The Vancouver Charter is a provincial statute that incorporates the

City of Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

, British Columbia, Canada. The legislation was passed in 1953 and supersedes the '' Vancouver Incorporation Act, 1921''. It grants the city different powers than other communities in the province, which are governed by the ''

Local Government Act Local Government Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom, relating to local government. The Bill for an Act with this short title may have been known ...

''.

Additional powers

Some of the additional powers and provisions provided by the Vancouver Charter include: * The ability to borrow on its own authority without the approval of the Municipal Finance Authority /

Metro Vancouver Regional District The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...

. *A separately elected park board *Statutory immunity in relation to building regulation both with respect to plan checking and building permit issuance as well as with respect to building inspections. *The authority to prohibit business or business activities *Unique planning and land-use tools, including the power to delegate to the Director of Planning *The authority to impose specialized development levies.

History

Previous legislation

The city was first incorporated on April 6, 1886, under the ''Vancouver Incorporation Act, 1886''. The Act limited voting rights to men who owned property at least the age of 21, and women who were single, divorced, or widowed, over the age of 21 and owned property. The act also forbade women from sitting as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

or as

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...

. The act also stated that "No Chinaman or Indian shall be entitled to vote in any municipal election". The incorporation act was repealed and replaced in 1900 and 1921 prior to the introduction of the Vancouver Charter.

Olympic amendments

On January 12, 2009, Vancouver's mayor Gregor Robertson requested an amendment to the Charter to allow the city to borrow $458 million to fund the completion of the

2010 Olympic Village ''For the location of the Olympic Village in Singapore, see Nanyang Technological University or '' 2010 Summer Youth Olympics#Youth Olympic Village'' The Vancouver Olympic Village (VVL), is an Olympic Village built by Millennium Development Gro ...

False Creek False Creek (french: Faux ruisseau) is a short narrow inlet in the heart of Vancouver, separating the Downtown and West End neighbourhoods from the rest of the city. It is one of the four main bodies of water bordering Vancouver, along with Eng ...

without seeking approval from taxpayers in an election-day plebiscite."Vancouver seeks charter change to borrow $458M for Olympic Village"
'' CBC'', January 12, 2009. Robertson said this was due to extraordinary circumstances. The amendment was passed on January 18, 2009, in an emergency session of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia."Legislation lets Vancouver borrow for Olympic village"
, '' The Daily News'', January 19, 2009."City gets its emergency borrowing bid"
, '' Vancouver Province'', January 18, 2009.

References

{{Vancouver British Columbia provincial legislation Municipal government of Vancouver Political charters 1953 in Canadian law 2010 Winter Olympics 1953 in British Columbia