Vancouver building inspector engaged in conflict of interest: auditor general

Vancouver is making changes after allegations of corruption at city hall in what the city’s auditor general described as an ongoing, undocumented, and unmitigated conflict of interest.

A whistleblower complaint in May 2024 alleged a city building inspector gave preferential treatment to some companies, including one that the inspector owned.

Auditor General Mike Macdonell says he did find evidence of this and found the city knew.

City staff told Macdonnell they put a stop to it and had the inspections redone.

“But in the system, there was no record of that,” he said. “There’s no record of the conversations, there’s no record of reinspection.

And then three years later, it happened again, Macdonell said.

“Whatever precautions may have been agreed to weren’t actually working,” he said.

“When you see examples like this, it doesn’t support trust in the institutions of government and the effectiveness of what’s being done.”

The complaint also alleged the inspector took bribes. Macdonell says he did not find evidence of that but is forwarding those allegations to the VPD.

Neither the inspector nor their company is named.

There is a host of other allegations in the auditor general’s report that he could only partially substantiate.

Macdonell made 19 recommendations to strengthen conflict-of-interest monitoring.

Council voted unanimously to accept these recommendations, and the city says it will put them in place.

“I believe that we can incorporate those recommendations in the upcoming year and work towards that,” said Corrie Okell, general manager of development, buildings and licensing.

In the few days since the report was released, the auditor general has received more complaints about the inspector. Those are under investigation now.