Vancouver’s mayor misused the influence of his office and harassed a not-yet-sworn-in councillor when he held a news conference at city hall after last year’s byelection, according to a report released this week. Coun. Sean Orr filed a complaint with the city’s integrity commissioner alleging Ken Sim violated the code of conduct and an investigation determined three allegations were substantiated. Two related to the news conference where Sim, in his capacity as mayor, “objectively harassed” and “personally attacked” Orr, the report said. The third related to a social media post the commissioner found was a “continuation of the harassment.” Orr was elected in a byelection on April 5, 2025, securing the highest number of votes of any candidate. The candidates fielded by Sim’s ABC party received fewer than one third of the votes Orr did and the fewest among any candidates affiliated with a party. The news conference The news conference at the centre of the complaint came three days after the election, and the mayor was joined by the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, as well as some ABC councillors, who the report notes “did not speak.” The news conference, which was held at city hall and organized by the mayor’s office, was about Orr’s years-old social media posts. “Many of these posts can be only viewed as incendiary or hateful by the Jewish community and other communities. Now, you know, seeing these hateful comments online, they’re extremely disheartening. They hit us to our core. The hit me to my core,” Sim said at the news conference. “Elected officials have a responsibility to lead by example. There is no place for hate or antisemitism…Anyone who sits down in that chamber should not be inciting groups in our city,” Sim continued. Orr told the investigator the posts were made years before he was a public official and maintained—as he has when asked about them previously—they were sarcastic comments in which he was calling out some of the most harmful tropes of antisemitism. The investigation accepted Orr’s characterization of his remarks, and also found the mayor violated the code of conduct in two distinct ways by holding the news conference and making the comments. “Holding the press conference was not part of Mayor Sim’s duties. Using the influence of his office to personally attack Coun. Orr was a misuse of the influence of his office,” the report said. “There is sufficient information that Mayor Sim objectively harassed Coun. Orr at the April 8, 2025, press conference when he personally attacked Coun. Orr by suggesting he was antisemitic or would incite violence or hatred. This created a hostile environment for him as a newly elected councillor. This was without fairness as to the context and sarcastic nature of the (social media) posts that were several years prior, and without notice to him of the impending press conference. This is harassing conduct,” the report also said. Sim told the investigator he held the news conference in response to concerns raised by the community, and stood by his decision to act in his official capacity to do so. “I was acting in my role as mayor at the press conference, supporting a community that has been under siege in this city,” the report says, quoting from Sim’s interview with the investigator. “When there is fear in the community, I will act in my role all day long,” Sim is also quoted as saying. The investigator found the mayor had other options if he believed the situation and the distress it was causing within the community was urgent and required him to act immediately. “If there was an imminent safety issue, the investigator suggests that Mayor Sim’s office ought to have called the police, not a press conference,” the report said. Orr alleged the city hall news conference constituted a misuse of city resources or facilities for the purposes of a campaign, or campaign-related activity. The investigator found this was unsubstantiated but did note it would be beneficial for the mayor and council to have “more clarity” on the rules around these matters, given it is an election year. The social media post On Oct. 4, 2025, Sim posted to his X account, which the report noted is linked to the City of Vancouver’s website for the mayor’s office. Sim wrote that he was “incredibly disappointed” that Orr attended a rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery, alleging it was affiliated with Samidoun, which has been designated a terrorist organization. The post goes on to say, “Antisemitism has NO place in Vancouver. Celebrating Hamas has NO place in Vancouver. I call on all elected officials to condemn this behaviour.” Orr disputed the characterization of the event as Samidoun-affiliated and told the investigator it was organized by more than two dozen local groups, including Jewish groups. “I disagree with Coun. Orr’s statement that the rally was not affiliated with Samidoun. It’s not misinformation. But, if that’s the standard, I could have my team pull all the posts that he has posted that are incredibly misleading and downright lies against myself,” Sim is quoted as telling the investigator. Sim also said the second half of his statement was not about Orr, specifically. “Those are two distinct paragraphs and messages,” the mayor is quoted as telling the investigator. But the report found the post, as a whole, “was a continuation of the harassment of Coun. Orr that suggested he was in support of terrorist organizations and antisemitism,” it read. “This extended an unfair narrative and encouraged negativity towards Coun. Orr in his role as councillor.” Orr’s complaint also alleged Sim’s comments constituted defamation, but the investigator declined to come to any conclusion on that front—saying the matter would be better adjudicated elsewhere. A civil lawsuit alleging defamation has been filed by Orr against Sim in relation to different comments the mayor made. That matter is before the courts. While the Integrity Commissioner can recommend sanctions for violating the code of conduct, any consequences have to be approved by council.
