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Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said he called one of the city’s councillors to apologize for telling a group of Chinese business leaders that the councillor was handing out illegal drugs on Christmas Day.
Sim accused city Coun. Sean Orr of doing this in a briefing for Chinese-speaking reporters earlier this month, audio of which was shared with Global News by The Canadian Press.
The false assertion was partially repeated and then retracted by Sim ally, Coun. Lenny Zhou.
But the audio reveals that Sim first made the comments about Orr on Feb. 6.
“I spoke with councillor Orr yesterday (Thursday) and I apologize for my comments,” Sim said on Friday, responding to every question with some variation of this statement about eight more times.
The controversy came to light earlier this week when Zhou posted a video to WeChat, showing him speaking in Mandarin about supportive housing, referring to it as “drug houses,” and alleging that four non-ABC councillors are drug users and distribute drugs.
All four denied those claims in a press conference on Feb. 24.
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In a statement to Global News on Feb. 24, Zhou said that he posted the video to outline his opposition to a motion on supportive housing.
“My comments were based on incorrect information, and for that I unequivocally apologize,” he said. “I am retracting my statement, and I’ve taken down the video.”
Sim also released a statement on Tuesday, saying he wanted to thank Zhou for acknowledging his mistake and taking responsibility.
“Councillor Zhou has always been a passionate advocate for Vancouver’s Chinese community,” Sim said.
“He works hard to ensure residents, especially seniors and families who rely on in-language updates, understand what’s happening at city hall and how it affects them.”
However, following the new audio, Orr told Global News on Friday that the mayor needs to do better.
“Really just disappointment. There were comments made by Coun. Lenny Zhou that included all of the four non-ABC councillors and then to hear that it was actually the mayor where this came from, I just thought, ‘No, this is terrible leadership,’” he said.
Orr said this is not what Vancouver deserves in a mayor and he should be working to bring people together across the city.
Orr said he was not in Vancouver on Christmas Day and did not distribute illegal drugs ever.
“I can only assume that it’s meant to hurt me,” he added. “I can only assume that it’s a personal attack to defame my character.”
Orr said Sim’s apology seems like he is sorry he got caught, not that he is actually sorry about what happened.
“The mayor has a lot of work to do in order to build trust, not just in the Chinese community, but in Vancouver in general,” he added. “This makes Vancouver look bad. This makes us look like a not serious city. It’s embarrassing, I’m embarrassed on his behalf for this.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
