British ColumbiaB.C.’s minister of municipal affairs has terminated any progress on a provincial bill that was meant to force the City of Vancouver to have residents vote on dissolving its park board, saying the city has more “clarifying” work to do with First Nations.Municipalities minister Christine Boyle says city has more ‘clarifying’ work to do with First NationsCBC News · Posted: Oct 28, 2025 11:05 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesB.C. Premier David Eby pictured with Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Christine Boyle in October 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)B.C.’s minister of municipal affairs has terminated any progress on a provincial bill that was meant to force the City of Vancouver to have residents vote on dissolving its park board, saying the city has more “clarifying” work to do with First Nations.Nearly two years ago, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim announced he wanted to get rid of the separately elected department that oversees the city’s parks and recreation services, including community centres, in order to achieve efficiencies over decision making and save the city money.To do so, Vancouver would need the province to change the city’s governing document, the Vancouver Charter, which enshrines the need for the elected park board.Earlier in October, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Christine Boyle announced legislation that would only allow the City of Vancouver to eliminate its independently elected park board if it was approved by local voters in a referendum.On Monday, Boyle posted on social media that she’d let Sim know that the province wouldn’t be moving forward with the second reading of the new bill this fall.“The City of Vancouver has more work to do clarifying their intended direction, including working with Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations,” she said in a post on Bluesky.More details on TuesdayBoyle is expected to explain the decision to the media from the provincial legislature on Tuesday morning.In response to her decision, Sim said in a post to X that the province failed to consult with local First Nations and the city in advance of its legislation.“Our position has been clean all along,” he said in his post. “It’s the responsibility of the minister to properly engage on her own legislation.”Sources close to the matter told CBC News that the province decided more consultation was required with First Nations over how parkland transfers in the future might potentially be negotiated.Sim has said he would not support the referendum requirement if it would allow any park land to be transferred without the direct consent of Vancouver residents. With files from Justin McElroy, Chad Pawson and The Canadian Press
Province abandons bill requiring vote on Vancouver Park Board dissolution
