Metro Vancouver motion proposes reductions in directors' compensation and fewer committees

Consideration of a motion at Metro Vancouver's board meeting on Friday from Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West to reduce meeting compensation for directors and cut the number of committees in half was pushed forward pending the work of governance reviews.

West's motion comes as the regional government is under scrutiny for cost overruns and scope creep, but Metro Vancouver Board Chair Mike Hurley doubled down on compensation Friday as one of the official reviews currently underway.

"I don't want to make decisions on emotions," said Hurley on Friday. "I think that we can get there and show the transparency I think that everyone's crying for by doing it the proper way."

He announced that Deloitte Canada would lead the governance review of Metro Vancouver in partnership with the provincial government.

Its scope would include board and committee structure and composition, remuneration, and board decision-making processes.

The work would also be scrutinized by a volunteer panel of five, "independent, external experts," for cost-savings measures. It is made up of:

• Former B.C. premier Glen Clark.
• Former B.C. minister of finance and deputy premier Colin Hansen.
• Regional president of RBC Martin Thibodeau.
• Chief development officer of Nch'ḵaỷ Development Corporation Jennifer Podmore Russell.
• Former CFO and VP of finance at Vancouver Airport Authority Diane Vuong.

Hurley said the work could end up finding recommendations similar to West's, which calls for Metro Vancouver's meeting stipend to go from $547 for four-hour meetings to $273.50 while also eliminating the additional stipend for meetings longer than four hours.

"It behooves us to address concerns that exist in the public around this issue," said West on Friday at the board meeting.

It also calls for a reduction in the total number of Metro Vancouver meetings for which a stipend is paid by at least 50 per cent from 2024 totals.

Metro Vancouver can have more than a dozen meetings in one month. It currently has 16 committees, populated by its 41 board members, which represent 21 municipalities.

Hurley though reduced the amount of committees to 13 on Friday.

West's motion also calls for a "full-scale, external core service review" of the organization to especially look for duplication or overlap with other levels of government. It is set for a future discussion at the board meeting at end of April.

WATCH: Province weighs in on member troubles facing Metro Vancouver:

Municipal affairs minister urges Surrey to work out its issues with Metro Vancouver

2 days ago

Duration 2:14

Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon says Surrey's withdrawal from Metro Vancouver's regional growth strategy won't solve its complaints about cost and transparency.

Since the price tag to build a new waste water treatment on the North Shore ballooned from $700 million to $3.86 billion — with all 21 member municipalities having to absorb the cost — criticism of the regional government has been fierce, mostly from within its own ranks.

Surrey council, which has six board members on Metro Vancouver, voted this week to withdraw from a regional growth strategy that directs the organization's decisions around utilities and the region's agricultural, conservation and recreation and industrial lands.

"The City of Surrey is dedicated to ensuring that our residents have access to the services and resources they rightfully deserve, without facing an unreasonable financial strain," Surrey Coun. Pardeep Kooner said Tuesday in a statement.

Surrey said it's standing up for the interests of its residents because the Metro 2050 strategy "imposes unfair costs and expectations on our community."

WATCH: Beleaguered water-and-waste-treatment provider facing questions over finances:

Touring the site of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Metro Vancouver is showing progress on the five-times over-budget North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant. Originally slated to be finished in 2023, the new deadline for the plant is 2030. As Chad Pawson reports, Metro Vancouver officials are trying to turn the corner on the project’s problematic past.

Chair Hurley, who is the mayor of Burnaby, assumed the role last summer with a promise to review how Metro operates, spends money and does projects.

One is for governance, the second is a services and cost efficiencies review, and the third is an independent review of the North Shore Waste Water Treatment plant (NSWWTP).

On Friday, Hurley also announced that the NSWWTP review would be led by Peter Milburn, who created the Milburn report for the Site C Dam Review and worked on the Kicking Horse Phase 4 Project.

Hurley said he expects meaningful change at Metro Vancouver under his watch.

"I'm not here to be a window dresser," he said Friday.

As for Surrey, Hurley said the regional government wants dialogue.

"Surrey is an important part of our region, and we will be reaching out to them to better understand their concerns," he said in a statement.

Metro Vancouver said over the past 30 years, it has never had a member seek to withdraw from a regional growth strategy.

Surrey did vote to adopt the strategy in February 2023 despite some initial objections, which Metro said were resolved.

The regional government said in addition to speaking with Surrey over its new objections, it would also seek guidance from the province, "which is responsible for the legislation governing regional growth strategies, to better understand how to address the situation."