Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s proposal for plebiscite questions on public drug use and involuntary care beds has been approved by the city council. The questions will be included in the upcoming municipal election in October.
Sim’s initiative to seek public opinion on enhancing laws related to “open-air hard drug use” and advocating for more involuntary care treatment at a soon-to-be-closed hospital site has drawn criticism from opponents who view it as a strategic move for the election.
During a press conference, Mayor Sim, alongside councillors from the ABC Vancouver slate, announced plans to convene an emergency council meeting to add the plebiscite questions to the ballot for Vancouver voters on October 17. He emphasized that seeking input from voters through official channels would provide a stronger mandate for the city’s future government to address drug issues.
Although specific details on which bylaws would be reinforced if the plebiscite questions are approved were not immediately provided, Mayor Sim highlighted the importance of taking steps to improve the city.
In addition to the drug-use laws question, the second proposed plebiscite question aims to urge the province to convert parts of the St. Paul’s Hospital site in downtown Vancouver into a medical facility offering acute voluntary and over 100 involuntary care beds. St. Paul’s Hospital is scheduled to be relocated next year to a new site in the False Creek Flats.
Responding to inquiries on the necessity of locating involuntary care beds within the city, Mayor Sim stressed the acute need for such facilities in Vancouver, citing improved outcomes for individuals when they are closer to their community and loved ones.
Critics, including Vancouver Liberals mayoral candidate Kareem Allam, who formerly served as Sim’s chief of staff, have raised concerns about the lack of specifics in the proposed questions and accused Sim of inconsistency on social services matters. They view the plebiscite as a political distraction rather than a genuine solution.
City council, which was on summer break, assembled for the emergency meeting to vote on Sim’s proposed plebiscite questions. Councillor Pete Fry, also a mayoral candidate with the Green Party of Vancouver, expressed reservations about the lack of details regarding the St. Paul’s Hospital site’s future and criticized the plebiscite as a ploy to influence voter turnout.