Hundreds rally for Downtown Eastside as leaked memo adds detail to mayor's controversial revitalization plan
A leaked memo reveals Vancouver mayor's broader plan for the area amid supportive housing freeze debate
Hundreds gathered in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES) on Saturday evening to support people experiencing homelessness, as Mayor Ken Sim's motion to freeze new supportive housing heads to city council next week.
The rally was part of the Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY), a nationwide event that raises funds for local charities supporting those facing extreme poverty, homelessness, and hunger.
Participants braved the cold and relentless rain as they walked from 312 Main Street through the DTES, Chinatown and Downtown Vancouver.
"The purpose of this event is for people to experience a bit of discomfort, much like our unhoused neighbours do every single night," said Amanda Burrows, executive director of the Vancouver charity First United.
"This fundraiser is an opportunity to keep raising awareness that we must be doing more, not less, for our unhoused neighbors," she said.
In recognition of the event, the City of Vancouver lit up City Hall, the Vancouver Convention Centre, and the Burrard Street Bridge in CNOY's blue and yellow colors. But in a statement, First United called the move "social washing," and accused the city of trying to appear supportive while advancing policies that would "harm the same charities and the people they serve."
"[Sim's] motion is suggesting a halt to supportive housing when homelessness has increased 30 percent in [Metro Vancouver] over the last few years," Burrows said.
Leaked memo reveals broader plan
Sim, who first announced his new plan for the DTES in January, has defended the proposed freeze, arguing that Vancouver carries a disproportionate share of the region's supportive housing. He says the city has 77 percent of Metro Vancouver's supportive housing units despite making up only 25 percent of the region's population.
However, a leaked draft memo first reported by The Globe and Mail reveals a broader plan laid out last October by Sim's chief of staff, Trevor Ford, to "improve conditions in the DTES."
The City of Vancouver has since provided the memo to CBC News. The document, marked "Confidential" throughout, provides new details on the mayor's strategy for the neighborhood, once described as Canada's poorest postal code.
The plan calls for fast-tracking private development approvals in the DTES, including using "spot rezoning" when necessary—a process allowing individual properties to be rezoned outside the city's broader planning strategy.
"This is a tool that we would typically not use," the memo states. "However, to be smart about how we bring this about, we will have to make hard decisions quickly to get the outcome we desire."
The draft also proposes a "comprehensive review" of non-profits operating in the DTES and suggests shifting responsibility for homelessness services to other Metro Vancouver municipalities.
A section in the original memo outlines a "re-unification roundtable" to explore ways to help Indigenous residents return to their home Nations, stating that "many members of the Indigenous community have expressed a desire to live in their home Nations."
The City of Vancouver also provided CBC News with an updated version of the memo, dated January, which emphasizes collaboration with senior governments and community service agencies. The reference to Indigenous residents returning home is absent from the revised document.
'Freeze sends wrong message'
At the time of the draft memo's circulation, it was shared exclusively with councillors from Sim's ABC Party.
ABC currently holds a super-majority on council, with six councillors plus the mayor. Two seats sit empty until the city's byelection, and the remaining seats belong to Fry and Coun. Rebecca Bligh, who was recently ejected from ABC after the party claimed she is "not a core value fit."
Bligh has publicly opposed Sim's proposed freeze on new supportive housing.
"A freeze sends absolutely the wrong message," Bligh told CBC News. "It means there are no new units coming for the hundreds of people currently sleeping on the street."
Bligh, who attended the CNOY event, also criticized the lack of transparency, arguing that major policy shifts should be publicly debated rather than quietly circulated among select councillors.
"Having any plan happen behind closed doors … is not the best way to address the challenges in the DTES," she said.
Sim's chief of staff, Trevor Ford, said the memo was an "internal working document meant to inform discussions and explore ideas."
"It has not been presented publicly because it is not a finalized strategy," Ford said in a statement. "Any actions taken from this document would be presented publicly as a motion through the standard processes."
Sim's motion to pause net-new supportive housing is set to be discussed at Vancouver city council on Wednesday.
With files from Shaurya Kshatri and Murray Titus