Vancouver Park Board votes to ask lawyers about disqualifying commissioner over repeat absences

After months of infighting, the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation voted to seek a legal opinion on whether one of its commissioners should be disqualified for consistently skipping meetings.

The motion put forward by Park Board Commissioner Brennan Bastyovanszky says fellow Commissioner Marie-Claire Howard has missed six out of 10 meetings this year.

Missing three consecutive meetings, Bastyovanszky says, puts Howard one meeting short of the threshold for disqualification.

“Commissioner Marie-Claire Howard has demonstrated a consistent pattern of absenteeism, lack of transparency, and disregard for obligations under the Vancouver Charter, raising serious questions about her capacity to serve in public office,” Bastyovanszky’s motion explains.

He says he can see the value of having Howard in meetings, in person.

“We should all be here…That’s what this is meant to be,” said Bastyovanszky.

Howard is a member of the city council-governing ABC Party, which, under Mayor Ken Sim, has pushed for the Park Board to be dissolved altogether.

Fellow ABC Commissioner Jas Virdi stood up for his colleague at Wednesday’s meeting, saying Howard had to travel to France after the death of her mother, and questioned if the motion was politically motivated.

Virdi asked, “Do you think this issue could have been dealt with as an HR issue instead of this public shaming?”

The board voted to refer the matter to legal counsel to review whether Howard’s absences violate the Vancouver Charter.

1130 NewsRadio has reached out to Howard for comment on this story.