ABC drops bid to kill Vancouver park board, will run candidates for commissioner

Vancouver mayor Ken Sim announces his intention for ABC Vancouver to run a full slate for parks board commissioners in the upcoming civic electron. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG

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Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC Vancouver party are dropping their long-standing attempt to dissolve the Vancouver park board.

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Instead ABC will field a full slate candidates for park board in the fall civic election, hoping to take a majority of the seats.

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“This current park board is broken, and Vancouverites deserve better,” Sim said Monday at a news conference at the Kitsilano Showboat, flanked by ABC candidates.

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At an improvised news conference after Sim’s news conference, park board chair Tom Digby repeatedly emphasized that Sim was the only mayor in Vancouver in 140 years to try to get rid of the park board.

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Park board commissioner Brennan Bastyovanszky added a bit of colour by attending the press conference in a bathing suit. He had been swimming at Kitsilano pool, next door to the Kitsilano Showboat.

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Earlier, park commissioner Laura Christensen had accused Sim of flip-flopping on the issue. Christensen and Bastyovanszky ran for ABC in the last election, but were kicked out of the party after refusing to support Sim’s call to dissolve the park board.

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“It’s all a whim to him,” said Christensen. “I think ultimately he’s running the candidates so he can get more funding for the election. He has no intention of supporting the park board in any way. The last four years have shown that.”

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In late 2023, the ABC-majority council passed a motion asking the province to amend the Vancouver Charter so that the elected park board —  a unique body among B.C. cities — could be abolished and allow parks and recreation to fall under city council.

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The Charter gives the park board exclusive jurisdiction and control over the city’s parks, with decision-making power over 240 parks and beaches, 19 community centres, 14 pools, 155 sports fields and eight ice rinks.

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In October 2025, B.C. Housing Minister Christine Boyle, a former Vancouver councillor, introduced the Vancouver Charter Amendment Act at Sim’s request. It would have allowed Sim’s party to dissolve the park board if supported by citywide referendum.

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That bill was later paused by the province following criticism it had not adequately consulted with local First Nations and the city.

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Brendan Bastyovanszky (left) and Tom Digby of the Vancouver park board hold a press conference as Vancouver mayor Ken Sim announces his intent to run a full slate for ABC parks board commissioners. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /10112199A

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In announcing that he was no longer seeking the park board’s dissolution, Sim on Monday called on the park board to drop the COVID-era reservation system that has restricted access to Kitsilano Pool and other public pools.

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Broadcaster Jody Vance, who has led the fight to lift the restrictions on Kits Pool, joined Sim at a news conference outside the pool. She’s encouraged that the mayor wants to lift the pool restrictions, which dramatically limits the number of people who can use it.