Vancouver Park Board

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, commonly referred to as the Vancouver Park Board, is the elected board with exclusive possession, jurisdiction and control over public parks in Vancouver, British Columbia.[1] Established by section 485 of the Vancouver Charter, the Vancouver Park Board is the only elected body of its kind in Canada.[2] It has seven elected commissioners who are charged by the Vancouver Charter with determining the policy direction of the Park Board.[2] The board has a mandate to "provide, preserve and advocate… to benefit people, communities and the environment." Commissioners are elected at-large every four years, with a chair and vice-chair elected by the commissioners every year.[3]

Vancouver Park Board
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Agency overview
Formed1953 (1953)
JurisdictionPublic parks in Vancouver
Headquarters2099 Beach Avenue
Vancouver, BC
Agency executives
  • Stuart Mackinnon, Chair
  • Dave Demers, Vice-Chair
Key document

Members

2018–present
Main article: 2018 Vancouver municipal election

As of November 2018, the elected commissioners of the Vancouver Park Board, determined during the 2018 Vancouver municipal election, are:[4]

Name Party
  Tricia Barker NPA
  John Coupar NPA
  Dave Demers, Vice-Chair Green
  Camil Dumont Green
  Gwen Giesbrecht COPE
  John Irwin COPE
  Stuart Mackinnon, Chair Green

2014–2018
Main article: 2014 Vancouver municipal election

The commissioners of the Vancouver Park Board elected during the 2014 Vancouver municipal election served until late 2018.

Name Party
  John Coupar NPA
  Casey Crawford NPA
  Catherine Evans, Vice-Chair Vision
  Sarah Kirby-Yung NPA
  Stuart Mackinnon, Chair Green
  Erin Shum Independent[lower-alpha 1]
  Michael Wiebe Green

Independence

In June 2009, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and Vancouver city councillor Raymond Louie, both of whom are members of the Vision Vancouver party, were accused by Vancouver city councillor Suzanne Anton, a member of the opposition Non-Partisan Association party, of attempting to destroy the independence of the park board by centralizing budget oversight.[6] Aaron Jasper, a Vision Vancouver member of the park board, called on the city council to restore the decentralized budget control.[6]

In September 2009 Susan Mundick, the general manager of the board, announced her retirement.[7] Penny Ballem, the city manager of Vancouver hired by Mayor Robertson, stripped Mundick of all routine transitional duties.[8] Ballem then stated she would help the park board choose Mundick's replacement, a selection process city hall traditionally had not been involved in.[9] In response, Suzanne Anton urged Mayor Robertson and the city council to limit Ballem's control of the park board.[9]

Parks

The Vancouver Park Board oversees more than 200 parks, including major attractions such as Stanley Park to local neighbourhood parks such as Falaise Park.[10]

Notes
  1. Shum was elected as an NPA candidate in the 2014 election, but announced she would "sit as an independent" in December 2016.[5]

References
  1. Vancouver Charter, section 488.
  2. "Vancouver Park Board Commissioners", Vancouver City Website, Accessed September 4, 2009.
  3. http://vancouver.ca/your-government/park-board-commissioners.aspx
  4. http://vancouver.ca/your-government/park-board-commissioners.aspx
  5. Smith, Charlie; Pablo, Carlito (December 13, 2016). "Park commissioner Erin Shum accuses NPA of bullying and demanding obedience above all else". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved November 8, 2017. In a statement issued this morning, Shum also stated that she will 'sit as an independent' because that's the only way she can stand for NPA values.
  6. "Mayor Gregor Robertson blamed for park board cut", Georgia Straight, June 11, 2009.
  7. "Outgoing park board manager proud of accomplishments", Vancouver Courier, September 18, 2009.
  8. "Mundick stripped of duties", 24 Hours, September 18, 2009.
  9. "NPA councilor says park board losing independence", CKNW, September 19, 2009.
  10. "Parks and Gardens".

Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation

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