Vancouver’s ABC won’t stop meeting in private, despite integrity officer’s findings

ABC, the party that controls seven of nine seats on Vancouver city council, has no intention of stopping caucusing in private, its leadership says, despite the integrity commissioner’s recent finding that such meetings breached city policy.

But municipal governance experts say the city could expose itself to legal challenges if council improperly engages in backroom decision-making.

In an email, ABC president Stephen Molnar said: “We disagree with the commissioner’s narrow interpretation of how local elected officials can work together. Municipal political parties and caucus meetings have been part of Vancouver’s civic fabric for decades, reflecting a well-established democratic practice.”

“We will continue to caucus, consistent with our understanding of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms-protected freedom of association, to develop policy ideas and maintain alignment with the platform that voters supported,” Molnar said.

Molnar’s statement came in response to a report released Monday by Vancouver integrity commissioner Lisa Southern, who found that all six park board commissioners elected with ABC in 2022 had violated the open-meeting principle with a series of private discussions in 2023 dealing with city business that should have been conducted publicly in accordance with the Vancouver Charter.

The watchdog’s investigation, which was prompted by a complaint last August from Green Coun. Pete Fry, found that these private discussions of the ABC caucus — which included a quorum of the board — were not “merely an informal exchange of information,” but materially advanced park board decision-making outside of public view in an improper manner.

This subject of debate is not without precedent. A decade ago, when Vision Vancouver had a majority on council, the party faced questions around improper caucusing.

But Southern’s new investigation provides an in-depth look inside ABC’s inner workings, including access to emails and message histories. The report notes: “The documents are clear and no respondent took issue with their authenticity.”

Vancouver, like other Canadian cities, has rules forbidding municipal politicians from caucusing and privately discussing government business as their provincial and federal counterparts do.

“The open meeting principle requires that the business of local government be conducted in an open, transparent way, and not behind closed doors,” Southern’s report explains.

Three of the six park commissioners elected with ABC in 2022 departed the party at the end of the following year. This means ABC’s remaining three park board commissioners can meet privately now without forming quorum.