Metro Vancouver board makes changes after damning governance report

Following a report by Deloitte, which deemed the Metro Vancouver Regional District’s governance structure “large and unwieldy,” some money-saving decisions were made at Friday’s board meeting.

The board says it will eliminate meeting fees while travelling on Metro Vancouver business and eliminate double stipends for meetings exceeding four hours.

“I think it was important to deal with that today,” Metro Vancouver Chair Mike Hurley said. “Could I put a number on what that savings will be? In my experience, it wouldn’t be very much.”

Metro Vancouver says it will also create a governance committee and strengthen the organization’s internal audit function.

“I still do think there’s need for major systemic changes, and I think you pointed to many of those, and hopefully that will be part of the overall governance review as we move forward,” Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said.

After the board meeting, Deloitte report author Shayne Gregg told reporters his company had “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,” he added. “The processes are generally in place now and working well.”

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During the meeting, new questions were raised by the finance committee chair, who is a chartered professional accountant.

“The problem is, I’m not able to do my job here with knowing that there is information that is lacking and not transparent,” Pardeep Kooner, a Surrey Councillor, said. “I’m just trying to figure out where the accountability lies.”

Chair Mike Hurley later responded, saying, “Director Kooner is more worried about her professional designation and how she would do things, and those questions are all very valid and will be answered; however, I’m not concerned at all about how Metro Vancouver handles finances.”

Metro Vancouver’s governance review was announced earlier this year, following spending revelations and news the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant is an $3 billion overbudget.

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