Vancouver Liberals on City Hall: 400 workers, cancel a $800m building, ethics reform
Affordability and Accountability is the first topic in the Vancouver Liberals' 2026 plan. It proposes 400 new front-line city workers, cancelling a $800 million second city hall, a yacht tax, dropping the Vancouver Building Code, a lobbyist registry and a citizens' assembly on wards.
CITY COUNCIL
The aim of Affordability and Accountability, in the party's words
The Vancouver Liberals believe Vancouver deserves leadership focused on accountability, affordability, public safety, and delivering results people can actually see in their communities.
The Vancouver Liberals open their issues page with Affordability and Accountability. The party says city services are getting worse while property taxes rise, and it blames Mayor Ken Sim and ABC Vancouver. It sets out its aim as leadership "focused on accountability, affordability, public safety, and delivering results people can actually see in their communities."
The topic has two parts. The first is about spending and services: 400 unionized front-line workers, cancelling what the party calls an $800 million second city hall, a tax on yachts over 40 feet, a ban on foreign travel for councillors and staff, an audit of the halted Art Gallery project, and faster housing approvals through the provincial building code and a single approvals department. The second is about City Hall ethics: a lobbyist registry, cheaper freedom of information requests, a stronger Integrity Commissioner, cryptocurrency disclosure, and a citizens' assembly on electing councillors by ward.
Almost all of this sits with City Council, which sets the budget, the capital plan, its own rules and Vancouver's own building bylaw. The yacht tax and any change to the voting system touch the Vancouver Charter, which only the Province can change.
2 CHAPTERS
Every chapter in Affordability and Accountability
Spending, Services and Housing Approvals
Vancouver Liberals: 400 city workers, no $800m second city hall, one housing office
- Hire 400 unionized front-line workers
- Cancel the $800 million second city hall
- Luxury yacht tax on boats over 40 feet
Transparency and Governance
Vancouver Liberals on City Hall ethics: lobbyist registry, cheaper records, ward vote
- Create a city lobbyist registry
- Reduce freedom of information costs
- Strengthen the Integrity Commissioner's office
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Who holds the power for these 14 commitments
Each chapter page names the body for every commitment and gives the reason in one sentence.
ON THE BALLOT
The Vancouver Liberals candidates behind this
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about Affordability and Accountability
What are the Vancouver Liberals' main promises on city spending?
The Vancouver Liberals would hire 400 unionized front-line workers, cancel what they call Ken Sim's $800 million second city hall, ban foreign travel for councillors and staff, and tax yachts over 40 feet. They also call for an Auditor General investigation of the halted Art Gallery project (party issues page).
What do the Vancouver Liberals propose for housing?
The Vancouver Liberals would drop the Vancouver Building Code and follow the BC Building Code, and merge the twelve departments they say approve new housing into one. Elsewhere they would reverse what they call a ban on supportive housing and build affordable housing in every part of the city (party issues page).
What would the Vancouver Liberals change at City Hall?
The party would create a lobbyist registry, reduce freedom of information fees, review and strengthen the Integrity Commissioner's office and the Code of Conduct, and require politicians to disclose cryptocurrency. It would also set up a citizens' assembly on a ward system (party issues page).
Why do the Vancouver Liberals say Vancouver needs a change?
The Vancouver Liberals say property taxes went up 26% under Mayor Ken Sim and ABC Vancouver while library hours were cut, the renters' office closed and services got worse. Those figures and claims are the party's own (party issues page).
Can City Council deliver the Vancouver Liberals' accountability plan alone?
Most of it, yes. Council sets the budget, the capital plan and its own rules, and controls Vancouver's building bylaw. The Vancouver Charter sets which taxes the city may charge and creates the city's government, and only the Province can change it, which matters for the yacht tax and any move to wards.
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.
- Kareem's Plan for a Better Vancouver (Issues page) SAYS SO ITSELFVancouver Liberals · checked