Fallout continues, following Delta council uprising against mayor

Delta, B.C., Mayor and Metro Vancouver board chair George Harvie says he won't travel to Amsterdam, where he was to learn about urban drainage and flooding mitigation approaches meant to benefit the region, because of recent attention over his role on Delta council and travel expenses.

The trip, set for mid-June, was to come in the final weeks as his role as chair of the regional government. Metro Vancouver includes 21 municipalities and governs things like water, waste and emergency management.

"I have come to the difficult decision to forego this learning opportunity. I do not wish to be a distraction to the ongoing work at Metro Vancouver," he said in a statement Tuesday.

The controversy around Harvie and his travel as Metro Vancouver chair illustrates an ongoing fracture between the mayor and the six members of Delta city council.

In 2022, Harvey ran for a second term as mayor under a political slate called Achieving for Delta. He got 75 per cent of the vote and his entire slate was also elected.

'Ensure proper governance'

But discord among the group became public in early May, when his council passed seven motions aimed at limiting his influence.

It also removed him as a Delta director to Metro Vancouver, which ultimately means an end to his role as the Metro Vancouver board chair on July 1.

"Over the past months, it has become increasingly apparent that these changes were needed to uphold the interests of Delta taxpayers and ensure proper governance," said Couns. Rod Binder, Daniel Boisvert, Jennifer Johal, and Dylan Kruger in a statement May 6.

Kruger said he was not available to speak to CBC News Wednesday, following Harvie's announcement about cancelling the Amsterdam trip.

Delta's former multi-term mayor, Lois Jackson, told CBC News that she suspected Harvie, who she hired away from Burnaby to be the city's chief administrative officer, was not listening to his councillors and they were sick of it.

"It think it was the biggest swipe they could take at him," she said about ousting him as Metro chair, although he will remain on Metro Vancouver's mayors committee.

"Is it political? Probably. But is it real? You bet," said Jackson.

Harvie's travel costs surpass $32K

New Westminster Coun. Daniel Fontaine said the upcoming trip to the Netherlands that had been planned by Harvie was another example of unnecessary public spending.

He's critical of regional politicians taking tax-payer-funded trips when they are grappling with major cost overruns with a project like the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The project could result in households within the North Shore sewerage area being on the hook for hundreds of dollars in additional fees each year for decades.

"Our local and regional taxpayers expect better, and so they should," said Fontaine in a statement.

Documents provided by Metro Vancouver show $21,213 in airfare for Harvie to attend a February Canada-in-Asia conference in Singapore.

The airfare for the Netherlands trip was to cost $5,307. So far this year, Harvie's expenses, including the cancelled trip, are $32,852.

In 2023, $17,337 was spent to fly him to a Brisbane conference.

Meanwhile in 2023. the expenses for Metro Vancouver chief administrative officer Jerry Dobrovolny were $37,141, with more than half for travel, training and conferences.

Just Metro business

The regional government defends the spending.

In a statement, a spokesperson said, "Attending out-of-region conferences and study tours is part of Metro Vancouver's Leadership and Engagement program, which was first endorsed by the Metro Vancouver board in 2010. 

"All travel aligns with the Board Strategic Plan, and is within the annual budget."

Remuneration bylaws allow board and committee members taking air travel longer than nine hours to travel business or executive class. Metro Vancouver does not pay for spouses to travel with board and committee members.

Harvie, who has declined interviews on the matter, said in statements that any furor about his work in Delta and at Metro Vancouver is all politics.

"It was certainly not for lack of representing Delta's interests at Metro or fulfilling my duties as the Mayor or Delta," he said in an email to CBC News on May 8, following his council's uprising.

"It is definitely apparent they have already started the 2026 civic election in Delta."

Former Delta staffer files civil suit

There are other signs of discord in Delta and on council.

In late March, Paramjit Singh Grewal, the general manager of economic development and stakeholder relations in the mayor's office was dismissed.

He has since brought a civil suit seeking damages and alleging defamation in the firing, which court documents claim was done, "without cause and without notice."

The City of Delta and Coun. Dylan Kruger are named as defendants in the suit. Both have filed responses claiming no wrongdoing. None of the claims have been proven in court.

Harvie, in his email from May 8, made reference to the suit and specifically mentioned Kruger.

"I am very disappointed that Council is involved in this legal matter," he went on to write. "I do hope more public information on this matter will be an outcome of the Court process."