With the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant expected to have cost overruns of $3 billion, pressure has been mounting for answers.
Metro Vancouver says it will do an independent performance audit and chair Mike Hurley initially recommended William McCarthy, who has a background in commercial real estate.
In 2022 he was designated an honorary Burnaby firefighter at the same department where Hurley, a former firefighter, once worked.
McCarthy is also generous and has donated to numerous charities. Someone with the same name gave the maximum amount, $1,250, to Mike Hurley’s mayoral campaign in 2022.
A decision on McCarthy’s appointment was due to be made on Friday. Late Wednesday, however, Hurley advised Metro Vancouver’s directors he had received negative feedback and had abandoned his recommendation.
Asked for comment, McCarthy said he was “a non-appointee to anything and private business person.”
On Wednesday Global News asked Premier David Eby about the audit and our reporting that Metro Vancouver spent more than $64,000 on food and alcohol at a Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference party in 2023.
Premier Eby responded, saying new Chair Mike Hurley “needs to put in place the protections and the transparency and the accountability to prevent tax dollars being spent on charcuterie instead of on essential infrastructure.”
“I have complete confidence in Mike and his ability to do that and if Metro Vancouver fails to meet those standards, the province will step in,” Eby added.
The independent performance audit comes with no budget.