The North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant is $3 billion over budget and will cost taxpayers for decades.
Late Friday, Metro Vancouver directors held a secret vote and decided to shelve a review of the debacle.
Metro Vancouver claims it’s putting the review on hold because of ongoing litigation with the project’s former contractor, Acciona. The trial isn’t scheduled to start until 2027.
“Absolutely deplorable that they did this,” said New Westminster Councillor Daniel Fontaine.
“Taxpayers are not going to get answers likely now until at least after the next civic election, which is completely unacceptable.”
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BC Conservative MLA and municipal affairs critic Tony Luck also weighed in, saying, “David Eby should be stepping in and asking for that review to continue. There’s no reason for it to be shut down.”
Over the past year, Eby has promised repeatedly to take action on Metro Vancouver’s failures.
On July 17, 2024, he said, “It is high time for Metro Vancouver to bring in an auditor to have a look at that.” On July 24, 2024, he commented, “If Metro Vancouver fails to meet those standards, the province will step in.”
On Sept. 10, 2024, Eby said, “But if they fail to do it, the province will step in.” On Jan. 22, 2025, “This review can’t come a moment too soon.” And on July 25, 2025, Eby said, “If they can’t then the province is prepared to step in.”
Monday morning, he said, “We’ll have a look at the justification for the decision by Metro Vancouver and how to move forward. But the bottom line is that Metro Vancouver needs to ensure accountability for taxpayers and we’ll make sure that that happens.”
For its part, Metro Vancouver refuses to say which directors voted to delay the review, and claims it “has maintained a clear and consistent record of public disclosure.”
Fontaine said Eby needs to call an inquiry through the Local Government Act or allow the auditor general to intervene.
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