Vancouver Coun. Sean Orr Sues Mayor Ken Sim

Two weeks after news broke that ABC Coun. Lenny Zhou used Chinese-language social media to accuse unnamed fellow councillors of dispensing illegal drugs, COPE Coun. Sean Orr has filed a civil suit against the accusation’s source — Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim.

In a notice of civil claim filed at the B.C. Supreme Court Tuesday, Orr alleged Sim told Chinese-language media that Orr had been distributing illegal drugs on the streets on Christmas Day. The comments were made at a Feb. 6 news briefing at city hall, according to the claim.

In a press conference on March 3, Sim — the leader of the ABC Vancouver party that holds a majority of council seats — admitted he made the allegation.

“In a Chinese news briefing, I referenced a picture that had been shown to me regarding Coun. Orr distributing drugs. I didn’t verify what I thought I saw, and frankly I should never have repeated it to begin with,” Sim said on March 3.

“I have apologized to Coun. Orr directly last week, and today I do want to apologize to Vancouverites, to our team at the City of Vancouver, and my colleagues on council. Luckily we have an incredible city, and my focus will remain serving the people of Vancouver.”

Zhou was present during the Feb. 6 news conference, and Orr’s motion claims Zhou translated Sim’s English statements for the Chinese-language media outlets that needed it.

In emailed statements shared with The Tyee, both Zhou and Sim said they were aware of the suit being filed but declined to comment as the matter is before the courts.

Timeline of events

The allegation that a non-ABC councillor distributed drugs did not make it into English-language media until Feb. 24, when opposition councillors Rebecca Bligh (Vote Vancouver), Pete Fry (Greens), Lucy Maloney (OneCity) and Orr held a press conference to denounce Zhou for posting a video in Mandarin on WeChat where he repeated the allegation, though without mentioning Orr by name.

In that video, which The Tyee obtained and independently translated, Zhou said a non-ABC councillor or councillors had been dispensing illegal drugs on Christmas Eve.

Fry told media: “There is a very real and likely possibility that this could, if proven, constitute defamatory libel and it is very serious.”

Later that day Zhou released a statement apologizing for the post and claiming he was provided with “incorrect information.”

Sim also released a statement to the media shortly after, thanking Zhou for his apology and “acknowledging his mistake and taking responsibility for sharing information that was not accurate.”

But on Feb. 26, the Canadian Press reported that Sim had been the source of the “incorrect information,” sharing it with Chinese-language media during the Feb. 6 news briefing.

Sim admitted as much during the March 3 press conference he held to apologize.

Orr, who was not present during Sim’s press conference, was made aware it was happening only when The Tyee brought it to his attention two hours earlier.

Orr, who has been open about his past drug use and mental health issues and has publicly advocated for others experiencing similar struggles, has denied ever selling, dispensing or distributing illegal drugs. He also says he was out of town visiting his in-laws on Christmas Day.

In an interview with The Tyee just hours before Sim’s March 3 press conference, Orr said he asked Sim directly why he had made these allegations, when the mayor called Orr to apologize on Feb. 26.

“I said, ‘Man to man, politics aside, why would you do this, other than to hurt me?’ And he just kind of repeated, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Look, Sean, I’m sorry,’” Orr said.

“There was no explanation of how he got the information, what he would do differently in the future, a way forward to move out of this. Which makes me think he’s waiting for this to blow over. And I think people deserve answers.”

In a press conference last Wednesday to announce the new pedestrian zone on Granville Street, Sim again faced questions about the allegations he made about Orr. He said he was shown a photo by a member of the public that he did not verify, but he would not describe what was depicted in the photo.

Orr’s motion of claim accuses Sim of malice, claiming he acted “deliberately, maliciously and in bad faith” when he made his statement about Orr on Feb. 6, which Orr alleges the mayor knew was false.

He also accuses the mayor of deliberately referring to the false statement repeatedly since then, including in his apologies to Orr and the public.

It also notes that Orr handily defeated the two ABC candidates for the spring 2025 byelection, in which Orr made criticism of Sim and his ABC party’s policies the main focus of his election campaign. Orr placed first in the number of votes received, compared with the ABC candidates’ sixth and seventh places, respectively.

Orr is seeking general damages, punitive damages, aggravated damages, a permanent injunction preventing Sim from repeating the same or similar statement about Orr, costs and “such further and other relief as to this Honourable Court may deem just.”