Coun. Sav Dhaliwal said all four Burnaby councillors who attended the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference last week commuted there by SkyTrain.
The conference, held in Vancouver, started on May 30 and ended Monday around noon. It was filled with packed schedules, study tours and networking with federal and municipal politicians from across the country.
The Coquitlam mayor and some of its councillors recently came under fire for spending about $225 a night each at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel during the conference.
But Dhaliwal says it's a justifiable expense, and one he could avoid easily because he lives near a SkyTrain station.
"It's a long day and sometimes if you are planning to stay until 11 p.m. and catch a next morning, early session - in my opinion it's defendable in terms of staying at a hotel," he said.
Dhaliwal is on the federation's board of directors and was offered a hospitality suite, but he turned it down.
"I think in order to be safe and be there in the morning it's okay," he said. "It's affordable. It's not affordable from the taxpayer's perspective, but if you look at the overall administration of any city it is a few hundred dollars. It is not going to excessively strain the system."
Dhaliwal said the conference days are about 16 hours long with various meetings and events, and if councillors sit on a committee or are part of planning the conference, they would require a room.
"I think we have to be careful though," he said. "It's much easier for us to be able to hop on the train and come home."
Dhaliwal says he has one of the highest travel expenses of the other councillors because he's a board member for the federation and the Union of B.C. Municipalities, which takes him traveling fairly often for meetings. Also, being a part of a large group gives the local governments a stronger united voice.
"We should be careful where we spend our money, but I also think it's a (good) investment we make to secure our future," he added. "No government will give money or share revenue unless we make a strong case for it. And we can only do it if all participate in creating a message ... and just ensuring everybody is in general support of it and recognize it."
Early bird registration for the conference was $735 per councillor, according to acting city clerk Maryann Manuel. She said councillors Dan Johnston, Pietro Calendino, Dhaliwal and Mayor Derek Corrigan registered early. Coun. Nick Volkow registered late and paid the full fee of $865.
According to Manuel, Burnaby has a policy that if accommodation is in the Metro Vancouver area it does not get paid by the city.
Although Corrigan did not attend the conference in full, he did appear for some panel events, according to Dhaliwal.
For more information on the federation, visit www.fcm.ca.
-With files from The Province
