FIFA Human Rights Plan Amendment

Statement Watch

David Ray here, once again, a Vancouver resident, and I am here to speak in support of Councillor Maloney and Councillor Fry's motion to strengthen Vancouver's FIFA World Cup Human Rights Action Plan. Hosting the FIFA World Cup will be a significant moment for Vancouver. It will bring global attention to our city and create opportunities for celebration, for tourism, and international connection. But with that opportunity also comes responsibility. Large international events like the World Cup have historically created real risks for vulnerable communities in host cities. Around the world, we've seen examples where major events have led to the displacement of unhoused residents, aggressive enforcement practices, and increased pressure on already strained community services. Vancouver has already acknowledged that these risks exist. The Human Rights Action Plan draft identifies potential impacts on unhoused residents, workers, people with disabilities, racialized communities, and neighborhoods like the downtown Eastside and Chinatown. Recognizing those risks is an important first step, but recognition alone is not enough. Human rights protections need to be clear, measurable, and accountable. This motion calls for measurable standards, transparent reporting, and independent monitoring so that the commitments made in the plan are not just aspirations, but real protections that people can rely on. And importantly, it calls for clear safeguards to ensure that people experiencing homelessness are not displaced or further pushed into harm. during this tournament. Vancouver's response to homelessness should never be to move people out of sight when the world is watching. Our response should be to support people with dignity, with services, and safe places to be. This motion helps move us in that direction by asking for better data, better reporting, and better protections for our vulnerable residents. Ultimately, if Vancouver is going to host a global event like the World Cup, we should do so in a way that reflects the values we claim to hold as a city. Values like dignity, transparency, and accountability. And care for the most vulnerable members of our community. Supporting this motion is a way to ensure that those values are reflected not just in words, but in action. Mayor, Council, I encourage you to support this motion. Vancouver is strongest when we take care of each other. Once again, thank you for your time.

Statement Watch

Great. Hello. My name is Chantelle Spicer. I'm here today speaking in favor of this motion. I'm not a resident of Vancouver, but I do work at the corner of Main and Hastings through my role for the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition. As I said, I'm here today to speak in favor of this motion, which speaks to many of the concerns that we have expressed and heard expressed by organizations. collectives and individuals who rely on public spaces in the Downtown Eastside and Chinatown when it comes to World Cup 2026. The draft action plan released on February 19th falls short of introducing any real human rights protections at all, though does recognize the risk of FIFA-related human rights harms, and in some cases even goes so far as to acknowledge the disproportionate risk for areas of the city outside of the immediate FIFA perimeter, the two-kilometer radius, that includes the downtown east side. However, after acknowledging this very real risk of harm, the plan offers little to mitigate it and instead rallies off a list of already in place rules, policies, and processes that supposedly apply to potential harms under each rights category. Beyond the draft action plan failure to effectively mitigate risk for human rights violations, we are further alarmed by its lack of planning for reporting and redress when violations do inevitably occur. Most notably, I want to point out that directing people who have had their rights violated due to these games to the Human Rights Tribunal is shameful, given that the current wait times for the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal to adjudicate cases is two years, meaning that years after the soccer organization leaves town, Vancouver residents will still be waiting for recourse for their rights being violated. Therefore, we applaud the call this motion makes for reporting and tracking of human rights violations related to the soccer tournament as part of city data collected related to the event. Thus far, the planning for the soccer tournament, which is spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, has been clouded by opacity and a lack of accountability. by city council and the host city committee. And knowing what the real human toll of being a host city is and having that information be public data is critical for democracy, public trust, and better city planning in the future. We've heard a lot of narratives about the opportunities that come from hosting hundreds of thousands of visitors for these games. But being a host city for the soccer tournament is an opportunity for Vancouver to show that it cares for all residents of Vancouver, and that you as a council are dedicated to protecting the rights of residents. As Councillor Frey noted, we have seen other cities, most notably Seattle, use the soccer tournament as an opportunity to fulfill this responsibility by expanding sheltering for unhoused people. We have offered the city committee many ideas towards meeting this motion's demands for expanded low barrier day and night spaces, including respite.

