Vancouver considering civic status for big events
Posted August 16, 2012 2:49 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER(NEWS1130) – No fun city no more? A Vancouver city councillor tries to make it easier and cheaper for big events in the city. It would give things like the Pride Parade and Festival getting civic status.
Civic status means the city takes care of the cost of policing, parking, permitting, sanitation, etc. Right now, just the Celebration of Light, Remembrance Day, and the Grey Cup parade get that.
If City Councillor Tim Stevenson gets his way, Pride, Vaisakhi and the Chinese New Year will be covered, “Every other parade or organization having an event has to pay for their own. This is to bring these three up to the same status.”
It could open up funding for other events as well, but Stevenson says he’s only targeting those three to start, “Staff is going to come back with some kind of criteria. You wouldn’t just give civic status to 1000 people walking down the street. I mean these are major, major organizations.”
“Vancouver’s Pride is now the largest parade of any kind in Western Canada and ranks among the largest Pride celebrations in the world,” adds Stevenson. “It boosts Vancouver’s economy by $30 million every year.”
The non-profits running the events won’t have to shell out as much meaning we could get bigger and better celebrations.
He won’t know how much this will cost the city until staff look into it.
The motion will be going to council in the fall.
