Mayor apologizes for spreading false claim about colleague handing out drugs

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim is apologizing after spreading misinformation about a city councillor.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says he’s sorry for falsely claiming a city councillor handed out illegal drugs on Christmas Day.

Speaking to reporters at a housing announcement on Friday, Sim repeated the same talking point 18 times.

“Look, I spoke with Councillor Orr yesterday, and I apologize for my comments,” he said.

The apology stems from a media briefing Sim and Coun. Lenny Zhou attended on Feb. 6 with Chinese media where he said, “We have a councillor, Sean Orr, just this Christmas, he was handing out illegal drugs on Christmas Day to people on the streets.”

“So if you like getting free illegal drugs, you probably don’t like me or ABC because we fight against that,” he said.

Read more: Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim started false claim councillor ‘handed out illegal drugs’

‘Malicious intent’

Pressed for whether he would correct this in Chinese media, if he would resign, and how voters could trust him ahead of the October municipal election, Sim continued to stay on message.

“Well, you know, I apologize,” he said.

Orr confirmed Sim called him Thursday evening.

“I said this to him like, man to man, how could you do this?” he said.

Orr said the mayor told him he was given misinformation.

“It’s malicious intent,” he said. “That’s the only way I can look at it. You know, he’s trying to hurt me.”

Orr said he wasn’t in Vancouver on Christmas Day, and spent time with family on the Sunshine Coast instead.

He added he worries how these kinds of comments will impact his work at city hall.

“It makes it so difficult for me to now do my job properly, to focus,” he said. “It makes it impossible for me to go into the community and talk to people without this now becoming the subject.”

Opposition councillors accused of using, selling drugs

The apology comes in light of a press conference held Tuesday by opposition councillors who revealed ABC Coun. Lenny Zhou has posted a video to Chinese-language WeChat platform, claiming they used and distributed drugs.

Read more: Vancouver councillor retracts Chinese video calling rivals drug users, distributors

Zhou “unequivocally” apologized for the video that was based on “incorrect information” and has since deleted it.

At the time, Sim thanked his ABC Party colleague for “taking responsibility for sharing information that was not accurate.”

Orr said he’s considering all of his options, including a code of conduct complaint, an integrity commissioner complaint, and legal action.