North Shore residents to bear brunt of cost overruns for wastewater treatment plant
Homeowners across Metro Vancouver will be on the hook for massive cost overruns on a new North Shore wastewater treatment plant, but the burden will not be shared equally across the region.
At a contentious Metro Vancouver board meeting, most mayors and councillors chose to shield their own constituents and stick North Shore residents with hefty annual bills.
"I can't express more seriously how disappointed I am with a number of our colleagues,” West Vancouver Mayor Mike Sager said after the vote.
Originally scheduled to open in 2020 at a cost of $500 million, the price tag for the plant has ballooned to $3.86 billion – and it won't be operational until at least 2030.
Faced with several options that would have seen the cost divided more evenly across the region, time and again councillors rejected them.
It took seven votes to settle on an option that will see North Shore households billed $590 per year for the next 30 years.
Households elsewhere will pay $80 to $150 per year, depending on where in the region they are located.
"We are disappointed but we'll move forward and reflect and then determine next steps of how we can relieve the North Shore taxpayers of this impact,” said North Vancouver District Coun. Lisa Muri.
The vote had some calling for changes to the way major infrastructure projects are paid for.
"I think it speaks to our structure and we need to seriously look at how we're going to do things differently moving forward,” City of North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan said.
The North Shore municipalities may look to higher levels of government to offset some of the costs but for now it is homeowners who will get the bill.
"We have plenty of people on fixed incomes, people who simply will not be able to afford the costs that flow from this mistake,” Sager said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6930794.1718830568!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Calls for change to B.C.'s child protection system after disturbing case of neglect
Is B.C.'s child protection system outdated and in need of a major overhaul? The province's representative for children and youth believes so, and that 'a new model' is needed.
Ont. mother loses $6K during Facebook marketplace transaction
An Ontario woman is sharing her story after she lost $6,000 by clicking a fraudulent link disguised to look like an e-transfer during a Facebook Marketplace transaction.
Rapper Travis Scott arrested for disorderly intoxication, trespassing early Thursday
American rapper Travis Scott, whose legal name is Jacques Bermon Webster, was arrested and booked into Miami-Dade County Jail early Thursday morning, county jail records show.
Train collision in Chile kills at least 2 people and injures 9 others
At least two people were killed and nine others injured Thursday when a train full of passengers collided head-on with another train on a test run just outside the capital of Chile, where fatal railway crashes remain rare.
Senators approve bill to fight foreign interference after voting down amendment
The Senate has passed a government bill intended to help deter, investigate and punish foreign interference.
Gunman in Toronto shooting was not evil, but 'broken' by fraud dispute: wife
The wife of the gunman in Monday's double murder-suicide in North York says she doesn't consider her husband an evil person, but one who was 'broken' by a lengthy fraud dispute that saw their family savings drained.
Heat warnings blanket the east and in Northwest Territories; humidex temperatures push the mid-40s
Heat warnings blanket Canada's eastern corridor Thursday as the year's first major heat wave drags on, and even parts of Northwest Territories are feeling the burn.
Why olive oil is so expensive right now, and the impact it's having on restaurants
Canadian restaurants that rely on what is being called 'liquid gold' as the backbone of their menu are being forced to eat a massive extra cost during a worldwide olive oil shortage.
Can a marriage survive a gender transition? Yes, and even thrive. How these couples make it work
A partner's gender transition does not necessarily mean a death sentence for a marriage. Data is scant, but couples and therapists say that in many cases, a relationship grows and flourishes under the light of new honesty.