouver simply cannot be tasked with mediating an difficulty among the town and the park board.
Tied to Digby’s request is a different motion that he and the 3 previous ABC commissioners handed in December 2023to immediate park board staff not to take part in any changeover strategies that would guide to abolition of the board.
Digby stated he thinks his request to request authorized tips will move, noting he has the guidance of former ABC commissioners Laura Christensen, Scott Jensen and Brennan Bastyovanszky. Bastyovanszky outlined his assistance in a information launch from the Greens.
“This concern was not on the mayor’s election platform, and council has no democratic mandate to abolish another elected physique,” he reported in the release.
Sim’s go to scrap the board involves an amendment transform to the Vancouver Constitution, which has to be authorised by the provincial government. Premier David Eby has not pushed back from the ask for, but has said it is not his government’s leading precedence.
“Local democracy is in no way a finished deal,” mentioned Digby in response to Eby not balking at Sim’s ask for.
“Local democracy issues to all of us, and we have built this park technique with general public enter for 135 a long time. Men and women are saying it can be a finished deal, but there’s no foundation for that. It may perhaps just be an undone offer.”
At a information convention last week, Sim and town manager Paul Mochrie explained that consultation proceeds with To start with Nations, unions and other folks who could or would be impacted by the abolition of the elected board.
Glacier Media questioned Sim at the news meeting whether abolition was authorized.
He very first responded by saying that he and his bash have been “very clear” prior to the Oct 2022 election that his crew of candidates was likely to try to “fix the construction of the elected park board and if it did not perform, we would go to the province to make modifications.”
Then he stated: “It’s extremely very clear that all we need to do is make a Constitution change in the Vancouver Constitution. And that is the process. It is really pretty spelled out there.”
In April 2021, prior to Sim secured ABC Vancouver’s mayoral nomination, he issued a press release with the subject matter line, “abolish the park board.”
In August 2022, Glacier Media asked Sim about irrespective of whether he was heading to make great on his guarantee to scrap the board. He didn’t deliver a yes or no response.
“We can’t wait two to three decades for legislative adjustments to the Vancouver Constitution [to cede jurisdiction to city hall],” he mentioned at the time.
“We believe that the provincial authorities is heading to be preoccupied [with the NDP leadership race], so it is not going to get the full awareness that we need from them. Our infrastructure is crumbling, and we have to jump in now. So we pivoted. We are jogging a bunch of very proficient candidates with diverse lived ordeals that are likely to support us reshape our parks.”
In the meantime, Digby’s colleagues on council — Pete Fry and Adriane Carr — will host a city hall meeting Feb. 1 at town corridor with OneCity Coun. Christine Boyle relating to the mayor’s program to scrap the board.
The meeting operates from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The Feb. 5 park board conference, where Digby will introduce his motion, begins at 6:30 p.m. at the board’s office environment in Stanley Park.
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