Metro Vancouver has been in the news frequently, and not for the right reasons. While there are many things the regional district does well from delivering some of the best drinking water in the world to managing our waste, there are things that are in need of change and improvement. The current challenges are not ones that started yesterday. They have developed over many decades. In many instances the current rules and practices were decided a long time ago, and were inherited. While this is a fact, it should not be an excuse. It should not change our responsibility, as current board members, to deal with the here and now. I have thought long and hard about my own role at Metro Vancouver, where I am one of 41 directors, and I have been listening. While I don’t have the voting strength of the larger cities, I know I have a strong voice. I feel like I let people down by not being able to effect change at Metro Vancouver in the same way I’ve been able to bring a certain standard to Port Coquitlam. While there’s been politicians willing to point out everything that is wrong, and some who say they’re just aren’t going to show up, the hard truth is that if we want to make something better, we have to propose a solution. One of my regrets is that I didn’t put forward a big change sooner, but now is better than never. To that end, I put forward the following motion at the Metro Vancouver Board Meeting, which I put a lot of thought into. That the MVRD Board direct staff and/or request the Chair, where applicable, to give effect to the following:   1) propose changes to the remuneration bylaw to: (a) reduce the Metro Vancouver meeting stipend by 50%. (b) eliminate any additional stipend for meetings longer than 4 hours. (c) create a total limit on Director remuneration. (d) eliminate regional median-based automatic adjustments to meeting per diem and Chair/Vice Chair remuneration. (e) eliminate additional meeting stipends payable to Chair/Vice Chair. (f) consider alternatives to meeting stipend model of remuneration and any further changes as desired by the board.   2) reduce the total number of Metro Vancouver committees by a minimum of 50%.   3) reduce the total number of Metro Vancouver meetings for which a stipend is paid by a minimum of 50% from 2024 totals.   4) initiate a full-scale, external core service review of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, the Greater Vancouver Sewerage & Drainage District, the Greater Vancouver Water District and the Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation with a mandate to identify savings, efficiencies and reductions by examining all departments and service areas, staffing levels, use of contracted services and consultants and any other areas as identified by the board, as well as reviewing Metro Vancouver’s role as a regulator, identifying areas of duplicatory or overlapping municipal, regional, provincial and federal regulation and delegated authorities from the provincial and federal governments which may be uploaded back. While much of the media has focused on elected official remuneration, it represents about 0.15% of Metro Vancouver’s budget. That’s why the full scale, top to bottom core service review that examines everything is important. That’s where significant savings can be accomplished. This is not the only change that needs to occur, it’s not the totality of reform needed, it may not be perfect and it’s not the end. But it is a start. It provides a hard reset and meaningfully address a number of areas of concern immediately, while also providing a direction for further changes.

Very pleased to deliver a keynote at ⁦@VIPSSummit⁩. My message: with Chinese police stations operating in our borders, gross interference in our elections, government & more, the question we must answer is do we want to be a serious country? globalnews.ca/news/10889820/…