What will happen to Vancouver's unhoused during FIFA? Some City councillors want a plan
Green Party councillor Pete Fry and One City councillor Lucy Maloney are introducing a motion to protect human rights during the FIFA World Cup — including stronger protections for unhoused residents.
FIFA required all World Cup host cities to create and implement a Human Rights Action Plan, of which Vancouver released its draft version on Feb. 19, 2026. It needs to be finalized in May.
However, according to a release from the Green Party of Vancouver, it “lacks specific commitments, measurable outcomes, and accountability mechanisms needed to ensure human rights protections are upheld around the tournament.”
“We’ve heard from advocates and people in the community that there are some serious gaps in that human rights action plan,” said Fry, in an interview with Daily Hive.
“There’s an opportunity now to provide feedback, and this is some of the feedback.”
Fry said he’s concerned that the plan lacks “a robust reporting mechanism” to track human rights violations.
“It recommends that complaints could go through the Human Rights Tribunal, which actually takes years,” he said.
His and Maloney’s motion calls for the City to develop a “human rights measurement framework,” with clear indicators, baseline data, targets, and public reporting to Council.
Protections for unhoused people
The motion also calls for stronger protections for unhoused and precariously housed people.
It includes a “no displacement commitment” without safe and dignified alternatives, increased access to low-barrier spaces and essential services, real-time tracking and reporting on shelter availability and service access, and documentation around enforcement interactions.
The FIFA World Cup is running from June 11 to July 19. On each match day, there will be a two-kilometre controlled area (also known as “the bubble zone”) around BC Place for security and crowd control.
Fry noted that this area encompasses the Downtown Eastside and Granville South, where there are “entrenched populations of vulnerable people.”
“We want to ensure that we are appropriately resourcing alternative spaces for folks to go, so we’re not just seeing them pushed out of the bubble zone and into another zone or into an unsafe situation,” Fry said.
He pointed out that Seattle, another FIFA World Cup host city, is “aggressively pursuing rapid, sheltered responses” for unhoused people, including creating 500 new shelter beds.
“Recognizing that they have a similar mandate [as Vancouver], they’re looking for better places for folks to go.”
Council will debate and discuss this motion on Wednesday, April 1.