The complaint: Staff from a garbage company were parking their trucks in the middle of laneways while working. Marco believed this was against a City of Vancouver bylaw, so he made a complaint to the city. Marco said the city didn’t take any enforcement action and wouldn’t look at his photographic evidence of the bylaw violations.

What we did: In Vancouver, public utility vehicles like garbage trucks are allowed to stop and park in laneways when they are working. But when city staff spoke to Marco, they didn’t tell him this. Staff did not clearly explain why his complaint did not lead to enforcement.

Various types of evidence, including the photographic evidence, are allowed in bylaw dispute resolutions proceedings. The city’s decision to reject Marco’s evidence was not in line with the provincial legislation.

How we helped: After our investigation, the city contacted Marco and explained why it did not act on his complaint. It told Marco how the bylaw applied to garbage trucks. It also told him it should have accepted his evidence.
We asked the city to remind its staff about making decisions that are clear and follow the bylaw. We suggested its staff take regular training and asked the city to use a peer review process to help make more consistent enforcement decisions. The city agreed to our recommendations.

Why it matters: Public authorities must ensure that their decisions are consistent with the law and provide clear responses to complaints and concerns, like those raised by Marco.