Four city councilllors in the Lower Mainland are looking to change the way Metro Vancouver is operated and how its board members are chosen.
Metro Vancouver is a federation of 21 municipalities, one electoral area, and one treaty First Nation.
In its current model, Metro Vancouver’s 41 board members are appointed, something councillors Linda Annis of Surrey, Daniel Fontaine of New Westminster, Kash Heed of Richmond, and Ahmed Yousef of Maple Ridge say needs to change.
The four said voters should decide who the board members are, and Metro Vancouver currently lacks transparency and has “massive cost overruns.”
Linda Annis points to projects like the North Shore wastewater treatment plant as a failure of Metro Vancouver showing change is needed.
“Whether it’s the financial fiasco around wastewater treatment plants in North Vancouver or on Iona Island, or their unchecked international travel policy that has cost taxpayers thousands of dollars, Metro Vancouver’s board is unaccountable, and taxpayers have had enough of being ignored, except when it comes time to pay the bills,” Annis said.
“The current governance model is clearly not working and the provincial government should undertake a full review that includes giving taxpayers the chance to elect board members and hold them accountable, the same way they hold mayors, councillors, and MLAs accountable.”
Fontaine said that Metro Vancouver is responsible for the biggest projects in the region, and that the lack of accountability is “evident” in the two wastewater treatment projects, which have costs spiraling out of control on both.
The “unchecked international travel policy” is most likely alluding to Delta Mayor George Harvie, who has expensed tens of thousands of dollars in travel so far this year but has not provided an explanation as to why.
Harvie was voted off the board in late May. Harvie also cancelled a trip to Amsterdam amid questions about his travel expenses.
“I have decided not to participate in an upcoming trip to the Netherlands to attend the International Conference on Urban Drainage and study tour on green infrastructure from June 7 to 16,” Harvie said in a statement.
“With my term as Board Chair coming to an end, effective July 1, 2024, I have come to the difficult decision to forego this learning opportunity. I do not wish to be a distraction to the ongoing work at Metro Vancouver.”
Harvie has refused to answer questions about his past travel or the upcoming trip.
According to Metro Vancouver, Harvie has submitted more than $32,000 in expenses this year. That includes a $21,000 flight to Asia plus $2,700 for accommodation and per diems, and about $1,300 for a stay at Victoria’s Inn at Laurel Point.
“The North Vancouver project is five times more expensive than originally budgeted and years behind schedule,” Fontaine said.
“The proposed Iona plant now has a budget of $12 billion and it’s climbing by a billion dollars every six months, according to Metro Chair George Harvie.”
Fontaine continued, “The current Metro governance model made it too easy for those projects to become financial problems because no one is held accountable, and taxpayers are left sitting on the sideline, except when it comes to paying for the cost overruns.”
According to Metro Vancouver, during the meeting Harvie was corrected about the cost estimate for the Iona plant, which it says is closer to $9.9 billion.
The New Westminster councillor said taxpayers are now stuck paying for the wastewater project’s overruns, and not a single person has resigned or been fired.
Kash Heed, a councillor in Richmond, said allowing Metro Vancouver residents the ability to vote would ensure more accountability and would give voters more of a voice.
“I know how important it is for voters to pick the people they want to represent them. Metro Vancouver is an obscure organization to the vast majority of people in the region, and an elected board will better connect the organization to the people they serve, particularly when you look at the size and scope of Metro projects and the tax implications for the people of our region,” Heed said.
“We need to take Metro out of the shadows and make it more transparent, starting with electing its board.”
Ahmed Yousef, of Maple Ridge, said a full governance review is needed for Metro Vancouver and it’s time to reset the governance model as Metro Vancouver was created more than 50 years ago and “has grown over time.”
“Over the years there has been a lot of scope creep at Metro, with the organization and its growing bureaucracy quietly taking on more and more authority across the region, but with no direct connection to taxpayers and voters,” Yousef said.
“Any organization that’s more than 50 years old needs a check-up to make sure it’s ready for the next 50 years.”
— with files from Amy Judd