Question 5. Vancouver is a city with a very diverse population with lots of different cultures calling this place home. Should the Park Board be doing more to respond to the needs of different cultural user groups? If yes, what sorts of changes to Park Board processes or practices would you envision?
Stephen MENON (200) – Yes. Our parks were largely designed around one idea of how people use public space. Vancouver has outgrown it and changes are required with both our population growth and the different cultures that call Vancouver home
Engage in the languages people speak, and meet communities where they already gather instead of expecting them to find a City web page.
Co-design programs with the communities who will use them, working through Community Centre Associations and cultural organizations rather than around them.
Make permits simple and affordable. Festivals, cultural celebrations and community events shouldn’t need a consultant to navigate. I would support a single point of contact for community groups.
Measure who uses what. If we do not know who a facility serves, we can not tell who it is missing.
More courts and fields for a wider range of sports.
Community gardens that can grow culturally significant crops.
Continue to advance Park Boards Truth and Reconciliation commitments and work with host nations on future projects and initiatives.
Leonard VANDERSTAR (202) – Great question. VIPP has thought this out and we will institute bottom-up governance. We will convene monthly town halls to meaningfully engage with citizens and their concerns. In a democratic community, there is an ethical obligation to provide access to our public resources to all citizens.
Tamiko SUZUKI (206) – To understand what different communities need, we must engage with people where they are, listen to their experiences, and work with them to develop programs that are meaningful and welcoming. This means communicating in different languages through online platforms, printed materials, and in-person outreach. It also means holding meetings at accessible locations and at different times so more people can participate.
We should continue building relationships with First Nations, including the Host Nations, as well as Vancouver’s large urban Indigenous population, respecting their knowledge, cultures, and leadership.
We also need to make Park Board processes more accessible. Permit applications should be simple and straightforward, particularly for smaller community organizations that may lack the time or resources to navigate complicated procedures.
Our public spaces should reflect the diversity of Vancouver and help people from different backgrounds connect, participate, and feel that they belong. By listening to communities and working with them, the Park Board can create programs and spaces that are more inclusive, relevant, and welcoming to everyone.
Summit AMBEAULT-WANNAMAKER (210) – Yes, our parks representing different cultural groups is not simply a factor of inclusivity, but also, accessibility.
That means that the park board needs to build stronger relationships with the communities that we serve, while simultaneously making community consultation a necessary condition in any decision we choose to make.
We also need to recognize that the diversity of Vancouver is constantly evolving; and in these evolutions, consultation and data should guide the direction of our recreational spaces. A universal park can never truly fit the needs of a community, and diverse approaches should guide all of our decision making.
Shayla BIRD (211) – Yes. This is particularly important to me because much of my professional work has focused on equity, education, community engagement and ensuring people who have historically been left out of decision-making have meaningful opportunities to participate.
The first question we should ask is not simply, “Did we consult?” It should be, “Who wasn’t in the room, and why?”
That means going into communities instead of always expecting communities to come to us. Engagement should be accessible in multiple languages, offered at different times and locations, and designed around the people whose input we are seeking. Where we are asking community members to contribute significant expertise or lived experience, we should also recognize the value of their time.
Our programming and public spaces should reflect Vancouver’s cultures through sport, food, arts, festivals, recreation and community celebrations. Permit and booking processes should also be understandable and accessible to smaller grassroots organizations.
Diversity should not simply be something we celebrate. It should influence how we design programs, allocate resources and make decisions.
Cam ROTHERY (213) – We will institute bottom-up governance. We will convene monthly town halls to meaningfully engage with citizens and their concerns – no matter who they are. In a properly functioning democratic community there is an obligation to provide access and space for commentary for all citizens regardless of their ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.
Tyler PETERSEN (214) – Yes. There are neighbourhoods in this city with historic and present day cultural communities. I would like to see the Park Board work with these communities to design spaces that celebrate this history and recognize the diversity of this City. An existing example of this is the Dr. Sun Yet-Sen Gardens, a space that celebrates the Chinatown community.
This would require consultation with the local communities and the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Watuth Nations to ensure we move forward in the best way; but could involve names of parks, monuments, planting of culturally-specific species, and/or working with community groups to ensure that festivals and events are supported.
