Vancouver Park Board elects Green chairman; party says whale captivity key issue

Vancouver’s parks board has elected Green Party commissioner Michael Wiebe as chairman.

The party says in a statement that one of the key issues facing the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation is the matter of cetaceans in captivity.

Two beluga whales died mysteriously nine days apart at the Vancouver Aquarium in November, prompting criticism from animal-welfare groups.

Wiebe replaces chairwoman Sarah Kirby-Yung, who is a member of the centre-right Non-Partisan Association and who previously worked in media relations for the aquarium.

The board also elected Erin Shum as vice-chair and Casey Crawford and Catherine Evans as chair and vice-chair of the park board committee.

A majority of park board commissioners are from the Non-Partisan Association and it voted in November 2014 against ending the aquarium’s cetacean breeding program.