On July 6, our Councils unanimously approved motions to submit a formal complaint to the Inspector of Municipalities, to undertake a public inquiry into the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant (NSWWTP) under the authority of the Local Government Act.
We are taking this step after years of advocating for North Shore residents through every available governance and advocacy avenue to obtain answers, improve transparency, and seek fairness for taxpayers as the estimated cost of this essential infrastructure project increased from approximately $700 million to $3.86 billion.
This request has not been made lightly. It follows years of raising concerns through Metro Vancouver's governance processes, seeking greater financial and project information, and working directly with the Province to pursue meaningful solutions.
Earlier this year, we met with Premier David Eby and Minister Christine Boyle to request three specific actions: an independent public inquiry into the project, a provincial review of Metro Vancouver's governance framework, and a fairness mechanism to protect municipalities from bearing the cost of unprecedented project overruns over which they had little meaningful oversight.
We appreciated the Province's acknowledgement that change is needed and that fairness for North Shore taxpayers must be part of the solution. Since that meeting, we have continued to ask questions, seek greater transparency, and pursue meaningful action.
With the litigation between Metro Vancouver and Acciona now concluded, Metro Vancouver has announced it will undertake its own review of the project. While we welcome any effort to learn from what has occurred, we do not believe that a review commissioned by the organization whose governance and decisions are under examination can provide the level of independence, accountability, or public confidence that residents deserve.
That is why an independent public inquiry is now necessary. After years of pursuing every reasonable avenue available to us, we believe it is the only process capable of providing the transparency, accountability, and public confidence that residents deserve.
An independent public inquiry can establish a clear and credible record of what occurred, provide recommendations to strengthen governance, and help restore public confidence in the management of major regional infrastructure projects.
At the same time, we are renewing our request that Metro Vancouver apply the full $235 million settlement with Acciona directly to reducing the costs of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant for North Shore ratepayers. Those funds arose from this project, and our residents should receive the benefit.
We are also renewing our call for the Province to modernize the legislative framework governing Metro Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District. This project has exposed significant weaknesses in the current system. When regional bodies can commit municipalities to billions of dollars in debt, there must also be meaningful oversight, transparency, and safeguards that protect the communities ultimately responsible for paying those costs.
This has never been about assigning blame or delaying an essential public infrastructure project. The North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant must be completed.
It has always been about protecting the people we represent, strengthening regional governance, and modernizing the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District Act to close the structural accountability gap that this project has exposed.
Our residents deserve answers. They deserve meaningful financial relief wherever possible. Most importantly, they deserve confidence that the institutions responsible for delivering essential public infrastructure are accountable, transparent, and equipped with the safeguards necessary to better protect municipalities and taxpayers into the future.
Media Contact for Mayor Buchanan
Jenny Peng, jpeng@cnv.org 604-209-0794
Media Contact for Mayor Little
Ryan Schaap, schaapr@dnv.org 604-209-8841