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NPA City Councillor Lisa Dominato calls for a review of the City’s existing governance policy framework

Vancouver, B.C., April 12, 2021 – NPA City Councillor Lisa Dominato is bringing forward a motion this week that would direct staff to review the City’s existing governance policy framework, including the City’s Board of Administration By-Law and other governance-management linkages. Dominato notes that the City’s current Board of Administration By-Law No. 4017, which defines the Board’s powers and duties, consists of one person bearing the title of City Manager and has not been updated since 1992.
 
If supported by Council, Dominato’s motion would provide direction to City staff to develop policy and procedures for the governance orientation and training of incoming Council members, particularly with respect to roles and responsibilities.
 
“Vancouver City Council is on the cusp of hiring a new City Manager and a successful governance-management relationship is critical to the organization’s success,” said Councillor Dominato. “Council has shown that it is committed to good governance in both word and action, so I’m hopeful that my Council colleagues will agree that this is an opportune time to review and refresh the relevant policy framework.”
 
In her motion, Dominato references “Leadership-Focused Governance” whereby the combined roles of governing and managing are seen as “a partnership between the Board [Council] and the Chief Executive” – with the Board focused on governing and the Chief Executive on management and operations (source: The Governance Group).
 
Dominato also cites several guiding documents that point to the importance of good governance in the public sector, including the Auditor General of British Columbia’s report entitled Public Sector Governance: A Guide to the Principles of Good Governance (2008), which identifies five underpinning principles of good governance; namely, accountability, leadership, integrity, stewardship, and transparency.
 
In addition to developing and refreshing the City’s policy and procedures framework, Dominato’s motion includes specific direction to include ongoing development of Council members throughout a Council term and not just to the initial onboarding process for new Council members following an election.
 
In order to avoid placing an undue burden on the City’s already overburdened staff, Dominato’s motion includes a generous timeline for staff to report back on the initiative sometime near the end of June next year.
 
A copy of Councillor Lisa Dominato’s motion can be found here on the City’s website.
 

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Media please contact Lisa Dominato at 778-980-4422

Vancouver Mayor torpedoes motion to clear permit backlog

Residents, businesses, and not-for-profits demand and deserve accountability on permitting crisis

Vancouver, B.C., April 1, 2021 – Mayor Kennedy Stewart has rejected a plan to clear a massive backlog of permits that are choking citizens, businesses, and not for profits.
 
The motion, proposed by NPA Councillors Lisa Dominato and Sarah Kirby-Yung, would have set clear deadlines to eliminate the backlog, directed staff to streamline regulations, implement new technologies, and provide an accountability framework to better serve residents, businesses, and not-for-profits looking for timely permit approvals. The Mayor struck the motion replacing it with a watered down version with no firm timelines or accountabilities to clear the backlog.
 
“What gets measured, gets done and citizens are desperately looking for leaders who are accountable for solving real life challenges,” said Councillor Kirby-Yung. “This is a missed opportunity to improve citizen services that matter for residents and businesses in every corner of our city.”
 
While City staff have been working to address the existing backlog and the overregulated, complex nature of the permit system, a perfect storm hit in 2020 with the onset of a global pandemic. The City was forced to move to online service delivery without the technology backbone in place. This exacerbated an already overburdened system. Now there is an urgency to put accountability measures in place to deliver the changes citizens are calling for.
 
“There is urgency to act now and establish a clear, strategic direction to prioritize these services,” said Councillor Dominato. “The permitting backlog is holding up everything from the creation of new child care spaces and opening of small businesses to much needed housing and home renovations.”
 
The BC Liberal and NDP provincial governments both identified permitting backlogs and delays as a barrier to housing solutions. According to media reports, a recent study found that the average wait time for business permits and licensing in Vancouver is 8.2 months, with the average economic loss per business permit or license estimated to be over $720,000 or about $31,000 per week.
 
The Provincial government is also accepting applications from municipal governments for grants to improve development approval processes, including new technology solutions, and providing external reviews of internal methods.
 
