Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim insists he has apologized after it was revealed Thursday that he was the source of a false allegation against Coun. Sean Orr.
The controversy began earlier this week, after a video circulated showing Coun. Lenny Zhou, making accusations that “some non-ABC councillors are drug users themselves.” He added, “On Christmas Eve, they openly distributed drugs.”
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Zhou apologized for the comments, and Sim was quick to forgive, adding that Zhou had taken “responsibility for sharing information that was not accurate.”
But another video revealed that Sim himself had been the source of that information.
“We have a councillor, Sean Orr. Just this Christmas, he was handing out illegal drugs on Christmas Day to people on the streets,” said Sim — who was sitting directly next to Coun. Zhou — at a briefing in front of Chinese-language media on Feb. 6.
When asked about the revelation Friday, Sim was single-minded.
“I spoke with Coun. Orr yesterday and I apologized for my comments,” Sim told reporters.
When asked about the potential evidence he had for the accusation, Sim repeated himself.
“I called Sean or Coun. Orr yesterday, and I did apologize for my comments.”
When asked if he felt he acted irresponsibly as a leader, Sim repeated himself.
“I called Sean Orr, or Coun. Orr, and I apologized for my comments.”
When asked if he would continue to repeat the same statement on the topic, Sim repeated himself.
“I truly believe that — I apologized. Look, I called Coun. Orr, and I apologized for my comments.”
No matter how certainly the apology by phone took place, Orr says he’s not ready to accept.
He says he respects the mayor for making the call, but says the accusation has become a distraction from his work, among other negative effects of disinformation.
“This makes it difficult for all of us to do our jobs. For all of council. I think Vancouver wants to see a council that is pragmatic, that works together on issues. I don’t think they like to see this kind of polarization. I’ve been willing to work with the ABC [Party] on a number of different things… And this makes it hard to do,” Orr told 1130 NewsRadio.
Orr says the claims amount to “character assassination” and outright lies in the mode of American far-right politicians.
“It makes Vancouver look bad on the world stage. We need a leader — a mayor — who brings people together,” said Orr.
He also expressed his dismay on behalf of the Chinese community, upon whose “legitimate anxieties” he says Sim and Zhou preyed.
“I really hope at some point the mayor and Coun. Zhou go to the very same media that they told the lies… and walk it back.”
Finally, Orr says the allegations detract from the possibility of a more nuanced conversation about drug use and harm reduction.
“It’s a huge distraction from what we really need to be focusing on, and that’s supporting vulnerable communities. And not attacking them, and not weaponizing fear to target them,” said Orr.
“This just furthers the kind of stigma that people are facing. Lying about this subject ultimately leads to people dying, leads to people feeling shame and using alone and things like that. And that’s why we’re in this position, where 400 people are dying a year. And that’s unacceptable.”
An apology, Orr says, is the “bare minimum” Sim can do to repair the damage. But he says City Hall’s integrity commissioner has limited power to enforce accountability, and he doubts the governing party will sanction its own members.
When asked about pursuing legal action, Orr said, “I’m considering all my options.”
When asked if he had done enough to account for his actions, Sim repeated himself.
“I apologized.”
Vancouver criminal defence lawyer Michael Shapray tells 1130 NewsRadio there are a few legal options that could possibly be available to Coun. Orr if he is interested in pursuing legal action.
“One of them is in the civil context, which would be to sue for slander and libel and defamation, and seek damages as a result of that,” Shapray said.
“That would require him to bring a lawsuit against the people making the false statements and try and recover damages.”
He could also file a police complaint, he says.
“There is something called defamatory libel. We don’t see it very often,” he said.
“Those issues are much more often addressed in the civil litigation area. But it is possible. You could try and make a complaint of that under the Criminal Code of Canada. As I said, I don’t see those type of cases brought, hardly ever in Canada.”
It is up to Orr if he wants to go further on this if he doesn’t accept Sim’s apology, Shapray says.
“Those types of allegations are serious. They were public, they were published. They were said out loud, and they could have damaging impacts on the people they were about. So I think there is the risk of culpability and liability if it turns out that the statements are proven to have been false and that they did cause damage to reputations.”
—With files from Ben Bouguerra and Joe Sadowski
