British ColumbiaAn office created at the City of Vancouver in 2019 that was meant to ensure reconciliation, diversity, equity and inclusion among its employees and services has been cut, amid a push by Mayor Ken Sim to cut costs.City says equity, diversity and inclusion now embedded across government, but critic decries cutChad Pawson · CBC News · Posted: Oct 01, 2025 4:13 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoEffective Sept. 26, there will be no equity office at the City of Vancouver because the city says the office’s work is now embedded across government. (Ben Nelms/CBC)An office created at the City of Vancouver in 2019 that was meant to ensure reconciliation, diversity, equity and inclusion among its employees and services has been cut, amid a push by Mayor Ken Sim to cut costs.The city says the move will save it $285,000, but critics say they worry the city’s equity mandate could weaken without a centralized overseer.”I hope it doesn’t diminish our commitment to fairness and equity in our city,” said Coun. Lucy Maloney, who was elected as an opposition councillor with OneCity in a spring byelection.”I’m concerned that saving money in this particular area will downgrade the focus on it.”Lucy Maloney, a Vancouver city councillor with OneCity, says she is worried the cutting of the equity office is the first of many that could undermine city services. (Shawn Foss/CBC)Vancouver’s equity office was first announced in late 2019, under then city manager Sadhu Johnston, with a mandate to “coordinate, accelerate and track progress” on equity-related initiatives across departments.In 2020, the city’s first chief equity officer, Aftab Erfan, was appointed to run the office and carry out its work to make the city a more equitable employer and local government organization.In a statement to CBC News, she said there was good alignment between herself, city leadership and council for several years, during which they “hit a lot of homeruns,” but that a change in “actors” had brought dissonance and a breakdown in effectiveness.Erfan began her work under mayor Kennedy Stewart, but that changed in October 2022 when Sim became mayor and brought an ABC Vancouver party majority to council. Erfan was chief equity officer until August 2023.The office was most recently under the leadership of chief equity officer Susanna Tam, who was appointed in December 2023.In a statement, the city said equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is now “embedded” into training, policy and leadership practices across city departments with a steering committee in place.”At this point, we believe it is more effective to further embed our EDI efforts into the city’s operational departments versus maintaining it as a standalone function,” it said.”All departments are expected to support and deliver this work as part of our shared commitment to EDI.”Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, pictured in October 2022, says he’s committed to protecting core city services, but wants to find cuts in the city’s operating budget for a potential zero per cent property tax increase for 2026. (Ben Nelms/CBC)Erfan said this approach could work as long as it’s embraced by current city leadership who must rigorously create an environment for it.”The equity office may be dead, but its spirit will live on,” she said in her statement.The elimination of the office saves the city $285,000 and cuts Tam’s position. All other staff have been transferred to other departments.’Value for tax dollars’: mayorOpposition councillors like Maloney say the savings may be part of larger staff or service cuts as Sim says he will push the city to find savings in order to deliver a zero per cent property tax cut for the upcoming year.”It seems very performative. It doesn’t seem to be well planned,” said Maloney.Her concern is that council, which Sim’s ABC party holds a majority on, achieves a zero per cent property tax increase for an election year, gets re-elected and then brings a significant property tax increase the following year.”I’m very concerned that it’s a pre-election budget and I know what a post-election budget looks like for the ABC majority because we saw that the year after they were elected — we saw a 10.7 per cent property tax increase.”Erfan said she didn’t know who decided to close Vancouver’s equity office or to what extent it may be political. “But I think the optics of it are worse than its practical implications,” she wrote. “The model no longer worked. I think it is a sign of sanity to change something that is not effective.”In a statement, Sim said he’s committed to protecting core services but that there is room to find cuts in the city’s operating budget.”Vancouverites expect city hall to provide value for their tax dollars,” Sim said. “Our focus at City Hall will be on delivering a more efficient government while protecting the core services that Vancouverites rely on every day such as libraries, rec centres, sidewalks, police and fire, community grants, and road maintenance.”ABOUT THE AUTHORChad Pawson is a CBC News reporter in Vancouver. Please contact him at chad.pawson@cbc.ca.With files from Justin McElroy
Vancouver shutters city equity office in move to save $285K
