This past Wednesday at Vancouver City Council, Mayor Sim introduced a motion to review and streamline community advisory committees to increase “efficiency.” Given this council’s track record on civic engagement—removing the elected Park Board, pausing the Integrity Commissioner, reducing speaking opportunities at meetings—many in our community were concerned that this could be the first step toward removing advisory committees.
Why Community Advisory Committees Matter
Resident-led advisory committees play an important role in connecting council with underrepresented perspectives they may not otherwise hear from. They advise staff and council based on their lived experience. Current committees include 2SLGBTQIA+, seniors, racialized people, urban Indigenous peoples, and women.
These committees have a track record of influencing council and staff decisions:
Following the 2021 heat dome, an advisory committee led by disability justice advocate Gabrielle Peters and urban planner Amina Yassin, authored a report with recommendations to prevent heat-related deaths, which continues to influence the city’s heat responses.
The Older Persons and Elders committee successfully lobbied the city to hire a seniors planner.
The Racial and Ethno-cultural Advisory Committee spearheaded a motion for all of council to undergo anti-racism and decolonization training, which was approved unanimously.
Collective Action for Political Change
Ahead of the vote, WTC asked our community to contact councillors and tell them why equity in democratic engagement matters. WTC’s Civic Engagement Manager, Clara Prager spoke with Stephen Quinn on CBC’s The Early Edition, advocating for what we hope to see from council: a commitment to preserve advisory committees, and show that they value hearing from the diverse voices of this city.
“Council has a simple decision in front of them. They need to show they value public participation and they can do that by committing to preserve not just advisory committees but preserve and strengthen other methods of community perspectives.”
How Our Voices Made a Difference
Two amendments were introduced to the motion by Councillor Lisa Dominato and Councillor Pete Fry to add an equity lens to the review and consult with current advisory committee members.
Our voices made a difference —both amendments passed! This outcome shows that council heard us and that they recognize community input makes our city better.
However, our work doesn’t stop here. We'll continue to track the city’s next steps on this and, as always, hold council accountable to their commitments.
If you'd like to get involved, join Watch Council to understand, track, and influence local governments' decisions with us.
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