After decades of work to make Vancouver a climate leader – building EV charging networks, retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency and cooling, and investing in clean, resilient infrastructure – the City now risks rolling back 50 years of progress with one budget.
Vancouver is on the brink of undoing decades of our Greenest City progress that make our city safer, healthier, and more livable. City Council is – with almost no public input – considering cuts that would slow or stop work on building retrofits, EV charging, and extreme heat preparedness. These are the very programs that help keep homes cool during heat waves, reduce pollution, and save people money on energy.
Not only that, but many popular social and community programs that residents depend on are also facing cuts.
This decision would set back decades of leadership and hard-won progress toward a cleaner, safer, more resilient city.
Next Wednesday, November 12 at 9:30 a.m., Council will hold a special meeting – the only opportunity for the public to speak before the budget is finalized. (The same budget also includes deep cuts to the arts, despite clear public support for maintaining or increasing funding for essential services.)
We don’t think this is by accident. Council knows these cuts will be deeply unpopular, and are trying to sneak them through with limited public engagement.
If you care about a more resilient Vancouver, please take a few minutes to speak up via email by using this tool and tell Council that climate and community programs matter.
Fifty years of progress shouldn’t end in one budget cycle.
Will you send Vancouver City Council a letter now, telling them to defend our city from these budget cuts?
To learn more about the current situation, please read this open letter from our ally, Women Transforming Cities.
