Metro Vancouver’s ‘damning’ Deloitte report prompts differing opinions

A report has found the Metro Vancouver board to be “unwieldy” and in need of an overhaul.

From a wastewater treatment plant’s budget ballooning by $3.5-billion, to questions over director compensation, Metro Vancouver’s board has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Now Deloitte has presented its governance review looking into the regional body – which describes the board as “large and unwieldy” and includes 49 recommendations.

“Today’s another step to continue that work to ensure we’re getting Metro Vancouver to a place where the public can have total trust in the work that we’re doing,” said Metro Vancouver chair and Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley on Friday.

While the report isn’t always flattering – and the amount of recommendations would suggest significant changes are required – the consultant who wrote the report disagrees with the characterization of his analysis as “damning” as suggested in some media reports this week.

“I don’t think it’s damning,” said Shayne Gregg with Deloitte Canada.

“I mean, we’ve done a lot of governance reviews that I would say are a lot more damning than that one. But, in terms of the opportunity there, I think that’s where I’m focused.”

Among the recommendations is an end to double pay for meetings that go beyond four hours, and meeting fees while travelling on Metro business.

There’s also a suggestion that the board have an unelected governance expert fill the chair role rather than an elected official.

That particular suggestion isn’t sitting well with a number of mayors.

“I think it would be a very difficult role for an unelected chair,” said Hurley. “Just because of the politics around it all, and how political it all is.”

That was echoed by Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart, who pointed out Metro Vancouver is a taxpayer funded organization.

“I read it completely and then skimmed through it again, and couldn’t find the justification for the idea that the person that chairs the meeting has to be someone that isn’t elected,” Stewart told CTV News on Friday.

Gregg believes bringing in an unelected chair and unelected directors could add expertise and continuity – pointing out the challenges of local election cycles which can bring significant turnover every four years.

While many on the board welcomed the non-confrontational tone of the Deloitte presentation – and expressing their frustration with critical media coverage – some mayors feel the report wasn’t direct enough in outlining the scale of the change needed.

“We had very little time to review this, and I think that is unfortunate,” Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke told CTV News on Friday, noting board members only received the report late on Wednesday.

“But for me, I did not see some of those big systemic changes I was hoping for.”

The review was done in the wake of a regional property tax hike to pay for cost overruns at the North Shore Wastewater treatment plant.

A governance committee will now look to implement some of the recommendations, including the ending of double pay and meeting fees.