3 days ago
Swift News
The answer to the $4 billion question is just going to have to wait. Maybe until 2027, after the next municipal election. Maybe forever. Article content On Friday, Metro Vancouver’s board of directors pressed pause on its review into the North Shore sewage plant budget fiasco, saying it was “not in the public interest while Metro Vancouver’s litigation with former contractor Acciona is ongoing.” “After careful consideration, the board has decided the public interest is best served by resolving the legal dispute with the previous contractor before undertaking the review,” said the Metro Vancouver chairman, Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley. The massive sewage project has had the stench of fiscal failure ever since October 2021, when Metro Vancouver cancelled its contract with Acciona Wastewater Solutions to build the plant on the North Shore after learning the $700 million cost had ballooned to over $1 billion. In the years since, the budget has soared to over $3.8 billion and construction work is now continuing with a new contractor. Article content Acciona is suing for $250 million, and Metro Vancouver is counter-suing. Article content Meanwhile, pressure mounted to conduct an audit of the situation. Article content An independent review team was set up in February, led by former B.C. deputy finance minister Peter Milburn, who previously reviewed costs of the Site C Dam, Kicking Horse Canyon Phase 4 Project and the Vancouver school board in 2016. The legal battle between Acciona and Metro Vancouver is scheduled for trial in March 2027. Once that is complete, Metro Vancouver said in a news release, they would consider restarting the review. New West Coun. Daniel Fontaine called the decision “extremely disappointing,” and cited it as another reason for the current structure of the regions’ board of directors — consisting of selected members of municipal councils — to be re-examined. Article content “If they’re trying to build up trust with the public, if they’re trying to help provide more kind of openness and transparency at Metro Vancouver, today’s decision was a massive step backwards, in my opinion,” he said. “The fact that they’re making a claim that it’s not in the public’s interest … to know where literally billions of taxpayers dollars have gone, is not only not reading the room, it’s completely tone deaf.
