COPE's review of City Hall: layoffs, land deals, AI data use and the Auditor General
COPE would review how City Hall made major decisions under Ken Sim, including staff layoffs and the end of affordable housing requirements. It would check whether private city data went to US tech companies, give the Auditor General more independence and carry out the 2026 Land Sales Audit.
THE PEOPLE'S AUDIT · PAGE 11
Expose the Damage, Clean up the Mess: what the Fight for Vancouver says
The second part of COPE's People's Audit looks back at the current council term. The party would interview workers, residents and others, and review records, to learn how decisions it calls against the public interest were made. It names the layoffs of hundreds of staff, the replacement of the city manager, and the rollback of affordable housing requirements and development fees. It would also look for waste in management, consultants, outsourcing and repeated work.
Two items deal with oversight. COPE would give the Auditor General more independence and resources. The Auditor General is an independent officer appointed by Council to audit city departments. The party would carry out the 10 recommendations in the Auditor General's 2026 Land Sales Audit, which the platform says found $60 million+ in lost revenue. Where improper conduct is found, it would use an empowered integrity commissioner and, if needed, an investigation.
COPE would also review the city's rules on artificial intelligence and check whether private city information was given to American tech companies through large language models, the AI systems behind chat tools. All of these steps fall to Council, which directs the city's administration and created both the Auditor General and the Integrity Commissioner through city bylaws. The Auditor General is appointed by Council, so the extra independence and resources COPE promises would also be set by Council.
THE PARTY'S NUMBERS
Figures in this chapter
Recommendations in the Auditor General's 2026 Land Sales Audit that COPE would carry out
The party's figure, page 11Lost revenue the platform says the 2026 Land Sales Audit found
The party's figure, page 117 COMMITMENTS
What the party says it would do
Find out how major decisions were made
COPE would interview workers, residents and others and review records to find how and why major decisions against the public interest were made, including the layoffs of hundreds of staff, the replacement of the city manager, and the rollback of affordable housing requirements and development fees.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council can order reviews of decisions made by the city's own administration.
Fight waste from Ken Sim's management
The party would look for wasted money on management, consultants and outsourcing, odd bureaucratic loops and repeated work, and says frontline workers know best where it is.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council directs the city's administration and approves its budget.
Find out why progress on city goals stalled
COPE would find out why progress on affordability, families, renters and climate stalled or reversed under Ken Sim, and change priorities to get back on target. The platform says the city is failing to meet its targets on affordable housing, homelessness, transportation and climate, and that the Healthy City strategy was dropped without a report.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets the city's goals and decides which strategies staff report on.
Review how the city uses AI and city data
The party would review the city's AI data use policies and investigate whether private city information was fed to American tech companies through large language models, the AI systems behind chat tools, by senior staff or elected officials.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets data and technology policy for the city's own staff and can order an investigation.
Act on violations of public trust
Where improper conduct against the public interest may have happened, COPE says the city must take firm action to restore trust, using an empowered integrity commissioner and, if needed, an investigation.
- Who has the power
- City Council The Integrity Commissioner works under the city's Code of Conduct By-law, which Council can change.
Make the Auditor General more independent
The party would make the Auditor General more independent and give the office the resources it needs for investigations. The platform says the Auditor General is accountable to city council.
- Who has the power
- City Council The Auditor General is appointed by Council under a city bylaw, so Council sets the office's rules and budget.
Carry out the Auditor General's land sales recommendations
COPE would carry out the 10 recommendations in the Auditor General's 2026 Land Sales Audit to prevent land deals that lose the city money. The platform says the audit found $60 million+ in lost revenues and that Ken Sim and ABC chose not to act.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council decides whether to adopt the Auditor General's recommendations on city land sales.
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Where the power sits for this chapter
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about expose the damage, clean up the mess
What would COPE investigate at Vancouver City Hall?
COPE would review how major decisions were made under Ken Sim, including the layoffs of hundreds of staff, the replacement of the city manager, and the rollback of affordable housing requirements and development fees (platform, page 11).
What does COPE say about the 2026 Land Sales Audit?
COPE would carry out the Auditor General's 10 recommendations in the 2026 Land Sales Audit. The platform says the audit found $60 million+ in lost revenue and that Ken Sim and ABC chose not to act on it (platform, page 11).
Does COPE think city data was shared with AI companies?
COPE says it would review the city's AI data use policies and investigate whether private city information was fed to American tech companies through large language models. The platform presents this as a question to investigate (platform, page 11).
What would COPE change about Vancouver's Auditor General?
COPE would make the Auditor General more independent and give the office the resources it needs for investigations. The Auditor General is appointed by Council under a city bylaw (platform, page 11).
Who could carry out COPE's review of City Hall?
Council directs the city's administration, so a council majority could order these reviews. The Auditor General and the Integrity Commissioner both work under city bylaws that Council can change (platform, page 11).
ON THE BALLOT
The COPE candidates behind this
Sources
Every commitment on this page comes from the party's own material, marked SAYS SO ITSELF. It proves what the party says it would do. Who holds each power is our own addition, from the sources listed after it.
- Fight for Vancouver: COPE 2026 Platform (PDF) SAYS SO ITSELFCOPE · pages 11 · checked
- Auditor General of the City of Vancouver City of Vancouver · checked
- Integrity Commissioner and the Code of Conduct By-law City of Vancouver · checked