Councillors Dominato and Kirby-Yung fought to include a clause that directs staff to substantially reduce the existing backlog of permits and licenses for only smaller scale projects by the end of Q2 2022. However, the Mayor struck out a 30-day action plan to clear the full permit backlog by Q3 2022 and a medium-term plan to address systemic issues in City systems and processes.
 
NPA Councillors vowed to continue to bring permit and license challenges forward and to work with staff directly to develop effective strategies that are accountable to the public. This builds on the 2018 motion of NPA Councillor Melissa De Genova to expedite building and development permits.
 
For more information, click here.

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Media Contact:
Sarah Kirby-Yung: 604-788-1352
Lisa Dominato: 778-980-4422

NPA Elected Caucus calls on NPA Board of Directors to call an immediate AGM

Vancouver, B.C., January 28, 2021 – The NPA Elected Caucus has issued the following statement:
 
“The NPA elected caucus believes in an inclusive, compassionate and caring city free from hate, stigma and discrimination.
 
“We are calling on the Board to hold an AGM immediately. The Board must reflect the values of the elected caucus, long held ideals of the organization, membership, and the diversity of our city and residents. 
 
“Holding the AGM allows the NPA elected caucus to focus on their role as public representatives serving Vancouver residents, while the Board maintains internal administration of the NPA.”
 
Councillor Melissa De Genova
Councillor Lisa Dominato
Councillor Colleen Hardwick
Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung
Commissioner Tricia Barker
Commissioner John Coupar
Trustee Fraser Ballantyne
Trustee Carmen Cho
Trustee Oliver Hanson

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Contact: npavancouver.caucus@gmail.com

Vancouver’s 2021 Operating Budget continues a worrying trend to higher and higher tax increases and puts the City on an unsustainable fiscal path say NPA Councillors

Vancouver, B.C., December 8, 2020 – Today, all four NPA City Councillors voted against the City’s 2021 Operating Budget: A budget that includes an onerous 5% property tax increase for the City’s residents and small businesses to shoulder in the midst of a pandemic. The City’s 2021 Operating Budget also locks in the worrying trend to higher and higher tax increases seen under this Council and places Vancouver on an unsustainable fiscal path that threatens the city’s post-COVID economic recovery.
 
Among the reasons cited by the NPA City Councillors for voting against the 2021 Operating Budget is a concern that the Budget relies too heavily on depleting the City’s Revenue Stabilization Reserve to support spending; an action that will effectively leave the City’s reserve fund empty and require even higher tax increases in the coming recovery years.
 
As noted in the 2021 Budget, $34 million already had to be drawn from the City’s Revenue Stabilization Reserve this year on an emergency basis to rebalance the 2020 Budget, despite a variety of facility closures, associated staff layoffs, and other savings measures. The 2021 Operating Budget will draw another $57 million from the reserve to offset expected 2021 revenue losses of $60 million. This means up to $90 million will need to be raised in future years to replenish the reserve – either through an additional 2% tax hike every year over a three-year period (or equivalent service reductions) or through a 1% additional tax each year for five years.
 
The NPA City Councillors also expressed concern that the budget lacks a strategy to address important pandemic and recovery priorities and the focus needed to guide the City’s actions and support residents and small businesses toward a successful post-COVID recovery. Instead, the 2021 budget is based on an across-the-board approach with modest 1% reductions in all areas rather than focusing on what is most important right now.
 
Overall, the NPA Caucus members believe the path to recovery during this unprecedented time of challenge and uncertainty is to focus City resources and spending on retaining quality core services, to zero in on improving housing, homelessness, and affordability, and to facilitate small business recovery.
  
QUOTES
 
Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung: “These are tough times where people and small businesses are just trying to make ends meet,” said Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung. “We need to laser focus our spending where it’s needed most and align it with what residents and our small businesses said was most important to them when surveyed about the budget: core services, housing, homelessness and housing affordability, and small business recovery. Instead, we got a proposed budget that didn’t increase street cleaning enough, despite growing demand, and funding for the unanimously supported temporary extended patio program for restaurants had to be added as an extra cost by Council; even while the budget locked in $1.5 million in new spending for mobility pricing. That’s just out of whack with reality and what people asked for when they were surveyed.”
 
