Cassidy responds to resignation petition over Ambleside parking remarks

West Vancouver Coun. Christine Cassidy is explaining remarks she made during a recent council debate on paid parking at Ambleside Park, after a petition calling for her resignation.

The petition, signed by residents and community members, takes issue with two statements Cassidy made during a heated debate on whether to pause pay parking at the popular waterfront park.

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“The genie is out of the bottle. So we are going to be attracting the hordes whether we want them or whether we don’t. Whether we’re free or whether we’re $2.50, they’re coming,” Cassidy said during the debate. She also said: “And you can just see it these days when you go down on those hot last few weekends, the crowds that were on that seawall, you could tell they did not live in West Vancouver.”

The petition calls the comments harmful and says the suggestion that someone’s belonging in West Vancouver can be determined by appearance echoes a history of exclusion based on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The petition demands a formal public apology, Cassidy’s resignation, and a reaffirmation from the council of commitment to inclusion.

In an email to North Shore Daily Post, Cassidy said her remarks were rooted in financial arguments about pay parking and were not intended to suggest anyone did not belong at the park.

She said the phrase “the genie is out of the bottle” was a reference to the now widely known $2.50 parking rate at Ambleside, which she described as the lowest in the Lower Mainland. The word “hordes,” she said, referred to the number of visitors expected to be drawn to the park because of that low rate.

“It just makes economic sense to spend your time at a park that has the least expensive rate in the region,” Cassidy wrote. She added that “whether you want them or not” was a reference to the crowds and associated issues such as traffic congestion, parking problems, and queues.

Cassidy said her second comment was based on years of personal experience speaking with people on the seawall. She pointed to petitions she conducted there in 2012 and 2013, as well as to her campaigns for public office in 2014, 2018, and 2022.

Those conversations, she said, informed her that on sunny weekends, the vast majority of people on the seawall do not live in West Vancouver but come from other parts of the Lower Mainland. She said those numbers have increased in recent years as parking rates rise in other regions.

Cassidy described herself as a strong proponent of pay parking. She argued that visitors should help cover the cost of the parks and amenities they use, regardless of where they live. “Pay parking would reduce the financial pressure on West Vancouver taxpayers and manage parking demand in a busy destination park,” she wrote.

Cassidy outlined some of the costs the district carries.  She said the District of West Vancouver spends about $5.9 million annually on its parks. Cleaning the washrooms at Ambleside costs roughly $44,500 a year, with crews going through eight times a day on weekends and seven on weekdays. Weekly dog waste collection in the park runs about $20,000 annually, and the expanded recycling program costs about $53,500.

“My argument was simply a financial one, dollars, cents and fairness,” Cassidy wrote.

The petition also references prior reports about Cassidy’s conduct, which signatories say raise concerns about accountability and judgment.