Metro Vancouver-REAC Conference Day

Keynote presentation: Whole Brain Leading in Infrastructure and Asset Management
Presenter: Christina Benty (Strategic Leadership Solutions)

In the world of infrastructure and asset management, leaders are constantly navigating competing demands: lifecycle costs and community expectations, risk and resources, data and uncertainty, long-term sustainability and short-term political pressure. This keynote invites participants to consider how better decisions are made when logic, evidence, intuition, and relational intelligence work together.​​

Christina Benty is a “recovering politician” who works with leaders and organizations who are committed to building a culture of excellence in an environment that is kinder, wiser, and more conscious. Christina has extensive experience in policy and governance, including two terms as mayor for the Town of Golden, one term on the Audit Council for the BC Auditor General for Local Government, and as principal consultant at Strategic Leadership Solutions.

Presenters: Abin Antony, Michele Gee, Terry Fulton (Metro Vancouver)

Metro Vancouver and member jurisdictions have worked together to update the region’s Liquid Waste, Drinking Water, and Solid Waste Management Plans. But what comes after plan approval? Hear directly from the management plan teams about how regional collaboration will translate into on-the-ground implementation over the next decade.​

12:30 – 1:15 pm

Breakout Sessions: Round 1 

Metro Vancouver Project Management Fundamentals: Project Foundations
Presenters: Jennifer Crosby​​, Tatiana Chiesa, Daniel Leblond (Metro Vancouver)

As part of Metro Vancouver’s commitment to continuous improvement, the Project Delivery Department has developed a robust suite of project management tools, templates, and standards. Embedded within the organization’s Project Management Framework, these resources support the successful delivery of major capital projects across the region.

This session explores the core building blocks that set projects up for success. Through case studies, attendees will see how strong project governance, stage gating, and a well crafted project charter support clear decision making and effective delivery from start to finish.

Presenters: Nermine Tawfik (Metro Vancouver), Kirk Stinchcombe (Econics)

Rising costs for essential services are putting pressure on households across North America. Water rates are rising faster than inflation due to population growth, aging infrastructure renewal, new regulatory and climate adaptation requirements, and broader inflationary pressures. Metro Vancouver is not immune, and concern about water affordability is growing beyond utility professionals to the public and political spheres, with recent media coverage and regional leaders highlighting the impacts on residents. The issue has evolved from one of cost recovery and infrastructure planning to one of accessibility and equity.

In response, Metro Vancouver, in collaboration with its member jurisdictions, has completed a Member Water Rate Structure Affordability Study. This study provides a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of how water costs affect households across income bands, how billing rates and structures affect affordability, and which policy tools can support effective responses across both volumetric and flat-rate systems.

Presenter: Sinisa Vukicevic (Metro Vancouver)

Population growth in Metro Vancouver has historically been driven by immigration, with recent policy changes expected to stabilize permanent resident admissions and reduce temporary resident levels in the short term. Future housing additions are anticipated to be predominantly apartments, reflecting a continued shift toward high-density development. Metro Vancouver staff will provide information on our work to update population projections and how we are collaborating with municipalities and stakeholders to support sustainable regional growth.

Breakout Sessions: Round 2 

Metro Vancouver Project Management Fundamentals: Risk and Interface Management
Presenters: Jennifer Crosby, Keith Threadkell, Michael Norton (Metro Vancouver)

This session offers a high level, practical look at how Project Management Framework tools are applied in real world conditions. Attendees will gain insight into how risk management and capital project planning and scheduling principles are put into action through a real project case study, and will have the opportunity to ask questions and share experiences.

Presenters: Mike Simpson (City of Vancouver), Jonathan Helmus (City of Coquitlam)

Presentation 1 – City of Vancouver (Mike Simpson):

Water is central to Vancouver’s identity and wellbeing, and growing challenges require a coordinated response. Groundwater presents both significant risks and valuable opportunities. The interplay between urban development, climate change, sewer system and regional water supply constraints, and ecosystem impacts call for a comprehensive City of Vancouver Groundwater Strategy. Research indicates that groundwater is poorly understood, governance is fragmented, and risks are interconnected, underscoring the need for integrated, long term guidance. The Strategy proposes a phased, adaptive approach with 10 priority actions to reduce risk, protect environmental values, and support evidence based decision making.

Presentation 2 – City of Coquitlam (Jonathan Helmus):

In Coquitlam’s 300 km of creeks and streams, summertime base flows are declining due to climate change and development impacts. Learn more about Coquitlam’s rigorous process, tools, and technology to review, protect, monitor, and manage groundwater with development applications. The presentation will focus on the approach for higher density development sites with deep parkades, while also touching on detention and infiltration requirements for smaller development applications (single family and multiplex).

From Bedpans to Big Plants: The Making of Our Regional Wastewater Network
Presenter: Paul Kadota (Metro Vancouver)
Do you know when your jurisdiction joined the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District, and do you know why? Did you know there used to be two other treatment plants run by individual municipalities? Test your knowledge and win prizes at this session that explores the evolution of the GVS&DD from its early beginnings when each community did their own thing to the modern interconnected regional system of today. Trace the journey of our wastewater system from typhoid and cholera outbreaks, to the first wood stave sewers, through provincial and federal mandates calling for wastewater treatment, and learn how we worked together to protect human health and the environment.

Breakout Sessions: Round 3

Metro Vancouver Project Management Fundamentals: Cost Management
Presenters: Jennifer Crosby, ​Samuel Chan, Negar Zakipour (Metro Vancouver)
This session highlights three core cost management knowledge areas and brings them to life through a hands on workshop grounded in Metro Vancouver capital project experience. Attendees will explore how cost estimation, cost control, and cost escalation are applied in practice, and how these concepts work together to support informed decision making and financial accountability across the project lifecycle.

Presenters: Erica Lay (City of Burnaby), Leya Behra (City of New Westminster), Nick Heap​ (City of Richmond)

This panel will explore how municipalities are continuing to advance climate mitigation and adaptation work while facing cost pressures, competing priorities, and growing public concern about affordability. Panelists will share real-world examples of how climate action is being built into municipal planning, projects, infrastructure decisions, and service delivery.