I was recently at a meeting where North Vancouver District Council member Jim Hanson talked about the need for reform of Metro Vancouver governance. He illustrated his comments by comparing wastewater treatment projects in Victoria and North Vancouver.

The initial approved budget for Greater Victoria’s Wastewater Treatment Project, whose main component is the McLoughlin Point plant, was $765 million in 2016. The project was completed in 2020 at a cost reported by CBC to be $775 million.

Metro Vancouver’s timeline for its wastewater treatment plant:

• 2008 — Metro Vancouver purchased the site of the future North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant at 107 Pemberton Avenue, District of North Vancouver.
• 2013 — The estimated project budget was in the order of $700 million.
• 2017 — The program cost was said to be $780 million with construction completion of December 2020.
• 2018 — Acciona started construction of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant.
• 2021 — The estimated program cost was revised to be $1.058 billion, with the revised substantial completion date of 2024.
• 2024 — The project budget was revised to an estimated program cost of $3.86 billion, with the substantial completion date of 2030.

Carol Mason was Chief Administrative Officer at Metro Vancouver from 2012 to 2019, and Jerry Dobrovolny held the role from 2019 to 2026. The regional district has not blamed the financial disaster at the treatment plant for executive changes. Instead, a coverup seems to be underway. In April, Global News learned that Metro Vancouver hired a law firm, on the taxpayer’s dime, to investigate how information has been getting released to the media. Severance arrangements for Dobrovolny remain secret when this item is posted.

It is no surprise that Council member Jim Hanson and his DNV colleagues are concerned. Each North Vancouver property owner will pay an extra $17,700 to cover the costs of the facility.