Statement Watch

Hi there. Before I begin, I just wanted to acknowledge and thank Counselors Frey and Maloney for bringing this forward. These conversations matter, and sometimes part of your role is kind of simply to release the pressure valve a little bit and to make space for people to speak and be heard. bring forward concerns that don't always fit neatly into a report or a framework. And that opportunity hasn't really been present when it comes to FIFA. So the first time I watched the World Cup in Canada, it wasn't in a stadium. It was in a crowded pub with my dad, shoulder to shoulder, we're packed with Chileans all yelling at the same screen. My parents came to Canada from Chile and Argentina. And yes, that is as awkward as it sounds. And World Cup was a big deal for immigrant families like mine. It was more than just football, and yes, it's football. Watching the World Cup was a moment when being an immigrant felt less lonely, where cheering for a team was a way of saying we belong here too. And that's why when I heard Vancouver was hosting matches, I felt excitement. You know, the city is made up of people from everywhere. If any place should understand what the World Cup can mean, it's this one. And that's what makes the rest of this so uncomfortable, where the tension exists. You know, wanting to be excited and feel that excitement, but also understanding the impact of this event. So when my family arrived, we didn't speak English. We didn't have money. You know, we had systems of social housing that gave us stability. Community centers gave us a place to go. transit, childcare, healthcare, these things weren't luxuries. They made it possible to build a life. And those same systems are under strain now. You know, social housing, wait lists stretch for years. Community spaces are falling apart. Transit struggles to keep up. You know, we're told, you know, these are hard choices to fund, but there's just not enough money. And we can't ignore what it takes to bring an event like this. The price tag is over $500 million. That's not abstract. That's real. Tickets to games are more expensive than most people can afford. The real concern about security zones, displacement, and enforcement by the city is real for many people. So when something like the World Cup comes along, suddenly there's money and resources, and we make space and prioritize it over the people that live here. So we see what happens when these events arrive, the pressure on communities, the resources get redirected, the decisions that get made quickly behind the scenes because the timeline depends on it. I'm encouraged by this motion taking a positive step to take action before words so that we're actually monitoring and doing things in real time when issues appear. So I'll be watching matches. I'll feel that same pull when the anthems play. I'll think about my dad, that pub, and those moments that meant so much to me and my family when I was younger. But what I'll watch more closely is whether we choose to invest and address the real concerns of people trying to make a life here. Success for me will be measured in whether we choose spectacle over substance, or whether we finally decide that the people who make this city deserve the same investment and protection as the events that pass through it. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Amazing. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Calvin. I am a Vancouver resident, and I am speaking in favor of this motion because I think that any attempt to bolster the human rights protections offered in the current host city human rights action plan represents a step in the right direction. Reading the current draft plan concerning issue six, the welfare and well-being of unsheltered populations, I noticed the ubiquitousness of the term will continue to. In fact, the only section that currently offers any concrete commitment to change or increase in services refers to the city's plan for garbage disposal. This is in and of itself a valid concern, but in the absence of any other tangible commitments, I think it speaks to a priority of aesthetics over human life and dignity. And I think that reflects poorly on the city I live in. To me, this draft plan says we know that FIFA will bring change to the city, but we don't have to change anything in preparation. And I think that shows a lack of initiative and imagination. We hear about the millions in revenue that FIFA will bring to the city, and that represents an amazing opportunity for Vancouver. As municipal leaders, you all know that planning guided by the people those plans are for are plans that actually work. We have the opportunity to invest in infrastructure that will improve people's lives in the long term, such as shelter spaces and public bathrooms. We have the opportunity to relieve and bolster the existing facilities and services for unsheltered people that we all know are overburdened as it stands today, so that they are better resourced after FIFA leaves. We have an opportunity to direct funding towards new, permanent, safe, dignified alternatives, like mentioned in this motion. Created with the guidance of the true experts, the unsheltered people, this plan is meant to support. That would be a win for everyone. What a wasted opportunity it would be to only continue with what we have now. I want to live in a city that cares about people over aesthetics, and I want to be governed by people who show innovation and imagination in the face of opportunity. Please vote in favor of this motion. Thank you.

