Less than three weeks after the release of a finance ministry report that said the same people should not serve on the boards of both the B.C. Ferry Authority and B.C. Ferry Services Inc., at least one director has been reappointed to both.
Gordon Larkin, the representative for organized labour, will continue on both boards, the Tyee has learned.
In a report released earlier this month comptroller general Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland raised concerns that the nine members on the Authority board were in a conflict of interest having appointed themselves to the BCFS board.
"The interests of the Authority as shareholder are not identical to the interests of BCFS," the report said. "As a result, the Authority's proper role as overseer of BCFS has been compromised. The absence of independent oversight of BCFS by the Authority weakens accountability and increases the risk that the company's spending and priorities may not be acceptable to its shareholders."
The report recommended the members of the Authority board be asked to resign to resolve the problem.
Representatives of neither B.C. Ferries nor the Authority, which uses the same phone number as B.C. Ferries, returned calls by posting time.
Asked about Larkin's reappointment, Transportation Minister Shirley Bond said, “I'm not aware of that.”
She added, “We certainly are going to be looking at the comptroller general's report and looking at the whole accountability mechanism. Not aware of the reappointment, but I'll have a look.”
New Democratic Party ferry critic Gary Coons said he believes as many as two other directors may also have been reappointed to both boards. Coons called it an “overzealous action” that “flies in the face of the comptroller general's report” and shows B.C. Ferries' contempt for that report.
“Minister Bond should stop dithering, act immediately and ask the nine members of the Authority to resign . . . so that authority members are independent of its Board members,” he said. “It is clear that the Minister is quickly losing credibility on this file and needs to ensure the necessary legislation is in place as soon as possible.”
Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.
The 'trough' attracts pigs of all colours!
Gluttony at the public trough!
This Gordon Larkin fella,
This Gordon Larkin fella, what's his back ground? Please don't tell me that he's just another Liberal hack.
Just goes to show ya..
Who's really in charge at BC Ferries!
Gordon Larkin...
Gordon Larkin is a recently retired Pacific Region Representative with the Canadian Labour Congress.
Another BC Ferries director is Dan Miller, former New Democrat premier of British Columbia.
They are some of the NDP moles in place at BC Ferries preparing for a transition to an NDP government.
Who woulda thunk?
According to their
According to their websites:
Dan Miller does not sit on both boards. He sits only on the BCFS board. He is not in conflict.
Gordon Larkin does sit on both boards, and it would be best if he didn't; he is in conflict.
The report went to the BC government, the BC Liberals, and it is their job to fix the problem. Just because someone has epresented labour doesn't mean that that person may put his own best interests ahead of others.
Laws and regulations about the make-up of boards should be in place to avoid conflict of interest. As it has been pointed out that the BC Liberals need to put regulations in place, it is incumbant upon the BC Liberals to fix the problem. After-all, it is they who created the problem in the first place by creating this phoney BC Ferries Corporation that the tax-payers are on the hook for supporting.
Another crock of BC Liberal mismanagement.
A Shocking story
BC Ferries unplugged.
Why complain,we don`t own BC Ferries.
http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.com/2009/11/cknw-and-christy-clark-exposed.html
Cheers
Ooops...Messed up da link
http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.com/2009/11/cknw-and-christy-clark-amatuers-exposed.html
Of course...
We could put Gordon Campbell's sons on the board + Mary Polak's daughter + Mary Polak's spokesperson + Jordan Bateman + Sean Holman + Christy Clark + Bill Good.
Now let's see how you react. I'm taking cover :-).