This Week at city council: Anti-Trans Events, Homes on Quiet Streets, and Food Security
Councils across Metro Vancouver are back in session, and so are we. Before we dive into Vancouver's council agenda, we have to talk about the park board.
Specifically, their decision to host an event with direct ties to one of the most harmful anti-trans campaigns in the world. Earlier this week, we learned that commissioners approved a contract for a Harry Potter-themed attraction in Stanley Park, with a portion of ticket sales paying royalties to the author, prominent anti-trans advocate J.K. Rowling.
If you're not familiar with Rowling's trans-exclusionary advocacy, our friends at Qmunity outlined how she uses her HP franchise-generated wealth to diminish the rights and freedoms of trans people globally.
Qmunity is calling on allies to email park board commissioners, urging them to cancel this event. Their emails are: Brennan.Bastyovanszky@vancouver.ca,Laura.Christensen@vancouver.ca, Tom.Digby@vancouver.ca, Angela.Haer@vancouver.ca, Marie-Claire.Howard@vancouver.ca, Scott.Jensen@vancouver.ca, Jas.Virdi@vancouver.ca.
The park board, like council, has been pursuing strategies to generate revenue through private use of public assets. It's our elected officials' responsibility to ensure that revenue generation does not come at the expense of our collective sense of safety and belonging in public spaces.
Want To Skip Straight To Action?
Fill out the budget survey by Sunday, Sept. 14th using WTC's guide.
Join the Watch Council Drop-In Session on Monday, Sept. 15th for personalized advocacy and civic engagement support.
Tell council you support protecting modular supportive housing by Tuesday, Sept. 16th.
Speak to council on Wednesday—sign up by Tuesday, Sept. 16th at 5pm.
Email council, asking for action on food security, homes with less air pollution, and the Empty Homes Tax by Wednesday, Sept. 17th.
Email the park board, urging them not to host events that fuel trans hatred.
What's On At Council
Agenda Item: "Beyond Arterials: Creating More Housing Options on Low-Traffic Streets"
Wannee_Photographer/Shutterstock
What's Happening: Some areas of Vancouver are known for quiet tree-lined streets with plenty of green space. But not everyone is allowed to live there. Currently, most multi-family buildings (aka where the majority of renters live) are only allowed on high-traffic streets known as arterials.
That means renters bear the brunt of noise and exhaust pollution, and all the health risks that go with it.
Council will consider a motion to allow more rental and lower-cost homes on quieter streets beside parks and bike lanes.
Good to Know: In 2021, the SLO program was eliminated after third-party community consultation found that 60% of Black respondents and half of Indigenous respondents felt negatively about the program due to their interactions with police. It was reinstated in 2023. The Vancouver Police Department says SLO officers receive specialized training to work with children, but reporting from the Tyee found no evidence of training being offered.
Agenda Item: "Improving the Empty Homes Tax to Curb Speculation"
What's Happening: Early in this term, we were disappointed with council's decision to freeze the Empty Homes Tax, instead of implementing a planned increase. The Empty Homes Tax is designed to incentivize renting or selling homes to people, rather than holding onto vacant units to take advantage of market fluctuations.
They applied the freeze retroactively. In practice, that meant gifting $3.8 million in taxes due (which was earmarked for social housing) back to developers.
Now, council will consider a motion to unfreeze the vacancy tax and increase it from 3% to 5%. The motion also proposes a partial, phased-in tax on unsold new buildings to address some of the challenges previously raised with the Empty Homes Tax.
How to take action
Join a Watch Council Drop-In Session. Let's chat about these important decisions at our upcoming Drop-In Session on Monday, Sept. 15th at 12:00pm.
Drop-in sessions offer a chance to connect with the WTC team for informal conversations and personalized support on local government advocacy, organizing, and engagement.
Speak to Council. One of the unique things about local government is that you can speak directly to elected officials on a specific issue. You don't need to be an "expert" to do so—it's critical that they hear from residents like yourself who ultimately experience the impacts of the decisions they make.
WTC's resource on how to speak to council and our speech template tool can help you get started.
The speaker registration deadline is Tuesday, Sept. 16th at 5:00pm. Council will hear from speakers and vote on all of these motions on Wednesday.
Write to Council. A brief email to city councillors is a great reminder of what's important to the people they represent. Here are some quick tips:
State clearly at the beginning whether you support or oppose the agenda item.
Share a sentence or two on why this issue matters to you—what's your personal connection or experience?
Don't overthink it. Done is better than perfect, so keep it short and simple.
There's no deadline, but we recommend sending your email by Tuesday evening, Sept. 16th.
Council's Email Addresses
ken.sim@vancouver.ca, rebecca.bligh@vancouver.ca, lisa.dominato@vancouver.ca, pete.fry@vancouver.ca, sarah.kirby-yung@vancouver.ca, mike.klassen@vancouver.ca, lucy.maloney@vancouver.ca, peter.meiszner@vancouver.ca, brian.montague@vancouver.ca, sean.orr@vancouver.ca, lenny.zhou@vancouver.ca
More engagement opportunities
Say No to Service Cuts: A proposal from council could result in a massive reduction of city services in 2026.
Have your say on potential cuts and service reductions, and what issues you'd like to see prioritized, through the city's budget survey.
To make it easier, we've put together a guide with tips on completing the survey and additional resources. Use your voice to say that austerity will only worsen the cost-of-living crisis for those struggling the most.
Important Dates: The deadline to fill out the survey is Sunday, Sept. 14th.
Good to Know: Food systems are underfunded at the local level. Right now, only 0.03% of Vancouver's operating budget supports our food systems. The Vancouver Food Justice Coalition is calling on council to make food security funding a priority. You can help by adding "Food Security" in the "other" section of your top 3 city budget priorities in the survey.
Say Yes to Supportive Housing: Back in July, council debated a motion aimed at modernizing the zoning bylaw to protect 600+ units of modular housing that had permits expiring – despite still providing safe homes and critical support services.
Many WTC members spoke up in support. Unfortunately, a majority of councillors voted it down. But now staff are suggesting a similar update – and they're looking for your input.
The survey is only two questions, and you don't need an elaborate argument; just saying that you support this change and writing a sentence or two on why it aligns with a safe and inclusive city will do the trick.
Important Dates: The deadline to share input is Tuesday, Sept. 16th.
