Standing Committee on Policy and Strategic Priorities — February 25, 2026

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February 25, 2026 · 09:30 am–03:09 pm

Summary

Standing Committee on Policy and Strategic Priorities meeting held February 25, 2026, chaired by Councillor Klassen (acting for Councillor Meiszner).

The meeting opened with an International Women's Day proclamation read by council; representatives of the Women's Advisory Committee called for action on gender-based violence, supportive housing, and child care.
One consent item was approved: a contract award for city fleet electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Six council member motions were debated; outcomes ranged from carried to defeated, withdrawn, and ruled out of order.
Motion 1 (ICE/FIFA) was ruled out of order by the chair; a challenge to that ruling failed by one vote.
Motion 2 (VPD District 5 and training academy funding) was carried after a referral attempt failed.
Motion 3 (supportive housing ban) was withdrawn by the mover citing a misinformation campaign.
Motion 4 (council remote work alignment) was carried unanimously as amended.
Motion 5 (FIFA public safety working group) was defeated.
Motion 6 (child care recommitment) was carried as a strike-and-replace amendment focused on provincial advocacy.

Attendance

Present: Mike Klassen, Ken Sim, Sarah Kirby-Yung, Lisa Dominato, Rebecca Bligh, Pete Fry, Peter Meiszner, Lenny Zhou, Lucy Maloney, Sean Orr

Absent: Brian Montague

Partial attendance:

Lisa Dominato : absent 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Pete Fry : absent from 12:00 p.m. onwards

Motions

Ice Out of the Beautiful Game and Vancouver's World Cup

Out Of Order

Moved by Pete Fry, Sean Orr Vote 7 – 4 ▶ Watch Details →

Proposed by Councillors Fry and Orr to preemptively oppose any deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Vancouver during the FIFA World Cup.
Councillor Montague raised a point of order, arguing the motion was based on incorrect premises: ICE has no jurisdiction in Canada, has not been invited, and is not part of FIFA security planning.
Councillors Fry and Orr argued the motion was deliberately forward-looking ("any additional deployment"), not a claim that ICE was already present.
The chair ruled the motion out of order under procedure bylaw 8.7F (incorrect information).
Councillor Fry challenged the ruling; a vote was held requiring two-thirds (8 of 11) to overturn — the challenge received 7 votes and failed by one, so the ruling stood.
The motion was not debated further and did not proceed.

Motion – ICE Out of the Beautiful Game and Vancouver’s World Cup

Strengthening Public Safety Infrastructure

Carried

Moved by Brian Montague Vote 7 – 4 ▶ Watch Details →

Proposed by Councillor Montague to draw $4 million from the city's stability reserve: approximately $2.8 million for VPD's new District 5 (focused downtown eastside policing unit) and $1.2 million for a temporary VPD recruit training academy in the vacant London Drugs space at Woodward's.
Supporters argued District 5 builds on the success of Task Force Barrage, and a city-run training academy would reduce reliance on the Justice Institute of BC (JIBC), cut overtime costs, and address over 300 VPD vacancies.
Opponents raised concerns: the JIBC publicly stated the motion contained incorrect information about its capacity (it recently expanded seats by 50%); no open competitive process was held for the Woodward's location; the request came outside the normal budget cycle; and the downtown eastside location raised community and business concerns about removing a retail anchor.
A referral motion by Councillor Fry (seeking reports from the police board, JIBC, province, city real estate, and legal counsel) was defeated.
Several speakers, including businesses and residents, expressed concern about the location while supporting improved policing capacity in principle.
The motion carried with Councillors Bly, Fry, Orr, and Maloney opposed.

Motion – Strengthening Public Safety Infrastructure

Reversing the Costly Ban on Supportive Housing

Withdrawn

Moved by Pete Fry Vote 0 – 0 ▶ Watch Details →

Proposed by Councillor Fry to reverse what the motion described as a costly ban on supportive housing.
Before any debate, Councillor Fry announced he was withdrawing the motion.
He cited what he described as a misinformation campaign spread via WeChat by an ABC councillor, which he said had distorted the motion's intent and poisoned the conditions for fair debate.
He stated he would bring the motion back the following month to allow for proper, informed deliberation.
No vote was held; the motion was withdrawn.

