North Shore wastewater project could cost taxpayers across region [Video]

Taxpayers across Metro Vancouver could be footing part of the ballooning bill for a costly wastewater project in North Vancouver.

At a Wednesday budget workshop, Metro Vancouver board members discussed The North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant – a $3.86 billion dollar project – and whether its cost should be shared by taxpayers who don’t live on the North Shore.

The plant was initially scheduled for completion by December 2020 at a cost of $500 million. Metro Vancouver fired the original contractor, Acciona Wastewater Solutions, in October 2021, at which point the project’s estimated cost had increased to more than $1 billion. 

If the taxpayer burden of the project is only borne by people who live on the North Shore, it would cost households an average of an extra $725 annually for the next 30 years. 

At Wednesday’s meeting, District of North Vancouver Mayor Mike Little, said he doesn’t believe his part of the region should bear the …