Vancouver is—and must be—a city for everyone, regardless of who they are and where they come from, including their immigration status.

Sanctuary Health, which has been nobly fighting for the rights of undocumented people in Vancouver, has recently released a concerning audit of Vancouver’s implementation of its “access without fear” policy. The audit is a call to action for politicians, city staff, and the broader Vancouver community to do everything we can to ensure the wellbeing of all the citizens of our city, including those that have precarious immigration status.

I remember being present in council chambers on April 6, 2016, when I had the privilege of listening to powerful community members who spoke in favour of the motion to adopt the “access without fear” policy right before witnessing its unanimous approval by our city council. It was a historic day, indeed, and, most importantly, it was an historic victory for the communities that led the process from the draft-and-consultation stage to reality. I was (and remain) proud of Vision Vancouver's leadership on this file, but what truly filled my heart that day was the certainty that the incredible level of community ownership over this policy would be the real force behind ensuring its implementation and success.

The “access without fear” policy essentially calls for city staff to provide services without liaising with the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). It is important to remember these calls were most intense after the death of Lucia Vega Jimenez, a Mexican migrant who committed suicide in the Vancouver Airport immigration detention centre after agents failed to attend her calls for basic services and adequate food; CBSA apprehended her on a reference by Transit security after Ms. Vega was caught not paying her transit fare.

This tragedy galvanized communities to aggressively demand a necessary change. With the help of advocates, migrant communities, Sanctuary Health, and other groups, Vancouver became the third city in Canada to adopt the most comprehensive policy protecting people with precarious status when they access city services such as parks and shelters.

As a city, Vancouver does not have the responsibility to enforce immigration policy unless a warrant for an arrest has been issued; however, we do have the responsibility to provide the best services to all members of our community.

People without a criminal record—and whose only crime is the dream of a better future for their children and families—should not have to live in secrecy and constant fear and completely isolated from the essential services which make life possible.

Sanctuary Health’s audit of city services, Still Waiting, Still Afraid, highlights the need for a more forceful commitment from the city; the report highlights how we have failed to allocate more resources to the project of “access without fear” so that the policy we were all so proud of approving in 2016 can be fully implemented by city staff.

All candidates for city council should commit to ensuring that the 2019 Vancouver budget provides the resources necessary for staff training on the content of the policy, for a community evaluation of the program, for the creation of a robust complaint mechanism, and for the Vancouver Police Department to develop its own “access without fear” guidelines that respect the spirit and intent of the policy. Sanctuary Health’s audit should be welcomed as an opportunity to fulfill an important pillar of the struggle for diversity and inclusion championed by Vision Vancouver.

Finally, I echo Sanctuary Health’s call for the voices of those with lived experience as undocumented folks to assist in the development of these guidelines. People are the ultimate experts on their own needs, and these voices are essential to crafting effective and responsive policy. As policy makers, we should be extremely grateful that committed groups like Sanctuary Health are willing to follow through on policy to ensure their success. Now it is up to us, the politicians, to follow through on our commitment, listen to the evidence, and take the steps necessary to make Vancouver a city that truly provides access to services without fear to all of its citizens.

As we see increasing cruelty and rejection toward migrants all over the industrialized world, this is Vancouver’s opportunity to show our commitment to inclusion, diversity, and compassion to the global community.