In her review of the governance of British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., comptroller general Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland noted the family ties between the ferry company's board and the ferry commission office.
The commission, set up in 2003 when the government restructured the ferry company from a Crown corporation to a quasi-private company owned by the government, regulates the company.
“The Deputy Commissioner is a brother of a BCFS Board Director,” said Wenezenki-Yolland's 97-page report.
The report does not name the people in question, but the deputy commissioner is Sheldon Stoilen. Wayne Stoilen sits on the B.C. Ferry Services Inc. board of directors.
There is no legal reason to block the deputy commissioner's appointment and there's no evidence of bias in the commission's decisions, Wenezenki-Yolland's report said.
The public might not like the situation though, she added. “The relationship might be perceived by the public as being a conflict of interest and could result in damage to the credibility of the Commission.”
Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.
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DPL
2 years ago
When and if the FOI starts
When and if the FOI starts to cover the Ferry so called leaders, some of the insiders might go find another place to make money by no longer doing what they are doing now. I'd like to hear some up to date news on the boats that just had to be build in heavily subsidized yards in germany.