Bob Mackin
A charity whose board included the head of Vancouver’s FIFA World Cup host committee received the biggest no-bid contract under city hall’s $182,184 World Cup human rights action plan.
In a May 11-published list, Atira Women’s Resource Society was hired for $35,000 to conduct “expanded outreach services and roaming gender safety patrols.”
Jessie Adcock, the Vancouver FIFA 26 host committee lead, was a director of Atira from December 2024 until the end of 2025. Adcock did not respond for comment.
Jessie Adcock, Vancouver city hall’s FIFA host committee lead. (Mackin)
No involvement, city hall says
A statement from the Vancouver host committee, sent by the city hall communications department, said several community organizations were invited to submit proposals for expanded community safety and outreach services during the event period.
The statement said Adcock, who resigned from the Atira board last December, was not involved in the solicitation and evaluation of proposals or the awarding of contracts.
Under the city’s procurement policy, no public call is required on purchases of $75,000 or less. The chief procurement officer may obtain prices from internal price records or solicit prices from known suppliers. The city is required to post, for at least 14 days, a notice of intent to contract and receive any complaints or concerns.
Scope of work
The notice of intent said the contracts are in response to feedback from “community-serving organizations and advocacy groups.” The contract values reflect the scope and scale of services in each submission and are scheduled to run from May 26-July 19.
Also working on “expanded outreach services and roaming gender safety patrols” are Watari Counselling and Support Services ($30,000) and Good Night Out Vancouver ($29,920).
“The city reserves the right to amend the total awarded values if changes in operational requirements occur,” the notice said.
Last-minute push
Directly awarded contracts and values under City of Vancouver’s World Cup human rights plan.
The contracting notice came a month before the World Cup starts and just over a month since Councillors Pete Fry (Green) and Lucy Maloney (OneCity) tabled the Strengthening Vancouver’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Human Rights Action Plan with Measurable Standards, Reporting and Monitoring motion.
They wanted the host city committee to revise the Feb. 19-released Host City Human Rights Action Plan to protect the homeless from displacement and expand low-barrier day and night shelters. They also wanted real-time monitoring of any police interactions with the homeless.
The March 2025 homeless count identified 1,952 sheltered and 763 unsheltered homeless people.
Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC majority voted down the proposal, 6-4, with Deputy Mayor Sarah Kirby-Yung (ABC) absent.
Authorities in the three host countries for FIFA 26 have identified human trafficking as a security risk. Canada’s Department of Justice says human trafficking is typically through sexual exploitation or forced labour. “It is often described as a modern form of slavery.”