Councillor Melissa De Genova: “Today was the most political day of our term. We need to put the people of Vancouver ahead of politics,” said Councillor Melissa De Genova. Now more than ever, Council needs to show leadership and move ahead with a realistic plan. Instead, this Council downloaded costs onto itself. The theme of this budget should have reflected the words of Dr. Bonnie Henry – “Be kind, Be Calm, and Be Safe”. Yet, it does not: 12% is the final number we’re taking from reserves and capital on top of a 5% tax increase. We can’t blame all of this on the pandemic. Now that the Mayor has secured his majority, this is the final nail in the coffin for affordability in Vancouver.”

Councillor Lisa Dominato: “The 2021 budget makes life more unaffordable for renters, homeowners, and businesses alike while at the same time plunging the City deeper into a structural deficit,” said Councillor Lisa Dominato. “The Mayor and his coalition have once again reached deep into the wallets of Vancouver citizens in this Budget with a Tax-and-Spend agenda.”

Councillor Colleen Hardwick: “The 2021 budget reflects this Council’s and this Mayor’s tax-and-spend approach,” said Councillor Colleen Hardwick. “It all adds up to costly new programs, dramatic tax increases, draining the city’s reserves, and growing a costly bureaucracy, all of which lands at the doorstep of our city’s taxpayers. Council has to stop treating Vancouver taxpayers like an unlimited ATM. Enough is enough. The impact of COVID-19 has shown us just how fragile the city’s finances are and that means City Council has to step up and get our house in order.” 
 
The following NPA City Councillors are available for media comment:

  • Melissa De Genova at 604-767-8731
  • Lisa Dominato at 778-980-4422
  • Sarah Kirby-Yung at 604-788-1352
  • Colleen Hardwick at Colleen@ColleenHardwick.com


NPA City Councillors call for engagement with Downtown Granville South residents on proposed overdose prevention site

The proposed location is considered by residents to be too close to nearby Emery Barnes Park and was proposed without community engagement and without an impact mitigation plan amid increasing crime and street disorder.

October 20, 2020 5:00 PM, Vancouver B.C. – At today’s Vancouver City Council meeting, the NPA’s four City Councillors supported a referral motion calling on staff to explore other options for an indoor supervised overdose prevention and harm reduction services site in the Downtown Granville South neighbourhood; one that would replace an existing mobile overdose prevention service in the area.
 
The referral motion, brought forward by NPA City Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung, came in response to feedback from residents of the area concerned that the chosen location at 1101 Seymour Street was not subject to any public notification nor any community dialogue. The motion to refer the matter back to staff was not supported by the majority on Council, including being ruled out of order by the Mayor. The overdose prevention site will now go ahead without public engagement or a clear plan to mitigate community impacts.
 
Councillor Melissa De Genova also moved an amendment to ask city staff to work with stakeholders to consider deploying more mobile overdose prevention sites; reinforcing support for the Four Pillars Drug Strategy and access throughout the city. Her amendment was focused on filling the consultation gap surrounding mitigation measures which is something Council heard from residents was missing from the decision. De Genova’s amendment was supported by Council.
 
The Seymour Street location for the overdose prevention site is considered by many in the neighbourhood to be far too close to a nearby park and playground (Emery Barnes Park), as well as a future daycare site across the street. Public concerns have also been raised regarding the small size of the proposed site, the lack of ‘chill out’ space for substance users, and the lack of suitable outdoor space for supervised inhalation services. The neighbourhood has experienced increasing crime and street disorder over the past year signalling a significant need for a plan to manage and mitigate impacts on the neighbourhood and its residents.
 