Sacia BURTON (215) – It is crucial that people and families who call Vancouver home can find, access, and host cultural activities that are meaningful to them! Park Board can make it easier to host in park and community spaces by maintaining up-to-date information in widely-spoken languages beyond English; by facilitating translation services for the space-booking process; and by taking on direct community outreach to cultural organizations to ensure groups feel confident and comfortable using public spaces.
To complement the work of actively building inclusion, the Park Board also has a responsibility to institute an equity policy for event permitting. This would ensure publicly owned venues and spaces are not used to host anti-LGBTQ+, racist, or otherwise discriminatory events.
Breanne SMART (216) – Yes, we can always do more to ensure that our diverse population is represented in our parks and community centres. Translation services at our facilities, as well as print and online materials available in the major languages spoken in Vancouver would help to message our programs and activities. Reaching out to cultural user groups to encourage use of our public spaces instead of passively waiting for permit applications would help ensure that these groups are given priority and supported.
John IRWIN (217) – When funding allows printed materials should be printed (posted online) in the key language groups in each part of the City, based on census data. We could follow Renfrew community centre’s lead and have other language translation through IT programs that allow for this at all Park Board meetings simultaneously..
Amanda BAINS (221) – Yes. Vancouver’s diversity should be visible not only in who uses our parks, but also in how programs and public spaces are designed.
Consultations should be offered in multiple languages and held in neighbourhood locations at accessible times. The Park Board should build sustained relationships with cultural organizations instead of asking communities for input only after major decisions have effectively been made.
Programming should better reflect Vancouver’s communities through culturally relevant recreation, festivals, food, arts, seniors’ activities and family programming. Facility bookings and permit processes should be simple, affordable and transparent so smaller cultural organizations can access public spaces—not only groups with professional grant writers or established City Hall connections.
The Park Board’s staff, advisory committees and leadership should also reflect the communities they serve.
Tom DIGBY (222) – We have very diverse user groups, many of whom need focused support to engage our facilities. Greens support spending and staffing decisions that promote the engagement of equity seeking groups with our park system.
Michael Robert CADITZ (226) – We will institute bottom-up governance. We will convene monthly town halls to meaningfully engage with citizens and their concerns. In a democratic community, there is an ethical obligation to provide access to our public resources to all citizens.
Tricia BARKER (229) – There must be an understanding that we humans are all different. Every one of us! I believe if we have a respect for this fact then we can move forward. I follow a minority religion that dictates many things I can and cannot do in my daily life. This means I have had to deal with some “hiccups” when out in public. At the Park Board, we need to never assume we have covered all the bases and always be open to act in a kind and welcoming way.
Dominic DENOFRIO (230) – The Park Board should be doing more to connect with and represent Vancouverites of all backgrounds and cultures. We should be connecting with diverse communities across our city directly, with in-language services where needed, to ensure the work that the Park Board does is representative of the needs of the community. If elected, I would like to see the Park Board hold regular community engagement events across the city, with relevant language resources, to ensure that the voices of those who are often overlooked are heard. I would also push to engage with various community groups to ensure that diverse local history (inclusive of Indigenous, settler, and immigrant communities) is celebrated in our parks, through artwork, monuments, and educational information.
Niknaz ALEMI (231) – Yes. I came to Vancouver as an immigrant myself, and one of the things I really value about this city is how many different cultures and communities share the same public spaces. But I don’t think responding to that diversity means assuming we know what different communities need. We need to actually ask, listen and create better ways for people to participate, especially communities that have traditionally been underrepresented in public consultation. I would like to see more accessible and culturally inclusive engagement, stronger relationships with community and neighbourhood organizations, and fewer barriers related to language, cost or simply not being familiar with City processes. I also think this is another place where evidence and community knowledge need to work together. We should understand who is using our parks, facilities and programs, who isn’t, and why. Then we can use that information to guide programming, park design, recreation opportunities and investment. For me, good public spaces should reflect the people who actually live here and make them feel that these spaces belong to them too.
Wah GEE (233) – Yes. The Park Board should listen to different communities and make it easier for people to take part.
As a teacher, I know the importance of listening to families and recognizing that the same approach does not work for everyone. I would bring that approach to the Park Board.
I would work with community groups to understand what residents need, provide clear information in relevant languages, and review whether registration, schedules or permits create unnecessary barriers.
We should also reach out to people who are not using our programs. Understanding why they are missing out can help us make parks and recreation more welcoming.
Complete List of Questions
10. Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your platform?