Laura Gillanders

2024 Richmond Hospital supervised consumption-site motion

Gillanders and Councillor Kash Heed were the two Members of Council named on the original January 30, 2024 notice. Its first clause requested a practicability analysis for a supervised drug consumption site in the Richmond General Hospital precinct. The remaining clauses also contemplated collaboration with health and government bodies, a task force for implementation guidance, public education, monitoring and community input. It was a motion to study and develop actions toward a site—not approval of an operating facility.

After the February 5 committee meeting, Council heard public delegations over February 12 and 13. The official minutes list many more opposing than supporting speakers, but attendance and delegations at a Council meeting are not a representative scientific poll. When a motion was made to table the item, the official roll call records Gillanders among those opposed to tabling it. The original motion then carried, with Councillors Chak Au and Alexa Loo opposed.

Vancouver Coastal Health subsequently said it would not move forward with a stand-alone SCS in Richmond. The February 26 Council minutes record the mayor confirming that the City would not proceed. Hundreds later protested the process and proposal at City Hall.

Primary sources: original motion; General Purposes minutes, February 5; Council minutes, February 12–13; Council minutes, February 26. Contemporary reporting: Global News and Richmond News.

6999 Alderbridge supportive housing

In November 2023, Council considered extending the ground lease for the City-owned 6999 Alderbridge Way supportive-housing site to December 31, 2027. Residents and neighbours raised concerns including public drug use, illegal activity, crime, safety, property impacts and operational accountability. Staff, the operator and supporters also addressed the other side: continuity for 40 residents, the risk of housing instability or homelessness if the lease ended, and the transition to planned permanent supportive housing.

The extension carried with Councillor Chak Au opposed. Gillanders was therefore on the side supporting the extension. This was supportive housing; the minutes do not describe the Alderbridge facility as a separate supervised consumption site.

Primary source: General Purposes Committee minutes, November 6, 2023; see also the November 14 Council record.

Aster Place supportive housing

Aster Place is supportive housing, not the stand-alone SCS proposed for the Richmond Hospital precinct. At the January 22, 2024 Public Hearing, the provider told Council that the building contained a consumption area monitored by staff where residents could use substances. Council renewed the temporary-use permit; no opposition was recorded, so Gillanders supported its continuation.

At the July 20, 2026 renewal hearing, many speakers raised safety, management, metrics and accountability concerns. The written record also contained 48 submissions in support and seven in opposition, important context against treating the hearing as evidence of unanimous public opposition. An amendment sought to shorten the renewal from three years to two; Gillanders was recorded as opposing that change. The amendment failed, and the three-year renewal then carried. Gillanders was not listed among the two councillors opposed to the final three-year term.

Primary sources: Public Hearing minutes, January 22, 2024; Public Hearing minutes, July 20, 2026.

Council attendance transparency vote

Resolution R25/2-6 on January 27, 2025 would have directed City staff to “keep track of and periodically report in public” the Mayor's and councillors' attendance at Council meetings, external boards, liaison meetings, and public or community events. It was defeated. The official roll call names Carol Day, Laura Gillanders, Kash Heed, Bill McNulty and Michael Wolfe as opposed.

What this establishes: Gillanders voted against establishing this specific public attendance-reporting system. It does not establish that she opposed every transparency or accountability measure; other motions in those areas must be assessed separately.

Primary source: City Council minutes, January 27, 2025, R25/2-6.

Steveston waterfront planning and public consultation

At the December 19, 2022 Public Hearing, several residents opposed or raised concerns about Steveston waterfront Official Community Plan and zoning changes. The minutes expressly record discussion of waterfront access and a “lack of public consultation.” Two referral motions would have sent related bylaws back to staff to review a public-consultation process in the context of existing heritage plans. Gillanders was recorded among those opposed to both referrals; both were defeated.

These votes concern the two specified Steveston planning referrals. They do not show that Gillanders opposed public consultation in every context.

Primary source: Public Hearing minutes, December 19, 2022, PH22/11-9 and PH22/11-12.

Hamilton Environmentally Sensitive Area designation

In May 2026, Council considered removing Environmentally Sensitive Area designations from specified privately owned properties between Thompson and Boundary Roads and south of Thompson Gate in Hamilton. Property-owner and development concerns included the designation's accuracy, lower offers for development land and added development costs. The discussion also covered habitat, species at risk, assessment and compensation, seasonal site visits, and the City's broader ESA review.

The majority voted to rescind the specified designations; Gillanders and Michael Wolfe opposed. At the July 20 Public Hearing, both again opposed the related OCP amendment stages. The record shows Gillanders choosing to maintain the environmental designation in this specific matter; it does not establish a general position against private-property rights.

Primary sources: Council minutes, May 11, 2026, R26/9-5; Public Hearing minutes, July 20, 2026, PH26/6-3 through PH26/6-6.

R26/14-10 and the Jason Liu controversy

On July 27, 2026, Councillor Bill McNulty introduced a “Motion Related to Discriminatory Messaging.” Resolution R26/14-10 said the City opposed the messaging, requested an apology, called for public condemnation and directed that the matter be forwarded to the BC Human Rights Tribunal for review. The certified minutes record the motion as carried but contain no individual roll call. They therefore do not prove an official individual “yes” vote by Gillanders.

The City's public meeting video shows Gillanders speaking in support during the debate. That is a public audiovisual record, not a City-certified transcript, and this page does not use it to invent a formal individual roll call. The City issued a Statement on Inclusion and Respect on July 29.

The Council action generated a visible organized backlash within parts of Richmond's Chinese community. A Change.org petition displayed 11,871 verified signatures when checked on September 21, 2026. An organizer's update says signers included Richmond residents, people elsewhere in Metro Vancouver and people elsewhere in Canada, so the total cannot be described as Richmond voters. On August 23, an organizer reported more than 400 Chinese-community participants at a City Hall rally; independent local reporting confirms the rally occurred and that multiple speakers participated. Neither a petition nor a rally is a representative poll of Richmond residents or Chinese residents.

Primary sources: Council minutes, July 27, 2026, R26/14-10; City public meeting video archive; City Statement on Inclusion and Respect. Other public records: Change.org petition, organizer's August 24 rally update, and independent local report on the August 23 rally.