A group of Metro Vancouver councillors is urging the provincial government to reject the regional district’s updated liquid-waste plan, arguing municipalities are being sidelined in the approval process. The group—which includes Richmond’s Kash Heed, New Westminster ‘s Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas, Burnaby’s Richard T. Lee, Surrey’s. Linda Annis and Vancouver’s Brian Montague—says Metro Vancouver’s move to proceed without municipal sign-off marks a significant break from past governance practices. The councillors say that municipalities were asked for approval back in 2010 when the current plan was being finalized, but this time around has been different. “It’s just a real mish-mash in terms of how this transpired,” Fontaine told CTV News. Fontaine says a number of municipalities, including New Westminster were given presentations by Metro Vancouver, but weren’t given a chance to reject or approve the plan. However, Heed says in Richmond, they’ve mostly been left in the dark. “I’m kind of concerned about what’s going on,” he told CTV News. Heed said the soaring cost of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant, rising from roughly $700 million to about $3.8 billion, underscores his concern that residents shouldn’t be left on the hook for yet another large-scale project that hasn’t been subject to rigorous public oversight. “That is irresponsible and that is not a process we want to see duplicated as we go forward for another 10-year plan,” he said. In Late October, the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District Board, made up of councillors and mayors from across the region, unanimously approved the plan for submission to the province. The group is calling on the B.C. NDP to reject it. “We’re calling on the premier to just simply put a pause on this, send it back to Metro Vancouver, have them to the proper consultation, and hopefully get a number of those cities to provide endorsement,” said Fontaine. Metro Vancouver is offering a different account of the process. In a statement to CTV News, board chair Mike Hurley said the region is required under provincial law to update its Liquid Waste Management Plan and that the legislation does not call for sign-off from municipal councils or individual councillors. Hurley said the plan was developed collaboratively with member municipalities and included “significant engagement” with First Nations and the broader public. He added that all councils were invited to receive a presentation on the draft plan and submit comments, and that several municipalities did so. Of the seven councils that requested a briefing, Hurley said New Westminster was the only one to raise concerns.
