BC Conservative leadership candidate Yuri Fulmer has pledged to launch a full public inquiry into the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant (NSWTP) fiasco, which has seen costs balloon from $700 million to more than $3 billion.
In a press release, Fulmer said British Columbians deserve answers about how a project of this scale has gone so far over budget without any accountability. “North Shore residents are facing a projected tax increase of $590 annually for the next 30 years to help pay for this stunning mess of government incompetence by the Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD).”
He further added that a Fulmer-led government will immediately restart the MVRD audit and call a public inquiry into the scandal within 30 days of taking office.
North Shore taxpayers are responsible for 37 per cent of the nearly $3 billion in cost overruns, with the rest of Metro Vancouver covering 63 per cent, the press release noted. It further stated that annual cost increases for North Shore residents will be phased in over five years.
“The MVRD never should have halted the independent audit of the North Shore Sewage Treatment Plant scandal, but David Eby still provided cover in September by having his Municipal Affairs Ministry reject a North Shore citizen group’s request to hold a public inquiry,” Fulmer said. “Why are the NDP so intent on keeping the truth from the public and shielding the MVRD from accountability for their blatant failures of project management and oversight?”
On top of the ballooning cost of the NSWTP, it remains unclear what taxpayers will owe for environmental cleanup and decommissioning of the old sewage plant, the press release noted.
“In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, when every dollar counts for British Columbians, we simply cannot afford this kind of costly incompetence and lack of accountability. British Columbians deserve so much better,” Fulmer said.
