Dan Fumano: Non-profits seeking funds must be ‘respectful,’ Vancouver council says

Vancouver council sent a signal Tuesday that non-profit social service providers applying for money from the city need to watch their mouths.

At a meeting Tuesday, ABC Vancouver councillors raised several concerns about city grants for community groups, asking whether they represent good investments and calling for an “overhaul” of the whole system.

ABC Coun. Peter Meiszner focused on public discourse, introducing an amendment directing city staff to require all city grant recipients “to communicate to, about, and with city officials in a respectful manner” in line with the city’s respectful workplace policy.

He raised a single example of the kind of speech he worries about, saying he was concerned a local non-profit was in line to receive almost $70,000 in grants, after one of its members criticized Mayor Ken Sim.

Meiszner did not name the non-profit or its representative in chamber Tuesday. But he read a direct quote from Rachel Lau, program manager for Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice, a non-profit that supports low-income seniors in Chinatown, to The Canadian Press.