Vancouver Makes Progress on Libraries, Washrooms, and Advisory Committees
This week Vancouver City Council considered several motions that impact our community. We’re excited to share that council made some positive steps on citizen advisory committees, public washrooms, and library hours!
This week's decisions indicate that council heard that community members expect them to listen and act on the needs of equity-deserving residents—and that a Vancouver where everyone belongs has social infrastructure that benefits us all.
Let’s dive into what happened with the specific motions.
"Increasing Funding for Vital Community Libraries"
In April, several Vancouver Public Library branches were forced to reduce their hours and close on Mondays due to funding constraints. The motion from Councillor Orr asked the City to identify funding so that libraries can provide a free, safe, and welcoming place every day of the week.
Thank you to everyone who emailed and spoke to council. We loved hearing why this motion was important to you:
“As someone working with vulnerable communities in the nonprofit sector, I know firsthand that libraries keep our community safe, healthy, connected, and prosperous.”
“I use my local library at least once a week and it almost always has a line-up of people waiting to go inside when they open in the morning."
“Libraries are a huge part of our family life.”
“Having somewhere safe and free to apply for work was so important for me and is something I'll never forget.”
“Providing warmth, wifi, bathrooms, and a moment of peace.”
We were pleased that the motion passed unanimously. However, we were concerned with an amendment that points fingers at labour and workers for the challenges libraries face without acknowledging chronic government underfunding of this essential public service.
Library workers, the majority of whom are women, are the heartbeat of libraries and all they offer our community. In a city as wealthy as Vancouver, we don’t need to choose between keeping libraries open and ensuring workers have fair wages and good working conditions.
"Places to Be Places to Go"
Councillor Fry’s motion asking council to increase the number of accessible daytime drop-in shelter spaces and public washrooms passed unanimously. As WTC team member, Monique Nicholas shared with council on Wednesday, “Time and time again, we’ve heard people say that their ability to access public spaces is directly determined by whether there is an accessible washroom.”
We were pleased to see council follow through on the commitment they made through our Hot Pink Paper Campaign to increase access to public washrooms.
"Report Back – Review of City of Vancouver Committee Structures and Systems"
Staff presented a report to council responding to last year’s motion on restructuring resident advisory committees. This motion was “received for information,” which essentially means “yes, we have read it”. The win here is that council did not make any changes to advisory committees, which have been under threat in the last year. We will continue to work with volunteer advisory committee members and the City to suggest improvements so that council and staff can hear from the most under-represented voices in the city.
Renaming Ashtrey
Councillor Orr introduced a motion to recognize a beloved Downtown Eastside harm reduction advocate, Trey Helten. The motion, which passed unanimously, asked staff to officially name the alley between Hastings and Pender “Ashtrey Alley” in memory of his vast contributions to the community. Speakers and councillors alike shared heartfelt memories and stories of Trey’s impact. The recognition of this key figure in our community shows the vast impact of harm reduction work and the strong community of the DTES. We have so much more work to do to keep incredible community members like Trey alive. Rest in power.
What’s Next
We look forward to seeing staff’s report backs and will work to ensure that these important decisions are resourced in the upcoming budget.
You can get involved by joining as a WTC Member, which increases our power to hold council accountable and advocate for our community’s needs.
P.S. Join our upcoming learning series workshop, "Examining the Role of Local Government in Truth & Reconciliation" on Thursday, June 12th. This workshop is for anyone interested in understanding how to advocate to your local leaders to advance the TRC Calls to Action.