2006 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver (at Maple)
Registration required for public attendance: https:\/\/50m.ca\/nov1-tickets<\/a>
All seven commissioners-elect have been invited. The Society is counting on them being there in person.<\/p>\n
Related, see our post \u201cEmergency Meeting Nov 1 on Imminent Threats to Stanley Park and Nelson Park<\/a>\u201d (set for 3 pm, also on Nov 1). See also our detailed post on the Nov 2 inaugural meeting of the Vancouver Park Board<\/a>.<\/p>\n There is a critical need for a Board decision before the Nov 3 expiry of a court injunction blocking demolition of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, despite better alternatives. The BC Supreme Court blocked the demolition<\/a> of the existing VAC in the West End until November 3, 2026. This was to allow the incoming Park Board a chance to decide whether to continue with the demolition of the facility that includes a 50 metre pool. The incoming board could set a new path to deliver the promised 50 metre pool, instead of 25 metres as currently planned. A $3.5 million demolition contract was awarded to Heatherbrae in July. The Protecting Our Vancouver Aquatic Centre Society spearheaded<\/a> the efforts to save the existing pool, and calls for a pool of the same length at this location. Incoming commissioners have the opportunity to make a decision on this highly controversial project based on serious evidence<\/a> previously withheld from elected officials (most notably, the engineers\u2019 reports which never stated any imminent danger of the existing facility). <\/p>\n The Society has put the retrofit option back on the table, asserting that demolition would threaten a much more sustainable, quicker, and more cost-effective option. <\/p>\n Hence the urgency and importance of a rapid decision to postpone or cancel demolition prior to November 3.<\/p>\n Below is an excerpt from an e-mail from Protecting Our Vancouver Aquatic Centre Society to supporters. <\/p>\n Dear community members,<\/p>\n EMERGENCY COMMUNITY MEETING \u2014 THIS SUNDAY. The new Park Board commissioners have been invited to meet the community in person, the day before their first vote. Two public pools go dark on Monday.<\/p>\n On November 2, the new Park Board is sworn in, and Britannia Pool closes until at least September 2027. On November 3, the Court of Appeal\u2019s order expires, and demolition of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre can resume.<\/p>\n Vancouver already doesn\u2019t have enough water. Hillcrest, the only other indoor 50-metre pool in the city, was over capacity before either closure. Losing the VAC and Britannia at the same time leaves swim clubs, lessons, seniors\u2019 programs and public swim fighting over even fewer lanes, for years.<\/p>\n Sunday, November 1 \u00b7 12:00 \u2013 2:00 p.m. Registration required for public attendance: https:\/\/50m.ca\/nov1-tickets<\/a> <\/p>\n Why This Meeting, Why Now<\/p>\n The Court of Appeal didn\u2019t decide the VAC\u2019s future. It left that decision to the new board. Sunday (November 1) is the one chance, before that board\u2019s first meeting, for the people it serves to speak with its members face to face. We have invited all seven commissioners-elect to come and listen, and we expect to see them there.<\/p>\n Three Things to Do Today<\/p>\n Get your ticket and bring someone. A neighbour, a swim parent, a coach, anyone who uses a public pool. This is your chance to tell the new commissioners in person what these pools mean to you. Register at the link provided<\/a><\/p>\n Send the letter again. Today, tomorrow, and every day until November 3. Click \u201cSend the Letter,\u201d type your name, and a pre-addressed email to all seven commissioners-elect opens for you. It takes under a minute. Add a sentence of your own so it lands in their inbox.<\/p>\n Share the event link in your group chats, your swim club, your strata and your neighbourhood pages.<\/p>\n Send the Letter<\/p>\n The letter asks the new board to do one thing at its first meeting: pause the demolition, review the full record, and decide the future of the VAC in public. That record includes the City\u2019s own engineering study finding renovation \u201cfeasible and practical.\u201d<\/p>\n If you can, keep giving. The appeal continues, and the City still intends to pursue the Society for costs on the original petition. 100% goes to legal costs.<\/p>\n Pause the demolition. Open the record. Let the new board decide.<\/p>\n With gratitude,![\"Indoor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/vac-aquatic-centre-gofundme-campaign-photo-2025.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
2006 W 10th Ave, Vancouver (10th Ave at Maple)
All seven commissioners-elect have been invited, and the Society counts on them being there in person.
Tom Digby, Spencer Van Vloten, T\u2019uy\u2019t\u2019tanat Cease Wyss, Tamiko Suzuki, Breanne Smart, Jamie Han, Sacia Burton<\/p>\n
Protecting Our Vancouver Aquatic Centre Society
BC Society S0083228<\/p>\n