| Short Title: | Vancouver Charter |
| Imagealt: | Coat of Arms of the BC Legislature |
| Citation: | http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/vanch_01 . Vancouver Charter . SBC . 1953. 55. |
| Enacted By: | Legislative Assembly of British Columbia |
| Date Passed: | 1953 |
| Repeals: | Vancouver Incorporation Act, 1921 |
| Summary: | Incorporation documents of the City of Vancouver |
| Status: | In force |
The Vancouver Charter is a provincial statute that incorporates the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The legislation was passed in 1953 and supersedes the Vancouver Incorporation Act, 1921.[1] It grants the city different powers than other communities in the province, which are governed by the Local Government Act.[2]
Some of the additional powers and provisions provided by the Vancouver Charter include:[3]
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 or as aldermen. The act also stated that "No Chinaman or Indian shall be entitled to vote in any municipal election".[4]
The incorporation act was repealed and replaced in 1900 and 1921 prior to the introduction of the Vancouver Charter.[5]
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 in False Creek without seeking approval from taxpayers in an election-day plebiscite.[6] Robertson said this was due to extraordinary circumstances.[6] The amendment was passed on January 18, 2009, in an emergency session of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.[7] [8]