Calls for federal audit of ballooning North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant costs

Metro Vancouver officials did not respond to inquiries Thursday after seven Lower Mainland city councilors from five cities demanded Canada’s Auditor General conduct an audit disastrous cost overruns at a major Metro Vancouver infrastructure project.

“We’re looking at absolutely every route we can to try to get answers to some serious questions around what happened with the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant given that the federal government has put in $200 million of Canadian taxpayers’ dollars into this project,” New Westminster Councillor Daniel Fontaine told Global News.

The treatment plant is now $3 billion over budget, or about five times its original price tag.

Taxpayers will pay dearly, depending on where they live.

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In response to calls for a federal audit, Canada’s Auditor General’s Office told Global News it is reviewing the request.

The auditor general “follows a rigorous multi-year audit selection process that considers a wide range of inputs and environmental scans and that is flexible enough to allow us to reprioritize planned audits to consider emerging issues,” it added.

At Metro Vancouver’s Finance Committee meeting Wednesday there were questions about a review of the project announced by Metro Vancouver Board Chair George Harvie, who is off the job at the end of the month.

His decision was made without consulting members of the finance committee.

Canada’s Auditor General Office said there was no timeline for making a decision about a possible federal audit.