B.C. government terminates controversial $150K contract with Downtown Eastside consultant

B.C. Premier David Eby announced Tuesday that the provinces $150,000 contract with Michael Bryant has come to an early end.

Citing “debate and discussion” that is “distracting from the important work underway,” the B.C. government says its $150,000, six-month contract with Michael Bryant and his consulting company has come to an end.

The agreement had drawn scrutiny from the Opposition in the legislature and from media across the province.

• Read more: B.C. says it regrets not announcing appointment of DTES consultant earlier

Premier David Eby’s office announced the end of the contract in a brief statement Tuesday afternoon.

The statement was worded in a way that left it unclear whether the government had terminated the agreement. Speaking to reporters in Vancouver later in the afternoon, the premier clarified that the province had, indeed, ended the contract.

The contract was slated to run from February to August, paying Bryant $150,000 and allowing him up to $25,000 in expenses.

Eby said Bryant would not be receiving any severance pay, but would be paid up to his last day of work, which was Sunday. The total amount will be “about $75,000,” the premier said.

Bryant, the former CEO of Legal Aid B.C., was tasked with advising the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction on “how to better co-ordinate ministry supports to best support people to feel safer and live healthier lives.”

Some DTES workers CTV News spoke to last week welcomed Bryant’s appointment, which the government did not publicize when it was made.

Others were unaware of the consultant and learned he had been hired through media reports.

Asked why the province had initially kept the contract hidden, Eby struck a combative tone.

“You’re wrong,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t hidden. Mr. Bryant was quite open in his meetings in the Downtown Eastside. There was definitely an issue in our communication shop not getting that information bulletin out about his appointment, but you’re absolutely wrong. He was operating quite openly.”

The premier claimed that Bryant had held “countless” meetings with stakeholders in the neighbourhood, including residents, nonprofits and government officials.

He also claimed the province had intended to issue an information bulletin when the contract was first signed, but had failed to do so.

This mistake contributed to the untenable position the government found itself in, Eby acknowledged.

“Mr. Bryant became the focus – through no fault of his own – rather than the Downtown Eastside,” the premier said, later adding: “We had to make the decision to terminate the contract.”

Conservative MLA Trevor Halford told CTV News via Zoom Tuesday that the government’s handling of this issue shows “a lack of respect” for B.C. taxpayers and the Downtown Eastside residents Bryant’s work was meant to benefit.

Halford said he was “not surprised” to see Eby forced to cancel the deal.

“The fact of the matter is that the premier decided that he was going to reward his friend with a contract, and he was going to try and hide it,” he said. “And we’re seeing the consequences of that today.”

The Opposition says there are still unanswered questions about why Bryant was hired, what he accomplished and how much money was spent.

Halford said he believes the most important question is why Bryant left Legal Aid B.C. in April 2024. Eby was asked this Tuesday afternoon and said he doesn’t know the details of Bryant’s departure from the Crown corporation.

“For the premier of this province to say he was unaware of why his friend departed, abruptly, Legal Aid B.C., and then he handed him a contract? I’m not buying it. I don’t think the public’s going to buy it either,” Halford said.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Isabella Zavarise