BURST
The City of Surrey has asked the B.C. Supreme Court to declare that Metro Vancouver overstepped its bounds when it created an economic development agency.
The challenge — which follows Surrey’s attempt to withdraw from Metro’s economic organization — is the latest example of an outcry by some municipal leaders accusing the regional authority of “scope-creep” by spending money and resources on areas outside its traditional responsibilities of water and sewage.
Surrey is asking the court to declare that Metro’s Invest Vancouver agency was created without proper authority.
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said Monday that her city wants out of the agency because it provides “no value to the citizens, residents and taxpayers of Surrey.”
Surrey already has its own economic development organization, Invest Surrey, and will continue to spend on that, Locke said.
“Metro Vancouver has lost its way with scope-creep, rising costs and all of that,” Locke said. “We have been talking about that pretty much since I became mayor. We don’t think that we are getting value for money.”
Invest Vancouver was established in 2021 as a regional economic development service focused on attracting foreign direct investment to the Metro region.
Its budget for 2025 was $4.75 million, with $4.2 million coming from Metro’s member municipalities. Surrey has contributed more than $2.6 million since 2019, the city’s petition says.
A February 2025 memo from Metro says that all other major economic centres in Canada have similar organizations. Since 2022, Invest Vancouver has landed 18 companies worth more than $1.3 billion in investments and more than 960 jobs for the region, the memo says.
In the court petition filed April 1, Surrey’s lawyers argue that Metro created Invest Vancouver without the necessary establishing bylaw and without the proper authorization from member municipalities.
Metro hasn’t responded in court to Surrey’s petition.
In an email Monday, a Metro spokesperson said the regional authority is aware of Surrey’s petition, and “will respond fully through the appropriate legal process.”
Metro is taking the position that the creation of Invest Vancouver is part of a continued service that the Metro Vancouver Regional District is authorized to provide without the need for an establishing bylaw.
“Invest Vancouver was developed through a transparent governance process, with multiple board endorsements, including approval through the annual budgeting process,” Metro’s statement said.
Surrey’s petition is supported by several pages of exhibits also filed in court, including written correspondence between Surrey city manager Rob Costanzo and Metro chief administrative officer Jerry Dobrovolny over several months last year.
In April 2025, Surrey informed Metro the city wanted to discontinue its participation in Invest Vancouver and requested a refund for all of its financial contributions to the group.
Dobrovolny responded, in May 2025, saying that Metro received advice from outside lawyers confirming that the agency is an authorized service, and as such, “there is no basis for the city to unilaterally discontinue its participation, and there is no basis for the return of any funds.”
Costanzo replied that Surrey “respectfully disagrees” with Metro’s position, adding that the city wouldn’t make any further contributions toward the agency and “remains of the view that it is entitled to a return of funds that we say were collected illegally.”
New Westminster Coun. Daniel Fontaine, who has also publicly criticized Metro for “scope-creep” in the past, said Monday that he agrees “100 per cent” with Locke and Surrey “when they question the legal ability of Metro Vancouver to set something up like Invest Vancouver.”
“Based on what is now before the courts, this warrants a full review by the minister of municipal affairs,” Fontaine said. “The time to shut down Invest Vancouver was years ago. This judicial review is yet another reason to save taxpayers money and for Metro Vancouver to get back in their lane and stick to doing their core business.”
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim is another critic of Metro, telling Global News last year that the organization’s governance model was “broken” and its meetings “a complete waste of time.”
Sim didn’t comment on the specifics of Surrey’s new court petition but said: “Invest Vancouver being spun off and separate from Metro Vancouver would make it more effective and focused on local partnerships in key municipalities.”
With files from Susan Lazaruk