New Westminster city councillor Daniel Fontaine said the extra costs incurred by incorporating personal travel into Metro Vancouver business trips should be accounted for and reimbursed.
According to receipts obtained by Glacier Media, Metro Vancouver taxpayers paid thousands of dollars to have a chaperone accompany council president George Harvie on his travel itinerary last October.
Mr Harvey's travel expenses to an Australian city planning conference had previously been questioned, with business class airfares nearly double those of his colleagues and expensive hotel prices.
Asked last month about the cost of board trips – which have more than doubled in 2023 compared with 2019 – Mr Harvey said the cost to Australia did not include a second person.
But ticket receipts show that Harvey paid $8,920.96 for one one-way ticket from Vancouver to Brisbane on Oct. 7, and $18,218.20 for two one-way tickets from Sydney to Vancouver on Oct. 18, for a total of $27,139.16. Harvey's only expenses were the cost of two one-way tickets to and from Australia, totaling $17,336.50.
While Harvey did not explicitly expense the expenses of his traveling companions, they booked what are known as open-jaw tickets to separate destinations, resulting in the Delta mayor incurring additional expenses to attend the 2023 Asia-Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors Forum, held from Oct. 11-13.
The receipt obtained through a Freedom of Information request redacted the names of those traveling with Harvey, so it is unclear who traveled with him on the return trip. A photo posted by Harvey's wife to Instagram on October 10, 2023 shows her holding a koala. Glacier Media and Delta Optimist reached out to Harvey for comment but had not heard back at press time.
In comparison, Anmore Mayor John McEwan's flight cost $9,166.12 and Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West's flight cost $10,165.25.
Metro Vancouver spokesperson Jillian Glover said McEwan booked on May 31, West booked on June 19 and Harvey booked on July 27. She told Glacier Media the price fluctuations were due to the timing of the bookings and the fact that Harvey's trip consisted of two one-way tickets.
Glacier Media also obtained receipts for Harvey's accommodation in Brisbane. Publicly available expense records show that he spent $2,885.14 on accommodation for the “2023 Asia Pacific City Summit & Mayors Forum – Brisbane, Australia – October 11-13, 2023.”
According to the conference website, the conference took place over three days.
Harvey's receipts show six nights' accommodation at the Brisbane Convention Centre Hotel costing about $450 a night.
West's stay was just over $2,100, while McEwan's was about $1,400. McEwan's stay was listed as “October 7-18, 2023,” but West's stay was not specified.
Harvey makes $105,000 as Metro Vancouver board chair and $175,264 as Delta's mayor.
Another question that arises from the expense receipts is how executives book travel using their personal rewards accounts. For example, Harvey used his Aeroplan account to book flights and earned 1.5 points per mile because he booked business class. Points earned from credit card usage are also unclear.
Metro Vancouver does not have a travel policy regarding travel points, Glover said.
The council spent $98,170 on air travel in 2023. If Metro Vancouver handled its own air travel payments for council members, they could accumulate their own points, potentially saving them thousands of dollars on future air travel.
Glover also provided guidance to Glacier Media on Metro Vancouver's board expenses policy.
The policy states that international flights can be booked in business class and expenses will be approved by the chairman.
The policy has six general provisions, including: “Travelers are expected to minimize expenses, including lodging, and travel time, to the extent possible based on the specific circumstances of the trip.”
The policy also states that “the lowest fare applicable or appropriate for a particular itinerary will be pursued and reservations will be made as early as possible.”
New Westminster city councillor Daniel Fontaine said it seemed like Harvey hadn't followed the “spirit” of the policy.
“Given the extra expenses incurred for my family's trip, it is my opinion that I should have personally paid for the expenses above and beyond what the rest of the delegation was paying,” Fontaine told Glacier Media.
Fontaine is suggesting Metro Vancouver “tighten up” restrictions on travel.
At least three Metro Vancouver board members are attending an international conference on wastewater in the Netherlands this week. Expense reports show that West, McEwan and Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie all booked flights for more than $5,000 each. That's far more than the $21,212.56 Harvey paid for flights when he stayed at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore last February to attend the Canada in Asia conference.
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