Statement Watch

yes please go ahead all right so uh hello it's me again probably the last time that you will hear from me today um i do while i do appreciate the mode the or i am while i am sympathetic to the motivation of the motion moved by counselors uh i think fry and the seconded by counselor maloney given how I don't understand how... I don't understand what I... Basically, because I don't understand how this is within the scope of the city, I can't really support it. I think even though you may say this is out of the scope, I do think the city needs to go back on focusing on its core... functions, which I don't even think is doing that well, rather than potential distractions as these things. But I am sympathetic to the motivations. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Jean Swanson, representing Carnegie Housing Project, a project of the board of the Carnegie Center Community Association. Vancouver residents support the motions. It's really important to increase low barrier day and night spaces, including respite centers, storage services, and hygiene facilities now, let alone when FIFA is here. But for FIFA, it would be extra good to provide safer spaces for folks who are homeless. It's also absolutely true that current tenant laws don't protect unsheltered folks, so relying on them during FIFA will be useless. During the Olympics, we had home ground that provided big tents with delicious food in one tent and entertainment in the other, all staffed through Carnegie by local residents who were paid. Why not do that again, spend a smidgen of the money that's going to tourists on our own residents who have very little? We also absolutely need a clear way to make complaints and get fast resolution. What if, for example, there was an SRO that has 31 vacant rooms? Is that owner planning to rent them out as Airbnbs during FIFA? Who would we tell and how fast would it get investigated and hopefully stopped so the rooms could be rented to permanent residents? Public reporting on police interactions with unsheltered residents is also a really good idea. When folks on the street get their stuff taken, it makes it a lot harder for them to survive. Hope you'll pass and implement this really good motion. Thank you.

Statement Watch

Okay. Thank you. I appreciate that.

Thank you. Councillor Orr.

Yeah, happy to support this motion. I think it's just another example of just trying to get ahead of potential side effects of this vent and just not step on a rake. Yeah, we shouldn't be displacing anyone. The expanded low barrier day and night shelters is the right direction. I like the clear metrics and data tracking as well. The draft human rights action plan has been criticized for relying too much on existing systems and not enough on concrete actions or accessible remedies for people who are harmed. And that is the gap that this motion is trying to close. I will also say I've heard many concerns from marginalized communities that they aren't aware of what measures they can take if their human rights are violated. So with that, I do have an amendment that was drafted by the Urban Indigenous People's Advisory Committee. If you want to go to that queue.

Yep, I can take us to the amendment queue. Please continue, Councillor.

Yeah, absolutely. This is, as I said, a motion drafted by the Urban Indigenous People's Advisory Committee. It's a little wordy, but it's just finding a way to communicate to people what they can do if their human rights are violated using sort of... any of the resources that the city may have within the controlled access zone. So I hope you guys can support it.

Get a seconder for the amendment, please. Councillor Frye. Okay. Okay, so that was seconded by Councillor Frye. We're in the amendment. I don't see anyone else on the queue to speak to it. So I presume we'll take it to a vote. And this is on the amendment from Councillor Orr. Mayor Sim, just checking in if you're planning to vote on the amendment from Councillor Orr, which is currently on the screen. You want to vote assist? It's okay. This is an amendment from Councillor Orr. Not voting on it? Okay, thank you. Okay, that amendment... Does not pass. With myself in opposition. Councillor Dominato in opposition. Councillor Montague in opposition. Councillor Klassen in opposition. And Councillor Zhou in opposition. And we'll now go back to the main queue. Councillor Orr.

