---
title: "COPE Alleges ABC Supporter Offered Food to Seniors at Chinatown Voting Shuttle"
description: "The Coalition of Progressive Electors says a Sun Wah Centre property manager broke Vancouver's election rules by offering refreshments to seniors she urged to vote ABC."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/cope-abc-chinatown-voting-offer-october-9"
last_updated: "2026-10-10T04:01:08.597Z"
---

The Coalition of Progressive Electors filed a complaint on October 8 alleging that the property manager of a Chinatown shopping centre broke Vancouver's election rules by offering seniors refreshments on a voting shuttle while urging them to vote for ABC Vancouver. The Tyee reported the story on October 9.

The claim centres on Catherine Kwan, property manager of Sun Wah Centre in Chinatown. On October 7, Kwan handed out flyers to tenants urging them to support Mayor Ken Sim and ABC Vancouver. She also separately circulated a flyer advertising transportation to advance voting stations between 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. that day, with refreshments available for people wearing "I voted" stickers.

[COPE](/parties/cope) says those actions together broke section 123 of the Vancouver Charter, which prohibits offering inducements, including food or entertainment, to encourage someone to vote for a specific candidate. COPE city council candidate [Solomon Yi-Kieran](/candidates/solomon-yi-kieran) said in a press release: "According to the Charter, you cannot reward people for voting, even without an endorsement. But in this case, Sun Wah tenants are being encouraged to vote ABC."

## What Kwan says

Kwan told The Tyee by email that her flyer to tenants represented her personal views and was independent from the voting shuttle, which she says the centre organized as community outreach. The centre "did not take any political position, endorse any political party, or encourage voters to support any particular candidate," she wrote.

The Tyee obtained a Mandarin-language version of the tenant flyer and had it confirmed by an independent translator. That version read: "Help. Behind in the polls by 15 per cent. Sun Wah Centre urges everyone to vote ABC for re-election." The English version carried a disclaimer that the contents were Kwan's personal views, not the centre's.

After the Elections Office advised her to cover up the part of the poster that mentioned refreshments, Kwan says she complied immediately.

## Confrontation and response

COPE's Yi-Kieran went to Sun Wah Centre on October 8 and saw seniors boarding a black Mercedes Sprinter van. Yi-Kieran tried to hand out Chinese-language flyers, including a reference to a civil defamation claim that [COPE Coun. Sean Orr](/candidates/sean-orr) launched against Mayor Sim. Yi-Kieran told The Tyee that volunteers organizing the shuttle took COPE's flyers from seniors before they could read them. Kwan says Yi-Kieran "scared the seniors and made them give up their voting rights."

City Chief Election Officer Jason Twa confirmed to The Tyee that section 123 of the Vancouver Charter bans inducements tied to voting, but said the City has no jurisdiction to prosecute. An Elections BC spokesperson said the agency has no role in local government matters. ABC Vancouver did not respond to The Tyee's requests for comment.

[Advance voting](/where-to-vote) continues at locations across the city until October 15. Voting day is October 17.

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