WATCH: Mayor Sim reverses course on eliminating elected park board

VANCOUVER — Mayor Ken Sim has reversed course on eliminating the elected park board, a position he's held for some time.

Instead, he vowed to run ABC candidates in October and try to reform the institution from within.

"The current system is not working," Sim said during a press conference at Kits Pool on Monday. "An antiquated reservation system is just one symptom of a larger problem, which is why ABC is no longer pushing or pursuing the elimination of Vancouver's elected park board."

He explained that, "instead, we're running park board candidates in the upcoming municipal election to modernize and fix the elected park board."

"Vancouverites have been clear: they want parks and facilities that are well maintained," Sim continued. "They want a park board that's focused on their needs."

When asked by the CBC's Justin McElroy why this pledge should be taken more seriously than the one he made four years ago, the mayor noted that he and his team have "learnt a lot" since 2022.

"We didn't realize the bureaucracy that we'd be facing and how difficult the province would be on this one issue," he said. "You deal with the cards that you're dealt. We won't complain about it."

WATCH: Mayor, park board chair spar over Kits Pool reservation system

Sim called for the elimination of the Covid-era policy, while Digby argued that things are fine as is.

Sitka MediaJarryd Jäger

Moments after Sim spoke, Park Board Chair Tom Digby offered very different opinions of the park board and Kits Pool's online reservation system.

The former called for the elimination of the Covid-era policy, while the latter and fellow commissioner Brennan Bastyovanszky argued that things are fine as is.