As a Burnaby Councillor, Sav Dhaliwal recognizes the larger context in which his City’s planning and development takes place. He believes that in order to be successful we need to learn from our peers and be prepared to provide input and feedback on issues that affect us at all levels.

By PD Raj – Senior Writer DESIBUZZCanada

VANCOUVER – Well liked Burnaby Councillor Sav Dhaliwal has been acclaimed as Chair of the Metro Vancouver Board of Directors for a second term. North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan has also been acclaimed as Vice Chair of the MVBD.

Chair Dhaliwal and Vice Chair Buchanan also assume the same roles for the Greater Vancouver Sewerage & Drainage District, the Greater Vancouver Water District and the Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation. The Chair and Vice Chair positions are for a one-year term.

Metro Vancouver directors are elected officials representing 21 municipalities, one treaty First Nation, and one electoral area. Each year, the directors elect a Chair and Vice Chair for the next year. Directors are appointed by their respective municipal councils, with the number of directors from each municipality reflecting that area’s population. The formula is one vote for every 20,000 people to a maximum of five votes.

Following the inaugural meeting, Chair Dhaliwal will appoint members to standing committees, which consider priorities, policies, and activities for the organization, and make recommendations to the Board. The committees and the Board typically meet monthly.

Sav was first elected to Burnaby Council in November 2002, and is proudly now serving his sixth consecutive term as a Councillor.

Prior to serving on Council, Sav served with a number of not-for-profit organizations in Burnaby:

*volunteered for a number of minor sports organizations including serving as President of the Burnaby Minor Hockey Association and in recognition of his role he was made a Life Member in 1997;

*volunteered as founding chair of the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame Committee and worked closely with the City in designing the Bill Copeland Sports Centre;

*Sav proudly served our senior citizens while volunteering with the New Vista Society as a director, treasurer and a trustee;

*he is a founding member of the Burnaby Edmonds Lions Club; 

Sav has been recognized by the Government of Canada, the University of British Columbia, the Goel Family Charitable Foundation, the Fiji Association of British Columbia and the Chetna Association of Canada for his long and outstanding services to the Community.

After a long career in the information technology field, Sav retired from TELUS in 2006.

As a Councillor, Sav recognizes the larger context in which his City’s planning and development takes place. He believes that in order to be successful we need to learn from our peers and be prepared to provide input and feedback on issues that affect us at all levels.

For this reason, he has welcomed the opportunity to represent Burnaby regionally as a director of the Metro Vancouver Regional District and President of the Lower Mainland Local Government Association; at the provincial level as President of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM); and, nationally, as a director at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).

Sav was elected chair of the Metro Vancouver Regional District in November 2018.

Sav and his wife, Cheryl, have lived in Burnaby for over 40 years. They are now the proud grandparents of four young children.