Substation cancellation nullifies any conflict
The abrupt decision last week by B.C. Hydro to turf its underground substation proposal killed a project that may have been a great deal for this city.
But it also put a halt to a process that was flawed from the start and could have become a political flashpoint just weeks before the provincial election.
In exchange for underground leases for substations underneath a Yaletown park and a West End school, the city would have received a pair of new schools, refurbished parks and an undisclosed amount of cash.
Hydro called off the project Thursday, stating that the city wanted too much money and too much time to consult.
The public utility’s idea was announced in mid-January. That was followed by a few open houses, roundtable talks, and meetings with parent advisory councils scattered across five weeks.
The consultation process was meagre and a far cry from what residents in this city have come to demand for even the smallest of projects. And this was no small proposal. It had parents raising safety concerns, and it would have displaced students and teachers and temporarily closed a pair of parks.
Behind the scenes, councillors and city manager Sadhu Johnston — who saw the project as innovative and one worth exploring — were angling for more time, but Hydro was firm on needing legal agreements by March 31, staff say.
Consequently, seven park board commissioners were to vote on the idea March 27, and on March 28 the school board would vote on the idea.
But that latter vote raised a major concern: The sole person casting it would be trustee Dianne Turner, who replaced Vancouver’s elected board last fall. Turner occupies her position at the pleasure of Mike Bernier, the provincial education minister, who had fired the previous board.
In effect, then, a provincially appointed trustee was preparing to vote on whether to green light a project desired by a provincial Crown corporation that intended to pay its lease by building two new schools — and thereby ticking off a task that is a provincial responsibility.
The optics of that win-win-win arrangement for the province was put to Turner in an interview the day before Hydro called off the project. When asked whether she believed she was in a conflict of interest — real or perceived — Turner said she was not.
“As the official trustee, I have all the authority required under the law, under the School Act, to make these decisions and I am going to make the decisions I do make in the best interest of our students, our parents and our staff on behalf of this district.”
When asked if she had sought a legal opinion as to whether she was in a conflict of interest, real or perceived, she said she had. Turner said she was told “that we’re in good place because I am the official trustee under law.”
Hydro’s decision to cancel the project means that opinion won’t need to face scrutiny.
For what it’s worth, Turner believed she had heard enough to make a good decision.
“We’ve had a lot of meetings, we’ve been able to engage the staff, the parents, the stakeholders to get their views. It has been a tight timeline, I agree. However, we’ve put a lot of effort into making sure that we’ve had these series of meetings and feedback sessions and (have included) a lot of people in that process.”
Asked about the disagreement over compensation for the 99-year subsurface leases, Johnston said that Hydro made an offer and the city countered. He had thought the sides could eventually come to an agreement, but councillors decided (in a private meeting) that could not be done by Hydro’s deadline.