Vancouver Aquatic Centre 25-metre rebuild a First Nation’s land claim issue: Park Board chair
The Park Board has previously stated that in order to rebuild a 50 metre pool, the facility’s footprint would need to be expanded to meet modern safety and competition rules.
Vancouver's Park Board chair Tom Digby has stated that the 25-metre rebuild of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre cannot proceed as a 50-metre pool due to unresolved land claim issues with the city's First Nations. Digby, who is running for re-election as a Park Board commissioner with the Green Party, noted that the province owns the land and refuses to allow an expansion of the pool's footprint to meet modern safety and competition standards.
Chief Wayne Sparrow of the Musqueam Indian Band explained that a request was made to expand the footprint of the aquatic center, with the province proposing a lease to the city for as little as $1 per year. Sparrow emphasized that the Crown has a duty to consult and accommodate the First Nations on this sensitive foreshore land. Despite no meeting taking place between the province and the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations yet, Sparrow stated that the province could still come to discuss the matter.
The delay in the project comes after a community group, Protecting Our Vancouver Aquatic Centre (POVAC), secured an interim injunction in the B.C. Court of Appeal to halt the demolition work until after the municipal election. The group's director and park board candidate for TEAM, Jon Girard, expressed satisfaction with the decision, stating that the facility needs to stay a 50m pool if renovated or rebuilt.
The demolition work has been paused until at least November 3, one day after the first Park Board meeting following the election.
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