Walking the Talk: Aligning City Staff and Council's Remote Work Policy

Carried

Moved by Lucy Maloney, Sean Orr Vote 10 – 0 ▶ Watch Details →

Proposed by Councillor Maloney to align council's own attendance expectations with the return-to-office policy recently applied to city staff, as a show of solidarity and leadership.
Councillor Maloney clarified the motion does not direct HR policy (which is the city manager's domain) but sets expectations for elected officials, who should model the same standard asked of staff.
An amendment by Councillor Kirby-Yung removed a requirement for councillors to seek approval from the city clerk for absences, recognizing that councillors are not employees and are accountable to voters, not staff.
Councillor Zhou raised a factual question about whether the return-to-office directive applied to all staff; staff confirmed it applied to exempt staff (about 15% of the workforce) and restricted remote days for unionized office staff.
Councillor Maloney clarified the "restricting" language in the motion was accurate because unionized staff also had their remote work flexibility reduced.
The motion as amended passed unanimously.

Motion – Walking the Talk: Aligning City Staff’s and Council’s Remote Work Policy

Meeting the Moment: FIFA Public Safety and Local Readiness Working Group

Defeated

Moved by Rebecca Bligh, Sean Orr Vote 4 – 7 ▶ Watch Details →

Proposed by Councillors Bligh and Orr to establish a FIFA World Cup Public Safety and Local Readiness Working Group to coordinate planning across VPD, Fire Rescue, engineering, health, BIAs, frontline services, and community organizations.
Supporters, including business improvement associations (Hastings Crossing, Gastown), community organizations, and public health advocates, said FIFA planning had been siloed, engagement with frontline groups had been inadequate, and risks such as gender-based violence, drug harm to visitors, and neighbourhood strain needed coordinated responses.
Opponents on council argued that staff confirmed nearly all the work outlined in the motion was already underway, initiated 12–18 months prior, and that with only ~110 days to the first match, staff had no capacity to take on new formal work.
Councillor Montague cited a staff memo saying the motion's proposals were already being executed and creating a new working group would stretch capacity.
Councillor Bligh responded that the issue was coordination and public transparency, not duplication, and that external organizations were seeking guidance from other cities (e.g., Toronto) because Vancouver's coordination wasn't visible to them.
The motion was defeated, with Councillors Klassen, Kirby-Yung, Montague, Mayor Sim, and Councillor Zhou opposed.

Motion – Meeting the Moment: FIFA Public Safety and Local Readiness Working Group

Recommitting to $10 a Day Child Care

Carried

Moved by Sean Orr Vote 7 – 2 ▶ Watch Details →

Proposed by Councillor Orr to recommit the city to $10-a-day child care, including directing staff to track lost non-profit child care spaces, prioritizing city-owned and non-profit facilities over private commercial leases, and pursuing UBCM advocacy.
Speakers highlighted a 15,000-space shortfall, the province's recent three-year pause on new $10-a-day enrollments, and specific cases where child care commitments in neighbourhood plans (e.g., Joyce-Collingwood) were not fulfilled in recent rezonings.
Councillor Klassen introduced a strike-and-replace amendment narrowing the motion to an advocacy focus: calling on the province to reaffirm its $10-a-day commitment, establish a clear timeline for resuming expansion, and directing the mayor to write to the Premier and Minister of Education and Child Care.
Councillors Bly and Maloney opposed the amendment, arguing it dropped valuable operational elements (e.g., tracking lost spaces, protecting non-profit spaces) and that advocacy through multiple channels, including UBCM, should not be removed.
Supporters of the amendment said the most urgent need was to pressure the province on funding, as without provincial operating dollars, land-use measures alone are insufficient.
The strike-and-replace amendment carried with Councillors Bly and Maloney opposed; the amended motion then passed.

Motion – Recommitting to $10 a Day Childcare