Stephanie Allen and COPE will Clean up Ken Sim’s Mess and Make Vancouver Affordable With The People’s Audit
August 5th, 2026
Vancouver, BC - Today Stephanie Allen and COPE are announcing the People’s Audit to improve service delivery, cut waste, and clean up the mess left by Ken Sim’s mismanagement.
“The City of Vancouver should work for the people who live here, young people, families, and those who have been long-time contributors to this city. But right now, its investors and speculators who set the agenda,” said COPE Mayoral candidate Stephanie Allen today, “A People’s Audit will do a 360-degree review of the city’s operations, talk to the people about what’s not working, engage the public and city staff, and work together to clean up the mess.”
Under Ken Sim, the City of Vancouver has frozen funding to community grants, cut library hours, cut climate and affordability programs, and cut life-saving measures like cooling kits and the sex worker safety planning position. At the same time, the city gave away $3.8 million to developers in money that was earmarked for affordable housing, and raised fees on things like permits, parking, and cut funding to services that working people in our city rely on.
After promising “line-by-line” budgeting, Ken Sim’s 2026 Budget was the least detailed in Vancouver’s history, concealing cuts to city services, and attracted a record-setting 600+ speakers in opposition. In 2026, Sean Orr moved a motion to have a staff report on department, staffing, and service changes as a result of Ken Sim’s austerity budget. The ABC majority voted it down.
“Stephanie Allen has the experience leading organizational transformation needed to tackle the problems at the city,” said COPE City Council Candidate Sean Orr today, “The People’s Audit will work with workers, city partners, and the public to identify where and why Vancouver isn’t working for people, and fix so we can deliver better services and cut waste.”
Last month, it was reported that ABC’s mass layoffs resulted in a record $6 million in severance payouts, including almost half a million dollars to replace city manager Paul Mochrie with a replacement who was hand-picked by the Mayor’s office without a public job posting or process.
An auditor general report earlier this year found that at least $60 million, with some estimates more than double that, in lost revenue from botched land deals that benefit developers and speculators over the last decade, which ABC chose to not act on.
“People know that this is a city that’s being run for the super-rich and powerful. We can all feel that the system is rigged,” said Stephanie Allen today, “If we’re going to restore trust in this city, we need to open the books, expose the full truth about what Ken Sim and ABC have done, and act immediately to transform this city for the people.”
COPE is running candidates for Mayor and City Council, School Board, and Park Board. Election day is October 17th. COPE is always on the side of the people.
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POLICY DOCUMENT: The People’s Audit