The Green Party’s two city councillors were forced to remove children’s artwork Tuesday from their desks after an ABC Vancouver councillor argued they could be viewed as “intimidating” by people lined up to speak about whether natural gas should be allowed in the construction of new homes.
The artwork was small in size and included images of a sad seal on an ice floe, an orca and written messages to stop climate change, keep homes fossil-free and keep gas out of buildings, which are one of the biggest producers of carbon pollution in Vancouver.
Coun. Brian Montague requested the signs be removed.
“I feel that's intimidating to the speakers that we're going to have,” he told council Tuesday afternoon. “I feel like it's intimidation, and [Couns. Pete Fry and Adriane Carr] are basically saying that they don't want to hear [the speakers].”
Montague asked Mayor Ken Sim to rule on whether the signs were a breach of policy.
Before he ruled, Sim said there were numerous times where people brought signs into the council chamber, which forced the chamber to be cleared. He said it was difficult enough for people to speak at the lectern to council.
“It's nerve-wracking,” he said. “And if there's an opinion that's expressed that may not be aligned with councillors in this chamber or the mayor, it's intimidating at the best of times. It's incumbent upon us to create a safe environment for everyone so they can express their feelings.”
He then cited a section of the City of Vancouver procedure bylaw, which states a councillor must not “by words, tone, manner of speaking or gesticulation, express any opinion or make any allegation that directly or indirectly reflects negatively upon the character of any person or group of persons.”
Sim: “I think it's relevant here.”
'Is it highly offensive?'
ABC Vancouver Coun. Lisa Dominato, who participated virtually in the meeting and couldn’t get a good look at the signs, questioned the mayor about what she understood was artwork brought to city hall Tuesday morning by children.
Sim: “I don’t know if that’s necessarily relevant.”
Dominato: “I'm asking what's on display, is it defamatory? Is it calling into question people's behaviour? I'm trying to understand. Is it highly offensive? Is it insulting? I'm not there, so I can't see it.”
Sim: “It very clearly expresses an opinion as to where people stand on this issue. It doesn't create a great environment for someone who may have a differing point of view to come into this chamber and express their views.”
Fry and Carr reluctantly removed the signs.
“I do want to acknowledge that these artwork pieces were created by children who felt very strongly, wanted us to hear them, but they're kids and they can't speak to us,” Fry said. “So this is their way of speaking to us, and I think we should at least acknowledge and respect it and not characterize it as intimidating.”
Carr, while removing one of the signs: “You can call it intimidating, but it just says, ‘Council, we need you to act on the climate emergency plan for the love of a healthy planet for our kids.’”
Gas for cooking
The controversy came during a presentation from city staff regarding Montague’s push to consider reversing a policy that bans natural gas for heating and hot water in the construction of new detached homes.
The current policy to not allow natural gas use for heating and hot water in new detached homes has been in place since 2022. The policy, however, does allow for gas in cooking and some ancillary uses, such as a gas fireplace or backup heating, in new detached homes.
The policy does not limit or regulate gas in Vancouver's existing buildings.
The staff report recommends builders and developers be given the option between two “compliance paths” when building new homes.
Those paths are:
• To build to a high level of the Zero Carbon Step Code (ZCSC), which generally does not allow gas for space heating and water heating.
• Or to build to the highest step of the Energy Step Code (ESC), which achieves a higher level of energy efficiency through building envelope requirements but allows gas to be used for space heating and hot water.
Both paths allow the use of gas for cooking.
Council planned to resume the meeting Wednesday after only hearing Tuesday from three of 142 registered speakers. The meeting can be viewed via livestream on the city’s website.
