The District of North Vancouver Must Stand Up for Taxpayers and Support Metro Reform

Metro Vancouver is broken. Its bureaucracy has grown bloated, and its lack of accountability is costing taxpayers dearly. The Metro Vancouver Regional District board, made up of mayors and councillors from the 21 municipal governments, Electoral Area A (UBC/UEL), and the Tsawwassen First Nation, is failing in its responsibility to exercise proper oversight and fiscal restraint.

Residents of the North Shore are now staring down a staggering tax increase — $590 per household, per year, for the next 30 years — largely due to Metro's mismanaged sewage treatment plant project. This crisis demands real reforms.

Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West has stepped up with concrete proposals to begin fixing this mess. He has called for cutting the number of Metro’s governance committees in half — from 16 to eight — slash meeting stipends by 50%, from $547 to $274 per meeting under 4 hours (and from $1,094 to $547 for meetings over four hours), and to cap the total remuneration Metro board and committee members can receive. Perhaps most importantly, he has proposed a full external core service review of Metro Vancouver to root out waste and inefficiency. These are exactly the kinds of steps taxpayers deserve.

These are serious, responsible, and necessary reforms, but they won’t happen without the support of other municipalities — including the District of North Vancouver. District Council must pass a resolution backing Mayor West’s proposals and send a clear message that enough is enough. Taxpayers are being crushed by spiraling costs with little to no accountability from Metro. We need leadership that will fight for reform and stand up for the families and businesses that are footing the bill.  

Already, other leaders are taking action. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has announced that he will boycott Metro meetings, stating bluntly: “Metro Vancouver’s governance is broken. Moving forward, I will not be attending Metro meetings and supporting a system that lacks accountability.” Also, Richmond City Councillor Kash Heed has said he will no longer accept Metro stipends in protest.  

A resolution supporting Mayor West’s proposals would be more than symbolic. It would demonstrate that District Council has the political will to challenge the status quo and demand accountability from an out-of-touch regional bureaucracy. North Vancouver residents need to know their local government has their backs in the face of ballooning costs and bureaucratic waste. The District Council should make it clear: taxpayers come first. 

The time for action is now.