Vancouver councillor turns to GoFundMe for defamation lawsuit against mayor

Vancouver Coun. Sean Orr is turning to an online fundraiser to help pay for his legal battle against Mayor Ken Sim, and donors are responding quickly.

In less than 48 hours, Orr’s GoFundMe surpassed $30,000 as he seeks to cover the costs of a defamation lawsuit he’s filed against the mayor.

“A lot of people were clearly upset at this and want to see this go forward,” said Orr. “I just want to say thanks everyone, that’s incredible.”

The lawsuit stems from an accusation in which Sim falsely claimed Orr had been handing out illegal drugs on Christmas Day. Sim later apologized, saying on March 3, “I didn’t verify what I thought I saw and frankly I should’ve never repeated it to begin with.”

Defamation cases can take years and quickly become costly. Lawyer Jessica Morneau told CTV News that plaintiffs should expect significant expenses.

“Could be looking at anywhere between $40,000 to $100,000, depending on how many pretrial applications or pretrial conferences or any of those things that need to happen.”

She added that to succeed in a defamation case, “you have to show that the plaintiff has been adversely affected,” said Morneau.

City councillors earn a base salary of just under $105,000 a year. Orr said covering a lengthy legal fight himself wasn’t realistic.

“Defamation lawsuits are very expensive. I’ve only been on council for a year. Previous to that, I was a dishwasher,” said Orr.

His lawsuit seeks damages and undisclosed costs. With supporters now covering much of the legal bill, Orr said he hasn’t decided what he would do if he receives compensation through a settlement or ruling.

“I’m not going to commit to anything here now because, again, I don’t want to get ahead of myself,” said Orr. “But, you know, supporting, all the causes that I believe in is for sure definitely something that’s on my mind.”

Meanwhile, it’s unclear how Sim intends to handle his legal defence.

Under the city’s indemnification bylaw, the mayor would only be eligible for city‑funded legal coverage if the lawsuit arose from performing his official duties—making it unlikely this defamation case would qualify.

CTV News repeatedly contacted the mayor’s office for comment on whether he plans to seek taxpayer funding for his legal defence, but did not receive a response. Sim was not in attendance at Wednesday night’s public hearing due to what acting mayor Mike Klassen said were personal reasons.

The mayor’s office provided a statement Thursday morning, saying Sim will not be “using any taxpayer dollars in the lawsuit.”

Looking ahead to October’s civic election, Orr says he isn’t sure how the lawsuit will affect his re‑election chances.

“This could totally harm my chances and this could help my chances, I don’t know.”

Sim, who is also the plaintiff in an unrelated defamation lawsuit, confirmed he will be running again.