 
QUOTES:
 
Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung: “The NPA Caucus fully support the creation of a supervised overdose prevention site in the Downtown South area and the need for safe, life-saving, harm reduction services. While overdose prevention sites are a public health initiative, the City has a responsibility to our residents; we’ve heard loud and clear that residents have significant concerns and are feeling increasingly unsafe in their neighbourhood, are worried about children, seniors, street disorder, sanitation, and increasing crime. We called for working with residents on a plan and services to address these concerns, as well as pursue a site that is not in close proximity to a children’s playground and school. The proposed site is also limited in size and does not provide the ability for fully contained services including a chill lounge and inhalation space. It’s important to be clear that there is no net increase in service in Downtown South with the proposed transition from a mobile service to a physical location. So why not take the time and a short pause to identify a site that can provide better services, minimize neighbourhood impacts, engage with residents, and do this right.”
 
Councillor Melissa De Genova: “Our NPA Caucus made decisions guided by the Four Pillars Drug Strategy, but we need all of the pillars for it to work. I support the Four Pillars approach, but it doesn’t work without community involvement.  Moving the goalposts erodes public trust and creates opposition that makes future solutions even more difficult. Bringing together community is the only way to ensure success and expect buy-in from the public. We can have harm reduction and public safety; one is not exclusive of the other.”
 
Councillor Lisa Dominato: “I fully support harm reduction and overdose preventions sites, including one in Downtown South. However, there has been no public engagement on this proposal; families, as well as the VPD, have concerns regarding the proposed location adjacent to a heavily used park and playground. There is currently a mobile service in place in the neighborhood and there would be no loss of service if VCH were to explore an alternate location nearby.”
 
Councillor Colleen Hardwick: “We were elected to represent the inhabitants of our City, as defined in the Vancouver Charter. That means listening to our residents and engaging them in dialogue. In this case, there has been insufficient dialogue with the community. Dialogue engages people in building their understanding of an issue, without the pressure to make decisions or be “right.” By imposing this decision on the neighbourhood without proper dialogue calls into question its legitimacy. That said, we have an epidemic of overdose deaths in our city that must be addressed. We must find a balance between the need for safety in our neighbourhoods and the need to save lives. Engaging every neighbourhood of the city to develop that balance should be our objective.”
 
 
BACKGROUND:
 
In recent months, street activity in the Granville area has increased and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) has identified the need to address a gap in harm reduction and overdose prevention services in the neighbourhood – which have been compounded by the COIVD-19 pandemic. Mobile overdose prevention services have been operating near the 1101 Seymour Street location since summer of 2020 with the unanimous support of Council. These mobile overdose prevention and harm reduction services would have continued uninterrupted if a majority of Council had supported the referral motion to explore alternate permanent locations.
 
In April 2016, following a significant increase in opioid-related overdose deaths from drug poisoning, a public health emergency was declared in B.C. During the COVID-19 pandemic, overdose death rates in Vancouver and B.C. have increased: From January 1 to July 31, 2020, the BC Coroners Service reported 223 overdose deaths in the City of Vancouver. And in May, June, and July 2020, more than 170 deaths across B.C. were recorded – the highest since the onset of the pandemic.
 
The Vancouver Police Department recently provided Council with preliminary crime statistics reflecting January to September 2020 compared to same period 2019. The data provided to Council stated:
 

  • 16 of Vancouver’s 24 neighbourhoods have seen an increase in violent crime.
  • Total assaults have increased by 1.8%, despite the fact that many bars in the Granville Entertainment District were closed or reduced their hours.
  • The most serious types of assaults (i.e. “assault with a weapon or cause bodily harm” and “aggravated assault”) increased by 14.1%. 
  • Neighbourhoods that have attracted significant public and media attention over the past five months have also seen increases in crime categories (i.e. Yaletown, Downtown, Chinatown, Strathcona).

 
The complete text of Councillor Kirby-Yung’s rejected referral motion and Councillor De Genova’s amendment are appended below at the end of this media release.
 
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Media please call or text:

  • Sarah Kirby-Yung at 604-788-1352
  • Melissa De Genova at 604-767-8731
  • Lisa Dominato at 778-980-4422 

 
COUNCILLOR KIRBY-YUNG’S REFERRAL MOTION TEXT
 
THAT Council affirms its support for prioritizing an overdose prevention site in the Downtown South area as an important component of a balanced four pillars approach and response to the overdose public health emergency.
 