That's it for me. Thanks.

Okay. Thanks. Councillor Maloney.

Thank you to Councillor Fry for taking the lead on this motion and inviting me to collaborate on it. And thanks very much to the public speakers who gave such thoughtful, well-researched presentations. As Councillor Fry pointed out, Seattle, who is in a very similar position to Vancouver, is taking a very different approach. So the idea that we're already doing enough is a matter of perspective, which I don't share. So like many Vancouverites, I'm looking forward to the World Cup. Vancouver being able to host the Cup is a privilege and I'm really looking forward to welcoming visitors from around the world united by a love of soccer. That's what the World Cup ought to be about, the spirit of friendly competition and the celebration of a sport that unites billions around the world. But there's the ideal, then there's the reality, and the truth is that the World Cup has often not lived up to its own high principles, especially on human rights. From the treatment of migrant workers in Qatar to the mass abductions of American citizens on the orders of FIFA's first and only Peace Prize laureate, People are understandably concerned about whether we're doing all we can to protect our communities or whether we're instead putting publicity over principle. The current Human Rights Action Plan is a good start, but it doesn't answer important questions about specificity and enforcement. A promise made without effective accountability is just words on a page and we need concrete monitoring. To quote a famous saying, justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done. We are still months away from kick-off so there's plenty of time for this motion to be implemented. Our job as a council is to give priority to important issues as they arise. The protection of our most cherished civil liberties is surely among them, especially as these principles are actively being compromised down south. As Vancouver prepares to join the ranks of FIFA host cities, we have to make sure that we're creating a positive legacy that will bring pride to our city for decades to come. So we should be standing for human rights and make sure that this World Cup is one that puts our city's values at centre field. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm just going to pass the chair to Vice Chair Dominados to ask a question. I'd like to ask a question through you, Vice Chair, to the Deputy City Manager. My question is, in the motion, it seems to suggest ceasing public realm bylaw enforcement work. So things like removal of structures, lifting our ban on permitted street vending. Just hoping you could speak to some of the challenges around, I guess, freezing some of that public realm bylaw enforcement and what would result from that. Our experience in our work in the public realm is that when we pause our regular bylaw compliance work, whether it's on ensuring sidewalks remain clear and passable and buildings accessible and emergency connections accessible and in parks, is that we very quickly see encampments grow. Strathcona, Hastings, Oppenheimer. So this is our experience. Just to note, of course, continuing through this period that the park control bylaw is still in place, that people without housing will be able to shelter in our parks overnight. And as we mentioned in the plan, while we are continuing to do our daily bylaw compliance work, It really is to maintain that safe and accessible public realm for everyone. But we're certainly not intending to move people along. No one has to leave their neighborhoods. That's not how we do our work. And we do it with a trauma informant. Okay, thanks for that. I really appreciate that. Yeah, I think that's important context from the Deputy City Manager. I remember... The situation that we faced on Hastings and the downtown east side with the encampments and, you know, really dangerous situation in terms of no access to sidewalks. We had many tents with propane tanks in them. We had a fire safety risk. I'm not willing to go back to that. So absolutely will not be supporting this motion today. Thank you. I'll take the chair back. Councillor Frye.

