Surrey city council has unanimously passed a motion requesting a public inquiry into governance at the Metro Vancouver Regional District and its related entities, calling them “unfairly oppressive” and “prejudicial.” 

The motion was introduced by Mayor Brenda Locke after Surrey council approved the city’s 2026 budget, including the 2.6 per cent tax increase levied by Metro Vancouver for all rate-payers in the region.  

Locke told Monday’s council meeting that Surrey was adopting the budget only because the city is legally required to do so.

“This should not be mistaken for support for Metro Vancouver,” she said.  

Surrey is one of 21 municipalities, one First Nation and one electoral district under the Metro Vancouver umbrella. 

The regional district is responsible for utility services like water, wastewater treatment and solid waste management.

Metro Vancouver has been mired in controversy since it was revealed the cost of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant had ballooned to more than five times the original estimate — from $700 million to $3.86 billion.

Largely because of the North Shore project and upgrades to the Iona sewage treatment plant, per-household taxes levied by Metro Vancouver increased by 25.3 per cent last year, following a 7.3 per cent increase in 2024.

Surrey’s motion says Metro Vancouver, the Greater Vancouver Water District and Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District disregard the interests of Surrey and other member municipalities.

The motion cites concerns over financial stewardship, fairness, withholding of records, wastefulness and possible breaches of legal and contractual obligations.

WATCH | Tour of under-construction North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant:

Touring the site of the North Shore wastewater treatment plant

Metro Vancouver is showing progress on the five-times over-budget North Shore wastewater treatment plant. Originally slated to be finished in 2023, the new deadline for the plant is 2030. As Chad Pawson reports, Metro Vancouver officials are trying to turn the corner on the project’s problematic past.

Surrey Coun. Pardeep Kooner, who represents the city on the Metro Vancouver board, said Metro Vancouver is guilty of “scope creep” and presenting board members with “inflated budget numbers” in cases of significant budgetary decisions. 

“Here is the elephant in the room that Metro Vancouver is refusing to acknowledge,” said Kooner.

“Metro Vancouver needs the City of Surrey. There is no other municipality within this region that has anywhere near the same industrial and commercial land mass, as exists in Surrey, to drive the economic engine of the region and the province.”

In an emailed statement, Metro Vancouver spokesperson Jillian Glover said Locke is aware of a Deloitte Canada independent review of Metro Vancouver governance that was released last year. 

“We have already completed 22 of 47 recommendations from that independent review. The [province] has a representative on Metro Vancouver’s [governance committee] and is working with Metro Vancouver on implementing recommendations from the review,” she wrote.

“Metro Vancouver remains committed to fiscal responsibility and to strengthening governance to ensure this critical organization will be able to best serve the residents of this region well into the future.”

Last month, North Vancouver mayors asked the province to conduct an inquiry and a review of Metro Vancouver governance.

CBC News has reached out to the Inspector of Municipalities for comment on the Surrey city council motion.