in exchange for increases in allowable density as part of the construction permitting process. Utility fees and other user fees have also been increased, but represent a comparatively small portion of Vancouver's overall budget. Regional government Along with 20 other municipalities, one electoral area and one treaty First Nation, Vancouver is a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, the regional government whose seat is in Burnaby. While each member of Metro Vancouver has its own separate local governing body, Metro Vancouver oversees common services and planning functions within the area such as providing drinking water; operating sewage and solid waste handling; maintaining regional parks; overseeing air quality, greenhouse gases and ecological health; and providing a strategy for regional growth and land use. Provincial and federal representation In the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Vancouver is represented by 11 members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). As of June 2022, there are two seats held by the BC Liberal Party, and nine by the BC New Democratic Party. In the House of Commons of Canada, Vancouver is represented by six members of Parliament. In the 2021 federal election, the Liberals retained three seats (Vancouver Quadra, Vancouver Centre, and Vancouver South) and gained one (Vancouver Granville), while the NDP held on to the two seats (Vancouver East and Vancouver Kingsway) they held at dissolution. The Conservatives were shut out of the city's ridings. Two current Cabinet ministers hail from the city – Vancouver South MP Harjit Sajjan is Minister of International Development, and Vancouver Quadra MP Joyce Murray is Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard. Policing and crime Vancouver operates the Vancouver Police Department, with 1,327 sworn members and an operating budget of $316.5million in 2018. Over 19 percent of the city's budget was spent on police protection in 2018. The Vancouver Police Department's operational divisions include a bicycle squad, a marine squad, and a dog squad. It also has a mounted squad, used primarily to patrol Stanley Park, as well as for crowd control. The police work in conjunction with civilian and volunteer-run Community Police Centres. In 2006, the police department established its own counterterrorism unit. In 2005, a new transit police force, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service (now the Metro Vancouver Transit Police), was established with full police powers. Before the legalization of marijuana, Vancouver police generally did not arrest people for possessing small amounts of marijuana.