Advocacy

Women Transforming Cities’ Open Letter

February 19, 2023

Blue speech bubbles above shadowed group of people at table.

CAN (LET’S) was proud to sign on to Women Transforming Cities’ open letter to the Vancouver City council. However, we wish it weren’t necessary for organizations to write open letters like these, requesting investments in equity. We continue to work towards a day when equity is prioritized in all projects and by all councils and reflected by funding.

Women Transforming Cities open letter:

The City of Vancouver’s 2023 operating budget must reinvest in equity

Dear Mayor and Council,

We are writing to urge you to reaffirm your commitment to making Vancouver an inclusive and equitable city by reinvesting in the services and long-term strategies that equity-deserving residents depend on.

The city has not yet reinstated pandemic funding cuts.

In 2020, Council slashed spending in response to a sharp, pandemic-induced drop in revenue. Every department was asked to find savings and leave vacancies empty. Those cuts have yet to be reversed despite revenue bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels.

For example, the draft budget does not include funding for:

• Gender equity and safety initiatives to address gender-based and sexualized violence in public spaces and the MMIWG2S+ crisis

• Implementation of UNDRIP (United Nations Declaration on the Representation of Indigenous Peoples) and alignment of policies with the City’s Reconciliation Framework

• Antiracism and cultural redress programs

• Programs offering residents and businesses alternatives to calling the police

• Citywide accessibility improvements, including continuing to implement the City’s Language Access Policy

• Extended library branch hours and critical support for library workers

• Maintenance of public washrooms

• Washrooms and basic hygiene stalls for E Hasting Street residents and campers

• Free menstrual products in park facilities and civic facilities

• Language access policies to support equitable engagement

• Emergency materials (like cots and cooling kits) for vulnerable populations in extreme weather events

• Vancouver Fire Department’s staffing needs to reduce exposure to risk for under-served communities and reduce staff burnout

These are just a few examples of vital initiatives already slated to be cut due to persistent underfunding. Further clawbacks would have dire consequences for residents struggling to make ends meet.

Vancouverites can’t afford another budget that shortchanges equity.

When we don’t invest in community services, those who face the most significant barriers to having their voices heard are too often the first to be left behind. Women and gender-diverse communities––particularly those who are Indigenous, Black, racialized, immigrants, renters, workers, people with disabilities, low-income, criminalized, and under-housed––deserve your support in this budget.

The 2023 operating budget is an opportunity to course-correct fiscal attrition that hinders our ability to address the multiple overlapping crises our communities face daily.

Committing to equity requires reinvesting in services and strategies that provide safety and dignity for equity-deserving residents.

In a city that positions itself as inclusive, most elected leaders will say they want to make life better for residents that are made marginalized. However, what you choose to fund is the ultimate indicator of your priorities. When local governments don’t invest in community services, systemically marginalized residents suffer first and foremost.

In the 2023 operating budget, we urge you to reinvest in equity.

Sincerely,

Janice Abbott, CEO, Atira Women’s Resource Society

Rowan Burdge, Provincial Director, BC Poverty Reduction Coalition

Harmony Bongat, Facilitator, Chronically Queer

Heather McCain, Founder & Executive Director, Creating Accessible Neighbourhoods (Live Educate Transform Society)

Sunil Singal, President, Force of Nature Alliance

Halena Seiferling, Executive Director, Living in Community

Taylor Scott, Office Manager, PACE Society

Mariam Bouchoutrouch, Executive Director, Pacific Immigrant Resources Society

Tonye Aganaba, Criminalization & Policing Campaigner, Pivot Legal Society

Viveca Ellis, Executive Director, Single Mothers’ Alliance