We live on land that has been loved and cared for since long before our city.
Update, 24 April 2026
The booking was cancelled.
On the same day this page was finished, the Vancouver School Board confirmed that the 2 May "Emergency Town Hall" at Prince of Wales Secondary would not proceed. Thank you to every neighbour who wrote in.
Pacific Spirit Regional Park · Los Paseos, CC BY-SA 2.0
Residential school denial is a live, ongoing harm, not a political opinion.
Prince of Wales Secondary, the Vancouver-Quilchena riding, and the City of Vancouver sit on the unceded traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ / selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. The southern boundary of Vancouver-Quilchena meets Musqueam Indian Reserve #2.
One cancelled booking is not the end of the work. Residential school denialism continues to appear in public discourse and continues to do harm. The invitation to learn, to listen, and to stand alongside Indigenous neighbours is always open.
A short note on what happened.
Earlier this month, the Vancouver School Board rented the Prince of Wales Secondary auditorium to MLA Dallas Brodie for a public event titled "Emergency Town Hall". Ms Brodie has been publicly condemned by Indigenous governance bodies across British Columbia and was expelled from the BC Conservative caucus in March 2025 over her public statements about the residential school system.
Several neighbours wrote to the VSB Superintendent, the school principal, and the Board Chair, citing the district's own policies on anti-racism, facility use, and reconciliation. The letters were civil and plainly worded. They pointed to Board Policy 21, Administrative Procedure 553, the Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement, and the BC Human Rights Code.
On 24 April 2026, the VSB Rentals office replied to confirm that the booking would not proceed.
"As a public education system, our priority is to maintain safe, respectful, and inclusive environments... Following an internal review, we will not proceed with this rental."
Where the work continues.
The cancellation of one booking is a small and welcome thing. It does not close the wider question. If you would like to keep learning, we would gently point you toward the Nations whose territory this page concerns, and toward the standing reference for what reconciliation asks of Canadian institutions.