Amendment to Refer A-J Back to Staff – Villages
Motion 10 · Council Meeting, July 28, 2026
Summary
- Proposed referring Villages clauses A–J back to staff for further deep community consultation, rather than outright rejection. Defeated by the ABC majority; supporters argued the plan needed more neighbourhood-level engagement before a final decision.
Vote
Public comments
Read all 5 statements
Transcript
8 segments
Okay.
Thanks. While it is speculation, firstly, I'm very grateful to Councillor Meiszner for raising the issue about how important it is that we listen to members of the public, and I obviously share that high priority. And, in fact, I'm very sorry that we didn't... as a council, listen to the over 600 speakers that would like us to have done something different with the budget last year. But moving on, I would like to amend this amendment to refer recommendations A to J back to staff so that further deep consultation can be undertaken. I'm sure that Councillor Meiszner will be very supportive of that. given the sentiments that he just relayed to us all, which I agree with intensely. So this would also be a way of making sure that all this work isn't just discarded and wasted, that we do undertake further consultation with the communities around the 17 villages that have been proposed by staff. And that is definitely something that we heard from public speakers that they had an expectation of more consultation being undertaken. So I'm expecting enthusiastic support on this referral.
Yeah, I'll be quick, just in response to my colleague. I don't believe this is a consultation issue, although I certainly do agree that consultation could have been much more robust. I personally believe that this plan as presented is flawed, so I won't be supporting Councillor Maloney's amendment for, quote, deep consultation.
Okay, I'm going to call the vote on the amendment to the amendment. Pardon?
Okay, sorry, can we take a two-minute recess, please?
Statement Watch
Yeah. Thanks very much. It's quite an honor for this to be marked. It's quite important for us to mark Emancipation Day as a community. I think it's wonderful that the City of Vancouver and the Mayor of Vancouver are marking Emancipation Day. I don't think we do enough in Canada to actually mark Emancipation Day. Juneteenth is very important for Americans, and we seem to latch on to some of that. But there's obviously a lot of work to be done. The history of the relationship between the city of Vancouver and the Black communities has been, at best, a complicated one. And we hope that there will be improvements. There's a reason why the United Nations decided to have another decade to mark black presence, black dignity, addressing anti-racism against black people. And some of this is reflected in the work that is done and hasn't been done in the city of Vancouver. So this is an important day. It's an important celebration. And we hope that the work does go with the words. Thank you.
Statement Watch
I'd like to say a few words. Good day. My name is Neville Thomas.
I would like to say thanks for having us here. The group has reduced considerably, but I'm happy to be here.
Also, the presence of Dr. Andrew Wright, nice meeting you. I would like to start by saying thanks to group for your contribution, participation over all these years. This occasion is a historic one.
And at the end of all year, 26, 27, I would like you to be assured that we, the members of the anti-racism group, greatly appreciate the contribution you have made, as well as the greater population. Thank you, and we look forward to continued relationships and your contribution as we move forward.
Statement Watch
First of all, I'd like to thank all the councillors in the city of Vancouver for recognizing the contributions of my father. He's quite humble, and he didn't even know about this. We just surprised him. He just found out right now. Yeah, so Connor's been very working with us on that end. But thank you very much, and I want to thank all the family members that are here today. You all mean a lot to my dad and us, and it's a great day for him. Thank you. I just told him he was coming for lunch at City Hall. And it would be a quick 15 minutes. And yeah, I don't know if he was playing along or if he actually knew, but I don't think he knew. Are you surprised? I think it is a great surprise for me. I would like to thank for recognizing me as the founder of the Punjabi market. So I'm very thankful for the city hall and all the city Councillors for recognizing my services for the senior society and as well as for the Punjabi market. Thank you.
Statement Watch
First of all, I'd like to thank all the councillors in the city of Vancouver for recognizing the contributions of my father. He's quite humble, and he didn't even know about this. We just surprised him. He just found out right now. Yeah, so Connor's been very working with us on that end. But thank you very much, and I want to thank all the family members that are here today. You all mean a lot to my dad and us, and it's a great day for him. Thank you. I just told him he was coming for lunch at City Hall. And it would be a quick 15 minutes. And yeah, I don't know if he was playing along or if he actually knew, but I don't think he knew. Are you surprised? I think it is a great surprise for me. I would like to thank for recognizing me as the founder of the Punjabi market. So I'm very thankful for the city hall and all the city Councillors for recognizing my services for the senior society and as well as for the Punjabi market. Thank you.
Statement Watch
Well done. Thank you.
Do we get, like, the group photo?
Yeah, for sure.
We've got one more. We've got somebody else who'd like to speak. Gentlemen, it's my pleasure to know Mr. Sutakale for a long time. And I found him such a nice person, so amicable, so friendly. And I have learned a lot from him. I have read some of his books. They were very inspiring. They reflect what the community is here. So it gives me inspiration as well as good guidance. And with his inspiration, I have also written two books. One is Life and Act of Art. and today I have another poetry in daily life. The first I have presented to your worship, Damir, and today I will again, if I meet him, I will present him the other book. So Mr. Suchas is still going well. He's so energetic, even, you know, all these, you know, health problems. So it is something which is working inside him, behind him, and of course, when we say behind him, Unfortunately, his better half is not there, but his family, it's a pillar for him. So I wish Mr. Sucha all the best in his life, and I wish all the best for the family. They must continue taking care of him. Thanks a lot.