THAT Council refer Recommendations B, C and D relating to a proposed lease for Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCH) for an Overdose Prevention Site at 1101 Seymour Street) to staff to explore alternate city-owned locations that are not directly adjacent to a park, children’s playground or school, including consideration for locations that have outdoor space for safe inhalation, and to undertake a public notification process with respect to any proposed site; or for VCH to explore non city-owned locations noting Council’s desire that VCH note similar considerations in site identification.
 
FURTHER THAT, IF an alternate city-owned site can be identified, the staff report back include a Good Neighbour Agreement with VCH that addresses requirements for building and site cleanliness, expectations for minimizing discarded needles and drug equipment, detailing of proposed services, hours of operation, how any queuing outside the building exterior might be managed, and ventilation in relation to adjacent residences, businesses and public realm.
 
THAT the report back include information on increased City sanitation services that could be put in place to mitigate possible related neighbourhood area impacts including discarded needles, feces and waste in the public realm, including specific attention to Emery Barnes Park if the final site is nearby, in consultation with the Vancouver Park Board.
 
FURTHER that staff also consult with the VPD, Vancouver Coastal Health and non-profit partners as appropriate regarding measures that would best support a smooth launch of a new OPS, including provisions for ongoing monitoring of the site in order to identify and respond to issues.
 
 
COUNCILLOR DE GENOVA’S AMENDMENT TEXT
 
THAT concurrent to the consultation outlined above, Council direct staff to work with VCH, VPD, and relevant stakeholders, and consider prioritizing OPS locations in neighborhoods with the greatest need and risk of overdoses, informed by data including recent overdose deaths.
 
AND FURTHERMORE that through the lens of the Four Pillars Drug Strategy, Council also direct staff to work with and request VCH to consider the feasibility of deploying a number of mobile OPS locations, in addition to, one permanent location, with consideration for moving forward with the shared goal of preventing overdose deaths citywide.

NPA Elected Caucus issue statement regarding recent NPA Board member comments

Statement from NPA Elected Caucus:

We, the NPA Elected Caucus, believe in an inclusive, compassionate and caring city free from stigma and discrimination.

We must support all residents, and show compassion for people struggling with homelessness, mental health and substance use.

We categorically denounce the statements made by Mr. Wilson. They do not reflect the values of the NPA caucus.

Councillor Melissa De Genova
Councillor Lisa Dominato
Councillor Colleen Hardwick
Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung
Commissioner Tricia Barker
Commissioner John Coupar
Trustee Fraser Ballantyne
Trustee Carmen Cho
Trustee Oliver Hanson

NPA Elected Caucus issues Statement of Support for the City’s LGBTQ2S+ Community and SOGI 123

The NPA Elected Caucus is proud of the party’s longstanding support for inclusion and diversity in Vancouver

December 6, 2019, 6:30 PM, Vancouver B.C. – The ten-member NPA Vancouver Elected Caucus, which consists of four Councillors, three School Trustees and two Park Board Commissioners, have issued the following statement affirming the elected representatives unequivocal support for Vancouver’s LGBTQ2S+ community and SOGI 123:
 
“The NPA Caucus members strive at all times to create a safe and inclusive city for all people. We will continue to stand for inclusivity and will strongly oppose anything that detracts from that objective. We believe it is important for our Caucus to speak out with a strong, unequivocal voice and express our unyielding continued support for our LGBTQ2S+ community and SOGI 123.
 
“We fully understand and support our colleague Councillor Rebecca Bligh in her decision to sit as an independent Vancouver City Councillor at this time, and we look forward to continuing to work closely together with her to serve all residents of Vancouver.
 
“LGBTQ2S+ issues are close to the hearts of all our elected NPA Caucus members. Of particular note: NPA City Councillor Lisa Dominato worked on and championed the introduction of the SOGI 123 in BC’s curriculum during her time with the Ministry of Education – a project she approached with true passion and dedication.”
 
