A Nova Scotian company has sued one of four divisions that make up Metro Vancouver, claiming the regional government was unjustly enriched when it failed to pay more than $5.5 million in contracted work at a major wastewater treatment plant.

The Friday, April 24 petition from Michels Canada Co. claims Metro’s Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District had contracted the company in 2024 to carry out structural work at the Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Located in Delta, B.C., the plant is one of the largest and most critical infrastructure facilities in the province. It handles 175 billion litres of sewage a year from 14 municipalities, including Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, New Westminster, and parts of Surrey and Vancouver.

The site, which releases treated wastewater into the Fraser River, is in the midst of expanding and upgrading its aging infrastructure to meet a growing regional population, cope with an earthquake and adhere to heightened regulatory requirements.

Michels’s work included designing and installing monitoring devices and rehabilitating sanitary sewers and maintenance holes with new steel pipe, among other things.

Metro agreed to pay Michels more than $884,000 for the work, with additional payments as required, says the petition.

Work started more than a month late and wasn’t finished until Oct. 17, 2025—a 145 days longer than was agreed upon in the contract, claims the company.

Michels claims the delay was caused for reason outside of its control. It alleges Metro provided the company with inaccurate project drawings and an inaccurate description of the site conditions.

The company says the delay was also made worse by unforeseen site conditions, operational constraints imposed by Metro, and the regional body’s “failure to comply” with an agreement that says Michels would be paid for any extra work.

After spending more than a year on the project, Michels claims its labour, equipment and material costs ballooned. The company submitted a new contract price of more than $5.5 million.

But Metro Vancouver allegedly refused or neglected to issue orders to adjust the contract price.

The infrastructure company is seeking a judgment of the full claimed contract price, plus damages.

A spokesperson for Metro said it could not comment as it has yet to be officially served the lawsuit. 

None of the claims have been tested in court.

The lawsuit with Michels comes as Metro Vancouver remains locked in sprawling litigation with the Spanish construction giant Acciona over major cost overruns at a new wastewater treatment plant on the North Shore. 

Metro officially cancelled its contract with Acciona in early 2022 following a period where work had essentially ground to a halt. Acciona had also laid off hundreds of workers.

By 2025, the North Shore wastewater treatment plant had gone $3 billion over budget. That’s expected to filter down to taxpayers, with those in the area the plant serves expected to see their sewage bills go up by about $590 for the next 30 years to cover the cost overruns.

Acciona is suing Metro for more than $250 million for breaches of contractual obligations, including wrongfully terminating the project agreement. Metro is countersuing for more than $1 billion alleging Acciona is responsible for “material” breaches of the design-build contract.

The case is expected to go to trial in 2027. 

—With files from Brent Richter/North Shore News