The chorus of people who say the City of Vancouver should be doing more consultation is getting larger.
Activists who oppose taller buildings in Vancouver’s downtown core say public consultation has been a sham. They doubt the council’s decision to defer a vote until January 20 will change much. (See “Taller buildings raising city citizens’ ire” – issue 1104; December 21-27.)
Now Canaccord Financial Inc. chair Peter Brown is adding his name to the list of people who believe council regularly ignores the wishes of the community.
He believes Mayor Gregor Robertson and his Vision Vancouver-dominated council believe they know what’s best without considering what business owners and others think.
The city’s decision to spend $4 million and pour concrete to create so-called “temporary” bike lanes is a prime example, he said.
“They had a phony consultation. They made a pretense that they consulted, long after they had drawn up the plans and were ready to go,” Brown said of city council.
“When a socialist gets elected, he’s there to right some imagined wrong. He’s not there to be government of all the people. They don’t consult. They think they know best.”
West End Neighbours member Randy Helten told BIV recently he was disgusted city council released late on a Friday afternoon a 40-page, bureaucratese-laden document council was supposed to vote on six days later.
Public meetings are often held during the day and only in the downtown core, making it difficult for many working people to attend, Helten added.