Letter: The foreign hand in Vancouver’s future, and who’s really running our city?

Vancouver mayoral candidate Justin Forsman says the folks at Vancouver City Hall are no longer answering to its residents

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and may not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com

Residents of Vancouver deserve to know the truth about what is happening in our city. Behind the buzzwords of “sustainability” and “resilience” lies a coordinated agenda that is eroding our sovereignty, draining our resources, and reshaping our community without the consent of the governed.

Most citizens have never heard of ICLEI, yet the city of Vancouver is a member. ICLEI stands for the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, a global network created to implement the United Nations’ Agenda 21, later updated to Agenda 2030. On the surface, it promotes environmental stewardship. In practice, it funnels international policy into local city codes, land use decisions, and transportation planning. When Vancouver signed onto ICLEI, it agreed to align its policies with global frameworks, not the will of local voters. Citizens never had a chance to vote on whether their city should be governed this way.

That influence is all around us. The road diets that shrink lanes and increase congestion are not about safety. It is about discouraging drivers and forcing people into transit and bikes. These projects are spreading across our city like wildfire.

On 4th Plain, lanes were cut despite heavy traffic, creating bottlenecks that frustrate commuters and small businesses.

On Mill Plain, traffic is already choked, yet the city plans to cut from six lanes to four.

In Hazel Dell, the same blueprint is moving forward, proving this agenda doesn’t stop at city limits.

At 192nd, a growing hub for families and commerce, road diets are being forced in despite overwhelming opposition.

On St. Johns Boulevard, lanes have been already reduced near Clark College from four to two.

Even on McGillivray, when residents fought back through the Save the Streets Project and tried to block the redesign in court, the city rejected the effort. Why? Because these projects are not optional. These are commitments tied to Vancouver’s ICLEI agenda.

The waterfront development is another piece of the puzzle. It is sold as revitalization, but it represents a model of dense, luxury mixed-use blocks that embody the “15-minute city” concept promoted by the UN and World Economic Forum. The goal is not community, it is consolidation. Residents are pushed into tighter, more controlled living arrangements while rural and suburban areas are left with restrictions and rising costs.

Now, annexation is on the table. We are told it is about growth, but annexation serves two purposes: expanding the tax base and extending these same global policies onto surrounding communities. Once annexed, outlying neighborhoods will find themselves paying for road diets, tolling, and density projects they never asked for. This is how sovereignty is surrendered. Not all at once, but piece by piece, under the guise of planning for the future. Bart Hansen himself admitted Vancouver does not have the money to support annexation but still pushed to “start slow.” Citizens should ask why City Hall is willing to stretch finances to chase this agenda.

Where are we on this timeline? Agenda 21 laid the groundwork in the early 1990s. Agenda 2030 set the deadline. We are now entering the consolidation phase. Cities like Vancouver are locking in permanent changes. Road networks redesigned, housing codes rewritten, tolling infrastructure installed so that by 2030 the system is fully in place and nearly impossible to reverse. That is why we must act now.

As a candidate for mayor of Vancouver, I am standing 100 percent against this. I will not allow our sovereignty to be handed over to unelected think tanks or foreign consultants. I will fight the ongoing road diets, the forced transit projects, and annexation schemes that steal the voice of our neighborhoods and institute unfair tax schemes. Most importantly, I will end Vancouver’s alliance with these international organizations and restore our city’s independence. Membership in ICLEI and alignment with Agenda 2030, have no place in our local government.

The truth is, City Hall is no longer answering to its residents. It is answering to ICLEI, to the UN, and to global firms that profit from this agenda. The real question before voters is simple: Who runs Vancouver, its people, or outside interests?

It’s time we take our city back!

Justin Forsman
Candidate for mayor of Vancouver

P.S. – We will soon be doing a “deep dig” into how WSP Inc. is involved in all this. Stand back and stand by for updates.