BC Premier calls for audit of sewage plant after NDP fired the auditor

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VICTORIA — Premier David Eby called recently for Metro Vancouver to commission an independent audit of the $3 billion overrun on its troubled North Shore wastewater treatment plant.

“I think the time has really come for Metro Vancouver to hire an auditor independent of them to dig into this and provide a report to everybody,” Eby told reporters last month.

The project was budgeted at $700 million at the start of construction in 2018. Lately, it is projected to cost at least $3.86 billion, if what Metro describes as a “realistic total estimate” holds until the revised completion date of 2030.

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The provincial and federal governments have capped their contributions to the project at $200 million apiece, based on the initial costing. Both face political pressure to top up their amounts to help cover the overrun.

Neither has done so. Both have called on Metro Vancouver to explain why the project spiralled out of control. The regional district, locked in a legal battle with the original, fired contractor on the project, has so far failed to do so.

There have also been calls for the provincial auditor general to follow the money on the provincial share.

“Certainly, the auditor general can go and definitely follow provincial dollars,” Eby acknowledged last month. “But to ensure a full-scale review, it is high time for Metro Vancouver to bring in an auditor to have a look at that.”

Eby’s call for an independent audit is not without irony.

B.C. had an independent auditor general for local government, until Eby and his NDP colleagues abolished the office four years ago.

The New Democrats resented the fact of its creation by the previous government of B.C. Liberal Premier Christy Clark. Plus, they thought abolition would win points with local mayors, councillors and administrators who resented the provincial intrusion into their territory.

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The office was in the midst of conducting its first audit of a major infrastructure project — a wildly overbudget $105 million bridge across Victoria harbour — when the New Democrats shut down the office, cut off funding and effectively terminated the audit.

For irony watchers, the audit had been commissioned at the behest of then Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps. Lately she has been serving as a housing adviser to Premier David Eby.

When abolishing the auditor general for local government and its $2.6 million annual budget, the New Democrats spoke of working with local governments to “create something that will deliver more, better.”

No such agency ever materialized.

But as New Westminster Councillor Daniel Fontaine noted in an opinion piece published in The Vancouver Sun on Thursday, an auditor for municipalities and regional districts is needed now more than ever.

“Since the closure of the AGLG, citizens have been left with no option to request an audit of a municipal expenditure that they feel deserves a heightened level of public scrutiny,” wrote Fontaine.
“While I’m pleased the premier has demonstrated an interest in some fiscal accountability regarding municipal infrastructure projects, he simply hasn’t gone far enough.

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“He should announce his government will reopen the AGLG office after the provincial election. Alternatively, he could commit to amending the B.C. Auditor General Act and increase its scope to include municipal expenditures.”

The New West councillor suggested Eby should take a tougher line with Metro Vancouver, given its half-hearted promise of a review into what went wrong with the waste treatment plant instead of a full-blown, independent audit.

“Taxpayers deserve answers,” wrote Fontaine. “It’s clear Metro Vancouver isn’t prepared to do that, so it’s high time the province stepped in.”

When the news of the overrun surfaced earlier this year, Eby expressed confidence that Metro Vancouver would provide senior governments with a full accounting.

Now, in the face of a burgeoning controversy over Metro’s spending on the plant and other matters, Eby doesn’t sound so sure.

“For Metro Vancouver, I think it’ll be very helpful for us to have an independent eye on what’s driven the cost overruns on that particular project, to know what additional steps are required to ensure accountability at Metro Vancouver,” said the premier.

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“If the elected officials at Metro Vancouver can’t ensure taxpayer accountability for the expenses that are being incurred there, obviously the province will have to step in. But I do have confidence that those elected officials should be able to address these issues and ensure accountability for themselves and to Metro voters.”

Eby hasn’t hesitated to intervene with local government on housing, overriding its powers on zoning, density, and public hearings.

If he is also prepared to “step in” on the sewage treatment plant, it would be of more than hypothetical interest to two New Democrats in particular.

Cabinet minister Bowinn Ma and government backbencher Susie Chant are running for re-election in two NDP-held ridings in North Vancouver.

North Shore residents face an annual increase of $600 on their property taxes for the next 30 years to cover the overrun on the sewage treatment plant.

They would doubtless welcome a provincially ordered investigation into that budget-busting fiasco, whether or not it would also lead to relief on their taxes.

vpalmer@postmedia.com

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