On Thursday February 5, 2026, Vancouver’s Auditor General Mike Macdonell released his department’s Audit of Land Sales and Exchanges in Vancouver between January 1, 2016, and June 30, 2024.
We now know with absolute certainty that the City’s Real Estate and Facilities Management department (REFM) – enabled through ignorance, oversight, or complicity by the City Manager and Ken Sim’s ABC majority – are in bed with Vancouver’s development industry.
The report is shocking and has not received the attention it deserves. It chronicles a major City department that appears to have systematically ignored City policies re procurement and to have bypassed reporting requirements or mislead City Council.
After examining 16 transactions, Macdonell’s report concluded that, “the city could not demonstrate that it maximized the value of its land sales and exchanges.”
CityHallWatch summarized the consequences of this lapse for taxpayers. For example:
- Staff undercharged the developer of 601 Beach Crescent $13,000,000 by double-counting balcony space to be subtracted from the price calculation.
- The City agreed to pay the $12,000,000 Community Contribution for 601 Beach Crescent that was legally the purchaser’s responsibility.
- The City extended payment deadlines for developers without charging interest, contrary to Council Policy. The estimated loss to the City was $26,300,000.
These examples alone show a combined revenue loss to the City of $51,300,000.
It is notable that the audit only covers a sample of all REFM transactions during that period. Among other lapses, REFM assessments of property values often ignored the rises in value that would follow rezonings – again charging developers substantially less than required. The total loss from all land sales and transfers is clearly much higher.
On the same day, Macdonell released his 2025 Whistleblower Report. Two sections are of particular interest:
- 1 Delivery of Community Amenity Contributions (CACs), which “substantiated allegations of serious wrongdoing regarding the City’s oversight of the delivery of the in-kind CACs. The City and the developer had negotiated a contribution of $6,000,000 in public upgrades as part of the Vancouver House development, but the Auditor General found no paper trail demonstrating that these upgrades were ever delivered.
- 4 Procurement of advice regarding False Creek South, which substantiated a complaint about the flawed process involved in procuring planning services for that neighbourhood from a private consulting company, including sole-source contracting and unapproved contract extensions. He concluded there was a “serious mismanagement of public funds” in how the contract was both awarded and administered.
The lapses cited in both reports were primarily attributed to staff actions, or inactions. The level of involvement of the City Manager is not certain, and in a number of instances, it is reported that City Council was either not informed or misinformed.
However, while it is now clear that certain staff acted unilaterally, that cannot excuse the scandalous lack of executive oversight of REFM activities. It is precisely the roles of the City Manager and Council to ensure the City is properly managed and that value for taxpayers is maximized.
The system is broken and the true financial loss to city taxpayers is unknown. In the meantime, Council has passed a budget that will cut city staff and services in the name of fiscal responsibility, despite widespread opposition from residents.
Auditor General Macdonell makes some essential recommendations for change in both reports, but change may not come soon enough. On March 10th, Council will hold a public hearing on the City’s proposed Official Development Plan. According to CityHallWatch, “If approved, this will become the ‘Constitution’ for Vancouver’s land use, dictating the future of over 100,000 parcels of land—including City-owned (meaning publicly-owned) property.”
Significantly, the Plan proposes moving substantial authority and control away from the public and elected officials, giving it to a small number of staff.
The countdown continues until October 17th of this year, which is municipal election day. It’s time for accountability and leadership dedicated to safeguarding the wellbeing of Vancouver’s residents.
Ken Sim has had his chance. He must be evicted!
Daily atmospheric CO2 [Courtesy of CO2.Earth]
Latest daily total (February 18, 2026): 430.04ppm
One year ago (February 18, 2025): 427.19ppm
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