August 26, 2025
RED FM News Desk
Vancouver’s ethics commissioner has again found that politicians with the city’s ruling party have violated the code of conduct, but the party’s leadership is once more dismissing the findings. It seems unlikely that the politicians will face any significant consequences.
In a 68-page report released Monday, Vancouver’s integrity commissioner found that the city’s mayor and the seven councillors from the majority ABC Vancouver party intentionally violated city policy by holding secret meetings.
This is not the first time the party has shrugged off the commissioner’s findings. The situation highlights B.C.’s weak municipal oversight, where, unlike other Canadian provinces, city councils are largely left to make determinations about their own conduct.
On Monday, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim rejected the report’s findings, arguing that he and his party members did not breach the “open-meeting principle” by conducting city business in private.
“Caucusing is a normal and accepted practice at every level of Canadian democracy. Elected officials are expected to talk with one another, share ideas, and work through complex issues,” Sim said. “That is how thoughtful and effective decisions are made. It is not misconduct.”
Sim and ABC have maintained that they can meet privately as long as no final decisions are made and no votes are taken. However, Vancouver’s integrity commissioner, Lisa Southern, stated in her report that the law does not support that interpretation.
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