Auditor General Committee — February 12, 2026
February 12, 2026 · 09:30 am–12:07 pm
Summary
The Auditor General Committee met on February 12, 2026, chaired by Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung, to consider two major audit reports and the Auditor General's annual report.
- Land Sales and Exchanges audit: The Auditor General presented findings that the City could not demonstrate it maximized value in land sales, due to gaps in documentation, outdated policies, and incomplete information provided to Council. City staff (REFM) pushed back on several findings while expressing general support for the recommendations. Committee endorsed all 10 recommendations and directed staff to report back with a formal response and proposed improvements.
- 2025 Annual Whistleblower Report: The Auditor General summarized 177 reports received, 40 recommendations issued across four investigations covering CAC delivery failures, a park board vending permit process, a sole-sourced planning contract, and a procurement conflict-of-interest allegation. Committee endorsed all 21 recommendations.
- 2025 OAG Annual Report and 2026 Operational Plan: Presented for information only; highlighted the office's estimated $31.3 million in financial benefits against $6.9 million in operating costs since inception. No vote required.
- The meeting also included a brief in-camera session, approved at the outset.
Attendance
Present: Sarah Kirby-Yung, Brian Montague, Lenny Zhou, Pete Fry
Absent: Lisa Dominato
Partial attendance:
- Mike Klassen : absent all day
Motions
Motion to go in camera
Carried- Committee voted to hold a closed (in-camera) session later the same day, as required under the Vancouver Charter.
- Moved by Councillor Joe, seconded by Councillor Fry.
- No opposition noted; carried unanimously.
Motion for a second round of questions (Item 1 - Land Sales and Exchanges)
Carried- Given the complexity of the Land Sales and Exchanges item, a councillor moved to allow a second round of questions for all committee members.
- This extended the time available for questioning both the Auditor General's team and City staff.
- Carried without opposition.
Motion to extend meeting beyond noon to complete business
Carried- The meeting was running close to the noon procedural deadline; a motion was made to extend the public meeting beyond noon to finish all agenda items.
- An available room was confirmed for the in-camera session to follow immediately after.
- Moved by Councillor Zhou, seconded by Councillor Fry; carried.
Endorse the 10 recommendations in the Auditor General's report dated February 5th, 2026, entitled Land Sales and Exchanges, and recommend that Council endorse the 10 recommendations (base motion)
Carried- The Auditor General recommended the committee endorse all 10 recommendations from the February 5, 2026 Land Sales and Exchanges report, and further recommend Council do the same.
- Key findings: City lacked a real estate portfolio strategy; policies were outdated and non-compliant with FIPPA; Council was not always given full information (e.g., sales below appraised value, contract extensions without Council approval); a $13 million calculation error occurred in the 601 Beach Crescent transaction.
- City staff (REFM) disputed several findings, arguing that CAC negotiations provide public value not captured in sale price alone, and that the audit lacked full context on how complex real estate transactions work in practice.
- Committee members noted the audit concluded the City "could not demonstrate" maximum value — not that value was definitively lost — an important distinction highlighted during debate.
- Moved by Councillor Zhou, seconded by Councillor Fry; carried unanimously.
Amendment to Item 1 motion: Further that the Auditor General Committee recommend to Council that Council direct staff to report back in response to the findings of the audit with their proposed response, including but not limited to updated, consolidated, clarified, and modernized procedures related to land sales and exchanges; considerations for information provided to Council related to land transactions; potential annual reporting related to land sales including sales value and related community value and benefits received; and any further updates or improvements that staff themselves might recommend
Carried- Councillor Kirby-Yung moved an amendment adding a further direction that Council instruct staff to formally report back in response to the audit findings.
- The requested report-back would cover: updated, consolidated, and modernized land sale procedures; improvements to information provided to Council on land transactions; potential annual reporting on land sales including sale value and community benefits received; and any additional improvements staff themselves recommend.
- This amendment was seen as a constructive path forward, acknowledging staff's request for more time and their general agreement with the recommendations while disagreeing with some underlying findings.
- Councillor Fry expressed support, noting it respects the Auditor General's findings while giving staff an opportunity to respond substantively.
- Carried unanimously.
Endorse the 21 recommendations in the Whistleblower Report 2025 and recommend to Council for approval (Item 2 - 2025 Annual Whistleblower Report)
Carried- The committee endorsed all 21 recommendations from the 2025 Annual Whistleblower Report and recommended Council approve them.
- Investigations covered: failure to adequately manage a $6 million in-kind CAC delivery; a flawed and non-transparent Park Board mobile vending permit selection process; a sole-sourced planning contract for False Creek South that grew from $50,000 to over $900,000 without proper approvals; and a procurement conflict-of-interest allegation (unsubstantiated, but with process gaps noted).
- No fraud was found in any investigation; the Auditor General confirmed findings related to waste and serious mismanagement of public funds in some cases.
- The city had already implemented 82% of 2024 whistleblower recommendations, which the Auditor General described as a positive result.
- Moved by Councillor Zhou, seconded by Councillor Fry; carried unanimously.
Motion to adjourn public meeting
Carried- A motion to adjourn the public meeting was made after completion of all three agenda items.
- The committee then proceeded directly to the in-camera session.
- Carried unanimously.