Could the fight over the Vancouver Park Board end up in court?

The Vancouver Park Board is poised to consider seeking legal advice on mounting a court challenge to the mayor's attempt to eliminate it.

Commissioner Tom Digby, in a motion coming to Monday's meeting, is asking for $20,000 to retain and consult legal counsel about the possibility of petitioning for a judicial review of a motion passed by city council in December of last year that laid the groundwork for a plan to abolish the elected board.

If passed, the board would seek legal advice on "the merits and probability of success of quashing implementation of said motion" and the board would then decide "which avenues to pursue towards the preservation of the elected park board, based on the advice of counsel."

The motion also explicitly asks for the board not to share any of the "advice, information or correspondence" received with the mayor, councillors or city staff.

"Any decision to share any privileged information from external legal counsel beyond the elected park board on this matter must be decided by majority vote of the elected park board," it reads.

Mayor Ken Sim's ABC Party had a majority on the board after the 2022 election. However, that changed when he announced his plans to move forward with a plan to eliminate it. Now, Digby and three former ABC commissioners – sitting as independents – constitute the majority.

In order to abolish the board, the province would need to amend the Vancouver Charter. Nevertheless, Sim has already announced a transition team.

Monday's park board vote comes ahead of a city council meeting on Wednesday where a presentation is on the agenda titled "Vancouver Parks & Recreation Services: Proposed Governance Transition - Planning Update." The contents of that presentation are not available online.