If Vancouver’s mayor wants to change things at Metro, he needs to show up and lead: Colleen Hardwick
Vancouver, BC (Feb. 6, 2025): TEAM For A Livable Vancouver by-election candidates Colleen Hardwick and Theodore Abbott want Mayor Ken Sim to return to the Metro Vancouver board and fight for changes, instead of boycotting the regional organization.
Hardwick, a former Vancouver councillor, said Sim’s decision to stop attending board meetings shows a lack of leadership.
“As the mayor of the largest city in the region, Ken Sim needs to help lead the change Metro Vancouver desperately requires right now, but you don’t do that by boycotting the organization,” explained Hardwick. “The mayor is right about the need for change, but sitting on the sidelines doesn’t accomplish that.”
Abbott said Metro Vancouver is clearly out of touch with taxpayers and their daily financial struggles when it comes to Metro’s culture and costs. He said the organization has fallen victim to scope creep, taking on programs and services that go far beyond its original sewer and water mandate.
“The Province of BC needs to order an independent review of Metro Vancouver," Abbott said. "If Mayor Sim is serious about the need for change, he needs to help lead that effort from within the organization, and that means attending board meetings and building support for change. Instead, he’s simply thrown up his hands and walked away. Ignoring the problem isn’t leadership, and that’s what is missing at Metro these days.”
“Vancouverites are not well served when their mayor doesn’t attend Metro Vancouver board meetings,” noted Hardwick. “I agree with the mayor about the need for a ground-up overhaul of Metro − that’s a given. But if he is serious, he needs to push for those changes from inside and outside the organization. It doesn’t help when he simply walks away and shrugs his shoulders. Vancouverites deserve better than that."