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Vancouver Coun. Sean Orr says a repeated apology from Mayor Ken Sim, over unfounded accusations Orr distributed illegal drugs, doesn’t go far enough.
Sim said on Tuesday that he unreservedly apologized for his comments that came to light last week, in which he said Orr was distributing illegal drugs in Vancouver on Christmas Day.
The mayor said his comments came after he was shown a picture that he didn’t verify. In a media availability late last week, he said 16 times that he had apologized to Orr and didn’t elaborate, despite questions from reporters.
Orr, whose municipal party COPE said he was in the Sunshine Coast visiting family on Christmas, said Tuesday that Sim’s apology didn’t address the harm and reputational damage that he had sustained.
WATCH | Orr responds to Sim’s repeated apology:
Coun. Sean Orr responds to Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s apology over controversial comments
Vancouver Coun. Sean Orr says Mayor Ken Sim’s apology for controversial comments against Orr doesn’t go far enough in addressing the harm and reputational damage already done to the councillor’s character. Orr spoke right after Mayor Sim addressed the media on Tuesday, apologizing for his earlier comments alleging the councillor had distributed illegal drugs.
“To me, this shows incompetent leadership — that you would not fact check this photo before going to the media, and trying to destroy the reputation of one of your colleagues,” Orr said shortly after Sim repeated his apology on Tuesday.
“It doesn’t make sense to me. I’m still just super confused at how this even came to be.”
In a media briefing on Feb. 6, at an event for media catering to Vancouver’s Chinese Canadian-community, Sim had made the comments while speaking alongside fellow ABC Coun. Lenny Zhou.
WATCH | Sim repeats apology over a dozen times:
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says he has apologized to Coun. Sean Orr over ‘defamatory’ comments
Vancouver mayor Ken Sim says he’s apologized for false claims he made against opposition Coun. Sean Orr. It came after a video from CityNews surfaced, showing Sim telling media that Orr was handing out illegal drugs on Christmas Day. Orr denies the claims and says he was with family over the holidays. Sim repeatedly told reporters that he had apologized but would not say anything else.
“You know, we have a councillor, Sean Orr, just this Christmas, who was handing out illegal drugs on Christmas Day to people on the streets,” Sim said during the briefing, which was provided to CBC News by CityNews/OMNI.
“So, if you like getting free illegal drugs, you probably don’t like me or ABC because we fight against that.”
WATCH | Sim says he made mistake with comments:
Mayor Ken Sim holds news conference regarding comments about Coun. Sean Orr
Mayor Ken Sim held a news conference on Tuesday regarding his comments about Coun. Sean Orr.
On Tuesday, Sim said his comments were wrong and he wanted to apologize to Vancouverites and his colleagues on council.
After follow-up questions from media, Sim largely repeated his apology and said he had made a mistake.
“This apology is going out to, you know, all media in the City of Vancouver. And yes, we will be sending out a statement in Mandarin and Cantonese as well,” he said.
A statement from Sim’s office said that it does not have a copy of the photo in question, and it was shown to him by a member of the public and not physically provided.
In response to questions from media over whether he was contemplating a defamation lawsuit, Orr said he was considering all his options.
He said that the entire episode was indicative of a pattern where Sim’s communications were funnelled through the mayor’s office and the rest of council was not privy to them.
“There’s no collaboration. It’s a toxic environment,” he said.
Orr, left, has been among the most vocal critics of Sim, right, since he was elected last year. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Orr added that Sim had work to do to repair the trust of Vancouver voters, and that a complaint with Vancouver’s integrity commissioner is also likely to happen.
The COPE councillor has been among the most vocal critics of ABC and Sim since he was elected in a byelection last year.