Metro Vancouver To Launch Governance Review After Recent Spending Comes To Light
Photo Credit: City News
At a Jan. 17 mayor’s committee meeting, Mike Hurley, the Burnaby mayor and Metro Vancouver Board chair announced an upcoming governance review of Metro Vancouver to “explore the way the Metro Vancouver Board makes decisions, receives and shares information, and any potential efficiencies that could be explored through provincial legislation.” The review came in response to concerns regarding Metro Vancouver’s recent spending decisions.
Metro Vancouver’s recent spending on the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant (NSWWTP) has caused the public to question the distribution of funds in high-profile projects. Announced in 2011 as a $700 million project, the treatment plant is now $3 billion over budget. Homeowners in West and North Vancouver will pay $590 per year in additional property taxes for the next 30 years to pay for the plant. Lyle Craver, who has lived on the North Shore for over 30 years, told CBC News, “when things go sideways […] as always, it’s you and me that pays the bill.”
The NSWWTP project was needed to serve the region’s growing population and comply with federal regulations announced in 2012, which require municipalities to complete secondary wastewater treatment plants which also dissolve and remove organic material. The NSWWTP will replace the Lions Gate plant, which is the last primary treatment plant on the West Coast of North America.
Since the project was first announced, a plethora of problems have increased the original cost projection, including design and construction deficiencies, inflation and increased labour costs, and issues with civil engineering firm Acciona — the original construction team for the project. In October 2021, Metro Vancouver terminated its contract with Acciona due to construction delays and rising cost. This led to a $250 million wrongful termination lawsuit from Acciona, which claimed the company was committed to finishing the project, but were dealing with challenges — including design changes that Metro Vancouver allegedly demanded.
Metro Vancouver responded with a $500 million countersuit. In March 2024, a price tag of $3.86 billion was given for the project. Now, in 2025, the project is well underway and Metro Vancouver has invited the media to tour the construction site. “Together, we are committed to delivering a high-quality wastewater treatment facility in the most efficient and effective way possible,” Hurley said in a press statement. Councillor Catherine Pope responded, saying that the media tour was only a public relations exercise. “They’re trying to put a good spin on a $4 billion project.”
The NSWWTP was undoubtedly a catalyst for the increased attention over Metro Vancouver’s recent spending. However, as Hurley told Burnaby Now, it’s important to note that Metro Vancouver has delivered many infrastructure and construction projects on time and within budget.
“We have over 300 construction projects underway right now. But you don’t usually hear about the ones that get completed without a hitch.” The burden of the project’s cost, and lack of transparency surrounding the initiative, has brought together eight community associations, under the umbrella organization North Shore Neighbourhoods Alliance (NSNA). As stated on the NSNA website, the group’s goal is to “provide citizen oversight of the NSWWTP and to advocate for a fair deal for North Shore residents.”
Speaking with Burnaby Now, Hurley added that everyone is feeling the strain of rising costs, including Metro Vancouver’s regional government. The cost of essential services have increased. Taxpayer dollars have also funded numerous projects beyond the NSWWTP. Since the plant’s costs have spiraled out of control, multiple Freedom of Information (FOI) requests have been filed by Global News in an attempt to uncover where large amounts of the region’s funds are being spent.
In June 2024, four Metro Vancouver mayors attended the International Conference on Urban Drainage in Amsterdam. However, Delta mayor and then-Metro Vancouver Board chair George Harvie pulled out of the same trip one week in advance. New Westminster Councillor Daniel Fontaine, said he thinks it’s improper for regional district leaders to be jetting off on international trips. “The timing on this is just absolutely atrocious,” Fontaine said, mentioning that the trip has come amid the fallout from the NSWWTP’s past spending.
After the issue of taxpayer-funded expenditures was raised in connection to the Amsterdam trip, it was revealed that in 2023, Metro Vancouver delegates attended a national conference hosted by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). While at the conference, the regional district organized a networking event held at a Toronto hotel. The total cost for alcohol and food was $64,620.94, paid in full with taxpayers dollars. After this, through an FOI request, Global News obtained party bills from past FCM conferences since 2017. It was found that since 2017, many similar networking events were held that cost taxpayers over $159,000 in total. “Any taxpayer in the Metro Vancouver region is going to be absolutely shocked with what they are seeing in this freedom of information,” New Westminster City Councillor Daniel Fontaine said.
Afterwards, in June 2024, Hurley put a pause on international travel for board and committee members. However, in November 2024, it was revealed through photos posted to social media that Metro Vancouver staff attended the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. “Metro Vancouver staff are flying around the world, on international trips, posting that they’re in luxurious places and I’m sure staying at nice hotels,” Fontaine said. “This really does not go over well with the public, they’ve lost confidence in Metro Vancouver.”
Thousands of taxpayer dollars were also spent on catering and alcohol at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE). In 2022, $17,604.76 was spent on catering, which included $4,844.95 on alcohol. In 2023, $16,440.52 went to catering, while the cost of alcohol was unclear with “no responsive records” for that request. “When normal taxpayers are lining up at food banks worrying about how they’re going to feed their kids at the end of the evening, it’s unacceptable for Metro Vancouver politicians and bigwigs to be blowing tens of thousands of dollars on booze and catering at the PNE,” BC Canadian Taxpayers Federation Director Carson Binda told Global News.
After the governance review was announced on Jan. 17, a Metro Vancouver board meeting was held on Jan. 23 to discuss cost savings. The meeting cost over $20,000 for taxpayers as 39 directors were present and each director received $534 to attend, an additional payment on top of their usual salaries. If the meeting were to have gone over four hours, the cost would have doubled. The fee for Metro Vancouver board members to attend meetings has increased from $397 to $534 since 2019.
“You have mayors who are attending Mayors’ Council meetings and they’re charging extra to attend a meeting that they should be doing as just part of their job as being a mayor and that’s what’s raising a lot of eyebrows,” New Westminster City Councillor Daniel Fontaine said.
In the end, the meeting wrapped up with no final solution. What was decided was that another meeting would be held to report back on the impacts that could arise from potential cuts. Despite some board members making $400,000 or $500,000 a year, board member’s salaries have not yet been up for deliberation to help cut costs.
On Jan. 31, at the monthly Metro Vancouver board meeting, Port Coquitlam mayor Brad West brought forward a notice of motion that, if approved by the board, would reduce the meeting stipend by 50 per cent. The motion would also bring about multiple other cost-saving measures. In the meeting, West’s final point called for a full-scale external core service review of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, the Greater Vancouver Sewage and Drainage District, the Greater Vancouver Water District, and the Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation. Completing a performance review of some of the major organizations in Metro Vancouver would allow for taxpayers to see where mistakes are being made, and prevent future overspending. Voting on West’s motion is scheduled for Feb. 28.