Question 7

Question 7. In recent years, the Park Board has taken steps towards reconciliation, decolonization, and co-management with MST First Nations. Would you continue this work? If yes, how?

Stephen MENON (200) – Yes, and I would approach it with humility. This work belongs to a relationship between governments, and the Nations help set that pace.

Vote Vancouver’s platform commits to aligning with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. It also recognizes the Coast Salish Nations’ ongoing stewardship of these lands. Practically, I would focus on:

Deepening working partnerships that already exist. For example, the Musqueam Nation Stewardship Team has worked with Urban Forestry on invasive removal and natural area planting.

Planting with purpose. Culturally significant species like western redcedar, berry and medicine plants, planted under plans developed with the Nations, along with harvesting access protocols.

Opening real jobs. Indigenous hiring targets in urban forestry and parks trades, through apprenticeships built with Indigenous employment and training partners.

Following the Nations’ lead on co-management. No announcements about the Nations without their consent.

Leonard VANDERSTAR (202) – Constitutionally, we basically have two landlords of “public lands” – that of which colonialists claim and that of which Indigenous peoples claim as traditional territories. We are in the era of co-management, which is a good thing sinceachievement of the higher common denominator is achievable. Corporations, whether Indigenous owned or not, will be viewed on equal footing and treated equitably; in other words, there is a clear distinction between hereditary leaders/band councils and that of their corporations.

Tamiko SUZUKI (206) – Yes absolutely, reconciliation is an ongoing process and I would continue this work. The Park Board should continue building trust with the Host Nations and Vancouver’s urban Indigenous communities. We need to move beyond colonial decision-making and token consultation toward genuine co-management, adequate funding, and shared decision-making authority.

This means joint planning and governance that prioritize native vegetation and traditional food plants, land restoration and stewardship, and access to spaces for ceremony. It also means funding opportunities to train Indigenous youth, employing Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers, restoring Indigenous place names, and
expanding Indigenous cultural programs.

Reconciliation is an ongoing process of listening, learning, and sharing authority. For the Park Board, it is also an opportunity to bring Indigenous knowledge and different ways of understanding our relationship with the land into decision-making. This knowledge will be invaluable in caring for Vancouver’s natural spaces and building resilience as our climate changes.

Summit AMBEAULT-WANNAMAKER (210) – The Vancouver Park Board has a duty to uphold reconciliation, decolonization, and co-management. This means actively seeking out partnership, consultation, and leadership from the Musqueam, Squamish, Tseil-Waututh nations in the planning, management, and stewardship of our parks.

For centuries, these nations acted as stewards of the land, and their knowledge is instrumental to creating more resilient parks.

Shayla BIRD (211) – Yes. My work as an educator has reinforced for me that reconciliation cannot simply be symbolic. It has to change relationships, processes and decision-making.

I would support continuing to strengthen the Park Board’s relationship with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, particularly through early and meaningful involvement in decisions involving land, water, culturally significant spaces and ecological stewardship.

That can include Indigenous place names and languages, cultural programming, Indigenous-led ecological stewardship and restoration, and co-management where developed in partnership with MST Nations.

Most importantly, this work should be guided by the Nations themselves. Reconciliation should not mean the Park Board deciding what reconciliation looks like and then asking Indigenous communities to participate. It means building lasting relationships and creating space for shared decision-making.

Cam ROTHERY (213) – Yes, the voices and direction of hereditary leaders and traditional indigenous values is very important to us. However, we will not allow any entity, including but not limited to MST Development Corporation to commercialize Vancouver parks – as our policy is to protect Vancouver’s green spaces and not develop them into towers, businesses, parking lots etc.

Tyler PETERSEN (214) – Yes. It is critical to continue building relationships with the three host nations and move past the colonial histories of our institutions. I have worked for an Indigenous matriarch for a number of years, and strongly believe in the power of consultation and collaboration.

We live on the traditional and unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Peoples – and in sharing this space, we must do so with respect. By working, government-to-government, we can continue to build these relationships and build one city for all.

These collaborations can involve renaming sites to their historic, cultural names, or in our ReWild Vancouver plan to increase park land, grow urban meadows, and resurface buried creek systems for greater access to green, wild spaces in this city.

Sacia BURTON (215) – As a significant property owner of unceded land, the Park Board has a vital role to play in reconciliation, decolonization, and co-management with the host nations and with urban indigenous community members. Conversations and plans around ownership, access, and stewardship should be navigated with care, with an aim to build trust and dismantle systems of harm established and upheld by previous governments.

The heavy lifting of decolonization must be done by institutions that have held and wielded power to the detriment of First Nations’ people. This means funding work, opening space in ways that may be viewed as unconventional, and being open to ongoing learning.