A short Backgrounder is appended below outlining highlights of the NPA’s long history of support for the LGBTQ2s+ community and SOGI 123.
 
The NPA Elected Caucus members are:

  • City Council: Councillor Melissa De Genova, Councillor Lisa Dominato, Councillor Colleen Hardwick, and Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung

  • School Board: Trustee Fraser Ballantyne, Trustee Carmen Cho, and Trustee Oliver Hanson.

  • Park Board: Commissioner Tricia Barker and Commissioner John Coupar

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Media please contact the NPA Elected Caucus members at the following email addresses:

  • Councillor Melissa De Genova: 604-767-8731

  • Councillor Lisa Dominato: 778-980-4422

  • Councillor Colleen Hardwick:

  • Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung: 604-788-1352

  • Trustee Fraser Ballantyne:

  • Trustee Carmen Cho:

  • Trustee Oliver Hanson: 

  • Commissioner Tricia Barker:    

  • Commissioner John Coupar:

 
BACKGROUNDER: NPA LGBTQ History
 

  • In 1986, the NPA’s Gordon Price was the first out gay man elected to Council in Vancouver history (a close second in Canada). Price was a founder of AIDS Vancouver and went on to be elected to Vancouver City Council for six terms under the NPA.

  • The NPA’s Alan Herbert, a well-known champion of LGBTQ rights, was elected to Vancouver City Council in 1996. Herbert is a former chair of the Vancouver Pride Society and AIDS Vancouver.

  • In the 1990s, the NPA had three elected members from the LGBTQ community on the seven-member Vancouver Park Board: Duncan Wilson and Alan Fetherstonhaugh were elected to the Park Board in 1993 and Laura McDiarmid was elected in 1996. All three served as Chair of the Park Board. 

  • Under the NPA in 1990, full employment benefits such as medical, dental, pension and other plans were extended to same sex partners. The NPA’s Gordon Price was quoted at the time saying, it “puts the city in a leadership role in ending such discrimination.” NPA Mayor Gordon Campbell welcomed the recognition of same sex relationships by the City and called it a “major policy change.”

  • The NPA-led Park Board was the first official City of Vancouver organization to march in the Pride Parade in 1995.

  • In 2007, NPA City Councillor Elizabeth Ball brought forward a motion asking City staff to work with the Park Board to organize a city entry for that year’s Pride Parade. 

  • On July 11, 2011, the NPA’s Sean Bickerton called on the City of Vancouver to grant civic status to at least three different parades that attract more than 50,000 people and cover core costs such as policing and sanitation. These parades included the Pride Parade (which paid the City of Vancouver $58,425 in 2010 for police services, transit, park permits and sanitation), the Chinese New Year Parade, and the Vaisakhi Parade.

  • Sean Bickerton was quoted in the Vancouver Courier in 2011: “The Pride Parade is one of the major tourism draws for our city. The city should acknowledge the millions of dollars in economic benefits for local businesses and cover minimal servicing costs for police and sanitation.” (Vancouver Courier, Jul 13, 2011)

  • In August 2012, Vision Vancouver picked up on the NPA’s lead and indicated that it would introduce a motion that fall for the city to pick up the costs for major public events, such as the annual Pride parade and Vaisakhi and Lunar New Year festivals.

  • In 2013, NPA City Councillors George Affleck and Elizabeth Ball supported Vision City Councillor Tim Stevenson’s human rights initiative to Sochi to the Winter Olympics as Deputy Mayor, as well as his follow up attendance at the World Pride Conference in Toronto on behalf of the City and Council. They, along with the rest of Council, supported a motion calling for the City to pay the costs for Stephenson’s Sochi mission rather than accepting private funds from developers that had raised public concerns around mixing city business with private money.

  • NPA City Councillor Lisa Dominato was the policy lead with BC’s Ministry of Education for the development and implementation of SOGI 123. She has been an devoted ally to the LGBTQ2S+ community and has worked closely with the BCTF, Out in Schools, and the Ark Foundation to make SOGI 123 a success province-wide.