Theresa McManus, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

New Westminster mayor-elect Daniel Fontaine is planning to shake things up at Metro Vancouver.

Earlier this year, Fontaine and Richmond mayoral candidate Kash Heed invited mayoral candidates in the region to sign their Metro Vancouver Accountability Charter, which they proposed using to guide reform of the regional planning authority. Heed was not elected, but three of the 12 mayoral candidates who signed the accountability challenge — Fontaine in New Westminster, Kirk LaPointe in West Vancouver and Chris Shields in White Rock — were elected in the Oct. 17 civic election.

Fontaine said he’s thrilled there will be two other people at the Metro Vancouver board who can second his motions. He said there will be a “wholesale change” because many of the mayors and councillors who had served on the board were not reelected.

“I have been saying this for three years: if you want new faces at the table, then you have to have new faces at the council. They sent new faces across the region,” he told Freshet News. “I think it would be smart of them politically, the people who are coming in, not to forget the fact they are there because, in part, the public wanted a fresh approach to Metro Vancouver.”

Fontaine said he will bring forward a motion about the accountability charter.

The document recommends:

mayors only receive their municipal salary, with no additional stipends for regional board participation
a full, independent review of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant project
governance changes, including the creation of a smaller, directly elected Mayors Council that would oversee Metro Vancouver, TransLink and E-Comm 911
the establishment of an Auditor General for Local Government, with a mandate to oversee Metro Vancouver and its member municipalities
a core services review of programs to identify cost savings and focus on essential priorities

CORNELIA NAYLOR/FRESHET NEWS Burnaby Mayor elect Mike Hurley, surrounded by his family, addresses supporters on election night Saturday.

Some municipal politicians who had served on the Metro Vancouver board of directors were re-elected, including Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley, who has been the board chair.

On election night, Freshet News asked Hurley if he was keeping an eye on other mayoral races in the region and what those results could mean for the regional district.

“I really don’t think it means anything for Metro Vancouver. Metro Vancouver will stand on its own. It’s a great organization that does important work,” he said. “I know there’s a lot of rhetoric that’s been talked out there, but at the end of the day, no municipality can be successful without Metro Vancouver being successful. So hopefully now that the election’s over, we’ll step back and say, ‘OK, let’s get this thing on the rails and make it work even better for residents.’”

The ​​board consists of 41 directors representing 21 municipalities, one electoral area and one treaty First Nation. Along with Hurley, other municipal politicians who served on the board and were re-elected include mayor-elect Craig Hodge and Coun. Teri Towner (Coquitlam); Mayor Brad West (Port Coquitlam); and Mayor Jamie Ross (Belcarra).

From the time he was elected a councillor in New Westminster in 2022, Fontaine has been highly critical of Metro Vancouver’s governance model, payment to municipal politicians and cost overruns at the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Fontaine, who plans to serve as the City of New Westminster’s representative to the board of directors, said he plans to be a “huge champion” for core services at Metro Vancouver. (In a previous interview with Freshet News, Fontaine said he doesn’t support Metro Vancouver being involved in regional parks, housing or Invest Vancouver initiatives.)

“I think what they should expect is someone who values proper process, someone who values good governance, someone who values thorough debate, proper information being brought to the table — the good, the bad, the ugly, so that when we are making decisions we are doing on in an informed way,” he said.

Remuneration to municipal politicians serving on Metro Vancouver board and committees has made news headlines in recent years. The accountability charter recommends mayors not receive additional remuneration for serving at Metro Vancouver; councillors would still be compensated for the extra work required.

Fontaine said this would require an amendment to the remuneration bylaw, which will be among the first motions he introduces at Metro Vancouver.

“It needs support of at least the majority of the directors there to eliminate that,” he said. “If it doesn’t get eliminated, we are going to have to move on to Plan B. Because I still want to sit at Metro Vancouver’s table, but I don’t want to accept the compensation.”

Plan B will involve working with Metro Vancouver staff on finding a way that directors can opt out of accepting compensation if the board does not support amending the remuneration bylaw, Fontaine said.

LISA KING/ FRESHET NEWS
Daniel Fontaine is greeted by supporters at the Inn at the Quay on Oct. 17 after winning the New Westminster mayoral race.

With files by Cornelia Naylor/Freshet News