Pricey travel raises new questions at Metro Vancouver agency – BC [Video]

There are renewed calls for the Metro Vancouver Regional District’s Invest Vancouver division to be shuttered.

It comes following the results of a freedom of information request.

The FOI shows that in 2023 Invest Vancouver staff went on 17 trips.

Among the destinations were Paris, London, Vienna, Lisbon, Barcelona, Frankfurt and Brisbane.

Expenses included $5,550 for a five-night hotel stay, laundry charges of $587.66, French language training cost $1,250 and a Metro Vancouver networking event was $1,102.84.

New Westminster City Councillor Daniel Fontaine made the FOI request.

“I think it’s time for Metro Vancouver to shut this down along with a number of other initiatives that are costing regional taxpayers an arm and a leg,” he told Global News.

“When you look at the list of expenses I received it’s absolutely shocking to see some of the expenses.”