Metro Vancouver wants to make name change legal

The Greater Vancouver Regional District and its cousins want a new legal name. They want the term Metro Vancouver to refer to the political and corporate entities that deliver regional services to 21 municipalities in the Lower Mainland, the Tsawwassen First Nation, and Electoral Area A.

If approved by the province, they’ll officially be called Metro Vancouver Regional District, Metro Vancouver Water District, and Metro Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District.

It’s about branding, explained City of North Vancouver mayor Darrell Mussatto, who sits on the boards of the regional bodies.

“People know us as Metro Vancouver,” Mussatto told the Straight by phone. “We’re going to continue calling us that, whether the province allows it or not. So we’d like to have that support from the province.”

A staff report recalled that GVRD directors petitioned the province in 2007 for a formal name change to simply Metro Vancouver. Ida Chong, who was then minister of community, sport, and cultural development, denied the request because the proposed name didn’t contain the term regional district. However, she indicated that the regional body could use “Metro Vancouver” for branding purposes. Subsequently, the housing agency owned by the regional district changed its name to Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation.

The regional body didn’t formally pursue a name change with the term regional district, and its directors now have the chance to revisit this decision in a board meeting on Friday (September 23).