Yeah, well, in the full context of context, I think this has been very misrepresented. I'm going to read the exact clause as it was written into the motion. It is a no displacement commitment prohibiting dispersion, seizure of belongings, limited access to harm reduction services and sanctioned drinking and substance use areas or other displacement practices during the World Cup. Emphasis. in the absence of providing safe, dignified alternatives. So nobody's saying keep encampments on the street. Nobody's saying keep it chaos. The operation here is to ensure that we have safe, dignified alternatives so that when we are dispersing people, we have somewhere that they can store their stuff. We have seen the defunding of the very services that provide storage for unhoused people, not through the city necessarily, through the province. And I think that we actually stepped up to help support that. But the reality is, is that we have unhoused residents who need additional supports. And if we're going to ask them to move along, we should be giving them safe alternative spaces. We do not have daytime shelter options for folks. We do not have the storage necessarily for folks who we are going to be asking to move along. That is the key consideration here. I want to remind folks that this is the draft human rights plan. This is the opportunity that we have. to enhance this and make sure that it's working the way it should. You know, the draft human rights plan, as it's written right now, talks about displacement in the context of tenancy law and assumes that people can apply to the RTB in many cases, which is, frankly, missing the entire point. And I will say that when it comes to unhoused residents, and this is word for word from the draft human rights action plan, It reads, in response to community concerns around the availability of daytime respite spaces... Sorry, let me just... daytime respite spaces and interactions during visitor surges with people experiencing homelessness in the public realm, the city is discussing further potential actions to mitigate risks to people experiencing homelessness and housing precarity to be included as feasible in the next update of this draft action plan. That leaves the door open for this very kind of direction that is a fairly simple request that we are at least providing safe, dignified alternatives for folks who may be at risk of displacement. The idea that we may be disrupting safe consumption sites in the interest of, you know, tourists having a good time at a soccer game is pretty outrageous. And I think that we should show great intention to ensure that we are doing everything we can to provide those alternatives. bake it into this human rights action plan. It's not an especially onerous ask, and it's just asking it to be included in the final human rights action plan. And I will note, as pointed out, Seattle is going way above and beyond what we are even contemplating here with some very tangible actions. to support unhoused residents with rapid shelter deployment and all sorts of supports. And I think that it would be a mistake to just gloss over this motion as somehow some kind of getting in the way of the work that's already been done. This is really to complement the work that staff and the Human Rights Action Plan is contemplating. It's not getting in the way of it. It's just enhancing it and speaking for folks who maybe don't have a voice at this table, which I think is critically important and a major oversight.

Thank you. Okay, thank you. Just another question through, actually I'll pass the chair to the vice chair, Dominato. A question again through deputy city manager. I just want to address some of Councillor Fry's comments for clarification, for my own clarification. There was a comment from Councillor Fry that there are plans to disrupt safe consumption sites. Are there currently any plans around that? Not to your knowledge. Not in our plans. Okay, thank you for confirming that. And on the disbursement around the bylaw enforcement, I understand that we'll be continuing to enforce the street bylaws around street vending, around removal of structures on sidewalks so people can pass safely, et cetera. But can I confirm that we're not asking people to leave the area? So, yeah, our day-to-day practices across the city that we currently do now will continue. We know that there's not enough daytime spaces. There's not enough shelter. That is the responsibility of the province, and we are in constant contact with the province around that. Seattle has a different jurisdictional context and a different delegation of responsibilities amongst the three levels of government, county, city, state, than we do here in Vancouver. So it's a challenging comparison for us operationally and just from a jurisdictional point of view. In terms of the footprint of the FIFA games, there is a very focused footprint right around the stadium where we will be securing the stadium for FIFA. No one will be allowed in that zone unless they're a ticket holder or associated with FIFA. But again, it's very focused. And at this point, we don't see a lot of people relying on that area. And there are a lot of other areas in that neighborhood for people to be. There is a last mile that will be a pedestrian walkway from Main Street Science World that will be kind of the focus of the pedestrian traffic in the few hours leading up to kickoff. That will be activated, and it'll be a little bit more like activating for the sunrun or something, but it's a pedestrian walkway. So that is the footprint of the games. We have built into this plan some additional considerations for the downtown east side and the broader public realm because we know that there are community concerns. When we look at the visitor, when we talk about visitor surges, you know, BC Place has a 53,000 or so capacity sellout capacity. We sell out BC, well, PAVCO sells out BC Place regularly. So we see this level of visitor search in the public realm. Thanks so much for clarifying that. And again, I just want to reiterate, we have a human rights action plan, and my priority is a safe and fun experience for visitors and a safe downtown with sidewalks that people can pass through and a safe experience.