The Metro Vancouver Board of Directors on Friday elected Delta Mayor George Harvie as the new chair of the regional district’s board.
John McEwen, Mayor of the Village of Anmore, was elected as vice-chair.
Harvie replaces chair Sav Dhaliwal, a Burnaby councillor who was seeking a fifth term as Metro chair. Mayor of North Vancouver Linda Buchanan was also vying for the position.
Harvie was Delta’s longtime city manager and was first elected as mayor in 2018, and re-elected to another four-year term this year.
According to the regional district, in the coming weeks, Harvie will determine the standing committees and their membership, which will then consider priorities, policies, and activities for the organization, and make recommendations to the board, which meets once a month.
Metro Vancouver provides core utility services to 21 municipalities, Tsawwassen First Nation, and Electoral Area A, serving more than 2.8 million residents. Services include drinking water, wastewater treatment, solid waste management, air quality regulation, planning for urban growth, managing a regional parks system, and providing affordable housing.
The regional district is governed by a 41-person board of directors made up of elected officials from each member jurisdiction.
The chair and vice-chair oversee the Metro Vancouver Regional District, Greater Vancouver Sewage & Drainage District, Greater Vancouver Water District and Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation boards. They are elected for a one-year term.
It’s the second time that a Delta mayor has served as Metro’s board chair as Lois Jackson had also previously served in that role.
