Zero Waste? Not When It Comes To Metro Vancouver Politicians

According to documents obtained by the CTF through a Freedom of Information request, the five regional politicians were paid a total of $2,076 in meeting fees for the conference, despite the fact that 20 non-elected speakers – including the keynote – volunteered their time and waived their usual honorariums for the conference. The five regional politicians are:

• Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie collected $692 from Metro Vancouver for being at the conference for 7.5 hours. In 2011, Brodie was paid $130,025 in salary by Richmond and Metro taxpayers.
• Delta Mayor Lois Jackson collected $346 from Metro Vancouver for being at the conference for 1.5 hours. In 2011, Jackson was paid $169,919 in salary by Delta and Metro taxpayers.
• Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan collected $346 from Metro Vancouver for being at the conference for 3 hours. In 2011, Corrigan was paid $141,291 in salary by Burnaby and Metro taxpayers.
• Surrey Councillor Marvin Hunt collected $346 from Metro Vancouver for being at the conference for 3 hours. In 2011, Hunt was paid $78,708 in salary by Surrey and Metro taxpayers.
• Vancouver Councillor Andrea Reimer collected $346 from Metro Vancouver for being at the conference for 3 hours. In 2011, Reimer was paid $75,874 in salary by Vancouver and Metro taxpayers.

“While the experts worked for free, our local politicians cashed in at anywhere from $92 to $230 per hour,” said Jordan Bateman, CTF B.C. Director. “This is completely hypocritical and out of respect to taxpayers and those speakers who volunteered their time, these five politicians should pay that money back.” The one-day Zero Waste Challenge conference cost Metro Vancouver taxpayers $73,588.71, including $25,561 in catering, $19,995 in audio-visual equipment and labour and $18,793 to rent the Vancouver Convention Centre. According to a Metro Vancouver staff report, the free conference attracted 600 people, meaning a per-head cost to taxpayers of $122.65. These totals do not include an extra $25,727.61 in invoices for a related TV program that aired afterward. Add that and the overall cost jumps to $99,316.32. “If only the Zero Waste in the title of this conference referred to our tax dollars,” said Bateman. “Unfortunately, our trash seems to get more care and attention than our money.” You can download the invoices obtained by the CTF here. Jordan Bateman,, CTF-B.C.