As Metro Vancouver’s board prepares to meet on Friday, five municipal politicians are calling for new chair Mike Hurley to step aside.
At issue is a review of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is expected to have cost overruns of $3 billion. Hurley had recommended it be done by William McCarthy, who has a background in real estate.
In 2022, McCarthy was made an honorary Burnaby firefighter at the same department where Hurley once worked.
Also, someone with the same name gave the maximum donation, $1,250- dollars, to Mike Hurley’s 2022 mayoral campaign.
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“We’ve asked him to step aside until we can confirm whether or not this is the same Mr. McCarthy who made a contribution,” New Westminster Councillor Daniel Fontaine said.
Both McCarthy and Hurley have declined requests to comment about the review and the donation.
Late Wednesday, Hurley told board members he was no longer recommending McCarthy for the review.
Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie told Global News that Hurley has his “full confidence.”
“Mayor Hurley proposed a certain individual and process and then he listened to others who have influence on the situation and said, on reflection, there’s a better way to go,” Brodie said.
He added that he was surprised by Global’s reporting on lavish spending.
A Freedom of Information request revealed $64,000 of taxpayer dollars were spent on food and alcohol at a 2023 Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Toronto.
“I’ve been following the news in general,” Brodie said.
“Yes, I have found myself somewhat surprised by some of the revelations.”
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