The North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant just produced a $235-million settlement. That sounds large until you put it beside the real number: the project now sits at an estimated $3.86 billion.

CityNews reported May 13 that Metro Vancouver and Acciona reached a settlement in the legal fight over the troubled project, with Acciona providing a $235-million payment. The same report said the plant was originally forecast at about $700 million and is now estimated at $3.86 billion.

That is not a rounding error. It is a public-cost explosion of more than five times the original estimate, tied to a basic piece of regional infrastructure that households cannot opt out of paying for.

The settlement is not accountability

Acciona has denied wrongdoing. CityNews reported the company “vigorously refuted” Metro Vancouver’s allegations. So this is not a claim that a court has found misconduct. It is a much simpler point: taxpayers are left with an enormous bill, and a private settlement does not replace a full public explanation.

North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan said exactly that in her May 14 statement. She welcomed the settlement as a step forward but said it “does not resolve” the core concerns about accountability and fairness for North Shore residents.

Those concerns are not new. The City of North Vancouver says North Shore mayors took their concerns to Premier David Eby in March 2026 and asked for a public inquiry, an arm’s-length review of Metro Vancouver governance, and a fair cost-sharing mechanism. In other words, local leaders have already put this file directly in front of Victoria.

What is sourced

  • Metro Vancouver and Acciona reached a $235-million settlement over the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant dispute.
  • Public reporting says the project moved from an original estimate of about $700 million to $3.86 billion.
  • The City of North Vancouver says the project was first announced in 2011 and was meant to replace Lions Gate by 2020.
  • North Shore mayors asked Premier David Eby in March 2026 for a public inquiry, governance review and fair cost-sharing.

Victoria cannot shrug

Metro Vancouver owns the project. That matters. This should not be lazily described as a project run solely by the provincial NDP.

But provincial leadership still matters when a regional utility project becomes a multibillion-dollar public finance disaster. The province sets the municipal framework, has the power to review governance, and was formally asked to intervene by the mayors whose residents face the sharpest pain.

If a $235-million settlement is treated as the end of the story, the public loses twice: first through the overrun, then through the lack of answers. British Columbians deserve to know what failed, who knew, when warnings were ignored, and how similar megaproject failures will be prevented.

The bottom line: a settlement is money back. Accountability is proof that the system learned something. On the North Shore wastewater plant, B.C. taxpayers still have the bill — and still need the inquiry.