North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant, transit, seniors’ housing deserve financing clarity
We now have not just one, but two election campaigns under way in West Vancouver, following Sunday’s announcement of an Aug. 31 byelection in North Vancouver–Capilano, a riding that now includes much of Ambleside east of 21st Street.
As I seek the West Vancouver mayoralty in the Oct. 17 municipal election, there are several key issues on which I will be pressing for commitments from the Liberals seeking to retain the federal seat and promises from the Conservatives seeking to take it.
The largest concerns the federal share of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant. Ottawa committed $212.3 million—one-third of the $636.9 million in eligible expenditures within the original project estimate of approximately $700 million.
When the estimate ballooned to $3.86 billion, Liberal MP Jonathan Wilkinson said Metro Vancouver should not expect further federal funding. The overrun, without a corresponding increase in senior-government support, has placed an enormous burden on West Vancouver and other regional ratepayers. The federal contribution now represents only 5.5% of the estimated program cost.
Of course, that was then and this is now. Wilkinson is now ambassador to the EU. The context is a byelection to retain a seat, not a mid-term response.
Increasing Ottawa’s contribution to one-third of the present estimate would require approximately another $1.07 billion. Ottawa’s new $51-billion Build Communities Strong Fund includes support for water and wastewater infrastructure, although a commitment on this scale would require a major-project stream, a federal-provincial agreement or a special allocation—not the fund’s British Columbia Local Impact Stream.
Any new federal contribution should also be conditional on full disclosure and a rigorous, genuinely independent review of the project. Metro Vancouver’s existing review has resumed, but the province should use its own authority under the section 765 of the Local Government Act to ensure accountability—particularly with the $6-billion Iona Island wastewater project looming under Metro Vancouver’s stewardship.
The province should likewise provide considerably more than its existing $193-million contribution. Metro Vancouver ratepayers are now responsible for approximately $3.45 billion, and the North Shore Sewerage Area has been assigned 37% of the project’s $2.8-billion increase.
A second point of interest is transit. The federal government has pledged $1.529 billion over 10 years for TransLink, but there has yet to be a publicly identified allocation for the North Shore, much less West Vancouver. It will be important to learn during the campaign how the funding will be spent, because transit needs exist here, not only in the region’s largest or fastest-growing centres.
Then there is the critical matter of seniors’ housing. West Vancouver has lost hundreds of seniors’ beds even as its older population has grown substantially. It has left the community well behind in what’s needed. The byelection offers an opportunity to seek a commitment for federal financing through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation for nonprofit, more affordable housing options, together with federal infrastructure support.