Global News has learned that Metro Vancouver has hired a law firm, on the taxpayer’s dime, to investigate how information has been getting released to the media.
Forty-one mayors and councillors, who are also directors at Metro Vancouver, are under investigation.
The regional government launched the investigation, which was sparked by a Global News story about management and dysfunction at Metro Vancouver.
What followed was a threat by Metro Vancouver to probe possible whistleblowers and hire a private investigator.
Global News has now learned that an outside law firm has been retained to investigate how Metro Vancouver’s internal struggles were exposed.
Six directors from Surrey City Hall have also sent a letter to Metro Vancouver saying they are not part of any leak, but they are slamming the investigation.
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“We believe (it) has been motivated at least in part by the embarrassment,” the letter reads, adding that it is being done at “significant expense to ratepayers (and) the investigation itself appears to be little more than a fishing expedition.”
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke told Global News that, “I’m absolutely not in favour of them wasting that money on a witch hunt.”
In February, Metro Vancouver’s CAO, Jerry Dobrovolny, refused to say how much taxpayer money might be used in their investigation, but he claimed Global News’ reporting about who is running the organization has been expensive.
Dobrovolny failed to mention his suspension of Chief Financial Officer Harji Varn, a decision that should have come from the board, overstepped his authority, setting in motion a series of costly problems.
Metro Vancouver declined to answer any questions on Wednesday, only saying that it had “no updates to share.”
Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Christine Boyle said the province is keeping an eye on what is happening at Metro Vancouver.
“But it is up to the elected leaders around the board to navigate themselves for now,” she said.
“We, of course, have also been hearing larger concerns about governance at Metro Van and so we are closely watching Metro Van’s governance review committee and expect that the folks around that table take that work seriously and come back with solutions that improve transparency and accountability for residents.”
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