As policy proposals go, it would be charitable to call BC Conservative Leader John Rustad’s plan to scrap Metro Vancouver half-baked. There’s no details on what he would replace the largest regional structure in the province with, what it would cost taxpayers and how it would ensure accountability for critical water, sewer and garbage services.

Still, his proposal got people talking on the sidelines of the Union of BC Municipalities convention in Victoria. It was definitely dramatic. And it was the first solution proposed by any provincial leader to tackle Metro Vancouver’s egregious over-spending, arrogant conduct and out-of-touch decision-making.

“A Conservative government, we will actually get rid of Metro Vancouver and turn it into what it's supposed to be, which is a water, sewer and garbage utility,” Rustad said during his address to UBCM delegates Thursday. “We don't need that extra bureaucracy and cost in our system.”

He said a utility structure would be “very lean, but very efficient.”

“We can do this in a much more efficient way,” he said.

Rustad received no applause for the idea, and mixed reviews from local politicians.

Yet it’s considerably more than the BC NDP government has proposed to tackle Metro’s problems — which is to say, nothing.

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