B.C. scraps controversial appointment of Downtown Eastside 'czar'

The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 20, 2025 6:21 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

British Columbia Premier David Eby has terminated a consultancy declaration to amended conditions successful Vancouver's Downtown Eastside that came nether occurrence from critics, who called it a governmental favour that lacked transparency.

Eby's bureau said successful a connection connected Tuesday that the statement astir Michael Bryant's declaration had go a distraction from enactment to amended the neighbourhood.

It said the declaration with the consulting institution owned by Bryant — a erstwhile CEO of Legal Aid B.C. and Ontario lawyer wide — ended connected Sunday, and Eby aboriginal clarified that it was his decision.

"We person a shared dedication towards improving conditions successful Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, and convey him for his enactment to this point," the connection said.

"However, statement and treatment astir this time-limited declaration are distracting from the important enactment underway."

In a quality briefing in Vancouver, Eby said Bryant would person nary severance, and helium had been paid up to Sunday, an magnitude successful the neighbourhood of $75,000.

Asked wherefore an extracurricular advisor was needed, Eby said that Bryant checked galore boxes. 

"I wanted idiosyncratic to travel successful with caller eyes, to person a look astatine the happening with nary connections to the neighbourhood, but who had an empathy and knowing for the challenges of addiction, an knowing of the law, and an knowing of the realities of politics," helium said of Bryant, who has written of his past conflict with alcoholism.

Eby said helium did not cognize the circumstances down Bryant's exit from his relation astatine Legal Aid B.C., which the Opposition B.C. Conservatives person said "ended abruptly" past year.

Eby said his narration with Bryant began successful his Legal Aid B.C. role, erstwhile Eby was lawyer general.

Pressed whether Bryant was fired from Legal Aid B.C. oregon near of his ain accord, Eby said the questioning "illustrates exactly" wherefore authorities had to terminate the contract. 

"Because it became astir Michael Bryant, and seemingly astir Legal Aid B.C., erstwhile it needs to beryllium astir the Downtown Eastside ... that's wherefore we terminated the contract." 

The Opposition B.C. Conservatives person attacked Bryant's contract, saying nary reporting benchmarks person been disclosed oregon met.

The connection said the contract instructing Bryant to make a "framework" for co-ordinating services successful the neighbourhood was worthy up to $325,000.

Opposition Leader John Rustad said the authorities had hired Bryant without announcing the declaration first, past got escaped disconnected him aft being caught "red-handed."

Rustad said the hiring and firing of Bryant showed a "pattern of disrespect" to the nationalist from a authorities acting without transparency.

Rustad said Bryant would not person made immoderate "difference 1 mode oregon another" to the problems of the Downtown Eastside.

Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction Shelia Malcolmson has blamed a "communication problem" betwixt her ministry and the Premier's Office for not having announced Bryant's assignment earlier. 

B.C. Conservative lawyer wide professional Steve Kooner said past week that the authorities lone went nationalist with Bryant's assignment pursuing questions from Global News. 

"This government's solution is to name Michael Bryant arsenic the alleged Downtown Eastside czar without nationalist announcement, without nationalist transparency, without consultation," Kooner said successful question play connected May 13.

Eby acknowledged that "there was decidedly an contented successful our connection shop" successful informing the nationalist astir Bryant's appointment.

"I hold it would person been a batch amended had the accusation bulletin been released arsenic planned, and it wasn't," Eby said. "That was a superior mistake, and unfortunately, it ended up wherever we are today." 

Eby disagreed with suggestions that Bryant was moving without the public's knowledge.

"He was operating rather openly," helium said. 

Opposition MLA Trevor Halford described the hiring arsenic a lawsuit of "the premier rewarding 1 of his friends, giving a declaration and getting caught."

"At the extremity of the day, if this declaration was arsenic important — and the enactment was arsenic important — as the premier said it was, they would person been afloat transparent with it backmost successful February," helium said.

When asked what Bryant had delivered, Eby said Bryant's enactment included aggregate meetings with radical surviving connected the Downtown Eastside, leaders of non-profit organizations and municipal politicians. 

Eby added that Bryant had besides met with him, arsenic good arsenic Malcolmson, to sermon his archetypal findings and recommendations, "that we volition look astatine processing successful the future."

He said helium thought that Bryant was going to supply the authorities with "some precise adjuvant work," adding that his briefings person provided a "foundation" for the authorities to determination forward.