In practical policy terms, this work can and should include ensuring that unhoused community members (Indigenous or not) are not forcibly displaced from public land; that landback opportunities be explored, such as the partial return of land at Vanier Park to the Squamish Nation, thus enabling the development of Seńáḵw; that native plants are prioritized in land restoration efforts, with ethnobotanists and local experts leading restoration planning; that access to growing and processing traditional food and holding ceremony is upheld through access to space; and that education work regarding First Nations’ culture and presence in the city is reliably funded. Further decisions and priorities should be collaboratively developed by MST and the City, with goals set by MST respected and appropriately funded.

Breanne SMART (216) -Reconciliation shapes how we steward land that was never ours to begin with. Progress so far has come from MST leadership and staff working in good faith, and the next board needs to protect it, not restart it. This is how I would conduct my relationship with MST as a commissioner:

Meet with MST leadership early, listen, and ask how they want to be engaged before arriving with an agenda.
Bring the Nations into planning for park changes and facility upgrades from the start, and respect their processes and timelines.
Co-management asks a lot of Nations’ staff and capacity. I’d make sure the budget supports their participation so reconciliation isn’t the first line item cut under funding pressure.
Support Indigenous-led programming, language revitalization, and place-name restoration, and use procurement to create real opportunities for Indigenous-owned caterers, artists, and businesses.
Share progress plainly, including what hasn’t worked, so the Nations and the public can hold us accountable.

John IRWIN (217) – Most recently, I was the sole public speaker to speak to the Park Board in support of the temporary Senakw welcoming centre in Vanier Park (Squamish Nation). In the past, I fully supported the motion to explore co-management of Vancouver’s parks with the Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish and Musqueam Nations, which was passed by the Park Board in 2022 during my term on the Park Board.

I consistently pushed for and achieved more funds for the reconciliation planning team. Moving forward, I would call for there to be an annual government-to-government meeting between the Park Board and MST First Nations, as it is best to discuss the MST First Nations’ valid concerns in face-to-face meetings.

Amanda BAINS (221) – Yes. Vancouver is located on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, and this relationship must be reflected in how land and water are cared for.

I would continue moving from consultation toward genuine partnership and co-management. MST Nations should be involved early in decisions concerning ecologically or culturally significant sites—not approached only after plans have already been developed.

This work should include incorporating Indigenous knowledge into ecological restoration, supporting Indigenous place names and language, expanding opportunities for Indigenous cultural programming and stewardship, and establishing clear agreements with the Nations concerning governance, decision-making and long-term land care.

Reconciliation must be reflected in budgets, policies and decision-making authority, not only acknowledgements and ceremonies.

Tom DIGBY (222) – The Greens fully support these priorities. The monthly meeting of the Stanley Park Intergovernmental Working Group is the primary point of contact with First Nations about park planning. We seek advice and insight from First Nations for all major park changes. For example, the 75,000 trees we planted in Stanley Park were selected based on First Nation recommendations.

Michael Robert CADITZ (226) – Yes, but we will give voice to hereditary leaders and traditional indigenous values. We will not allow any entity, including but not limited to MST Development Corporation, to develop, damage, or commercialize parks.

Tricia BARKER (229) – I believe the Park Board staff is doing a good job, and I would support their continued work.

Dominic DENOFRIO (230) – Yes, I would continue this work. Reconciliation is a vital part of the work that must be done in Vancouver, and the Park Board has a vital role to play in this. We need to ensure that we are respecting government-to-government consultation and co-operation with the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

Niknaz ALEMI (231) – Absolutely. I would continue this work and I think it is important that reconciliation goes beyond symbolic actions. For me, that starts with recognizing that the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil Waututh Nations are rights holders and the original stewards of these lands. I would support continuing the work already started through VanPlay and the 2023– 2026 Capital Plan, including co management, greater cultural visibility on the land and stronger government to government relationships with the three Nations. I also believe Indigenous knowledge and western science should not be treated as competing approaches. Both can contribute to better ecological stewardship. When we are making major interventions in sensitive ecosystems such as Stanley Park, decisions should be transparent, supported by ecological evidence and data, informed by Indigenous knowledge, and carefully assessed for their long term impacts on biodiversity and forest resilience.

Reconciliation and environmental protection should strengthen each other. Co management should mean bringing different forms of knowledge to the table and making decisions based on what will best protect these ecosystems for future generations.

Wah GEE (233) – Yes. I would continue this work with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

Being an Indigenous Lead Teacher reminds me of the importance of listening, learning and building trust. I do not speak for the Nations, and I would not arrive assuming I know their priorities.

Reconciliation needs lasting relationships and action. Decolonization includes looking at whose voices and knowledge guide our decisions. I support working with the Nations on co-management—sharing responsibility for caring for parks through arrangements developed together.

This could include caring for natural areas, sharing histories and protecting culturally important places, with clear responsibilities and funding to support the work.