The April 14 order-in-council amendments to the Vancouver Charter and the Community Charter’s conflict-of-interest exceptions allow elected local government officials to also sit on boards and societies without fear of being disqualified from office. The amendment wasn’t publicized by the government until April 30, after a Business in Vancouver query to the office of the minister responsible, Peter Fassbender.
“I see these new provisions as really eroding the longstanding principle that no man or woman can serve two masters,” said Nathalie Baker of Boughton Law. “When you’re on council your duty is to the public, but when you’re a member of the society, your duty is to the society. The court of appeal held that you have a conflict.”
The amendment came more than three years after the January 2013 BC Court of Appeal verdict in the case of Schlenker vs. Torgrimson. The tribunal found two elected Local Trust Committee members on Saltspring Island, Christine Torgrimson and George Ehring, were in conflict of interest when they voted in 2011 for separate $4,000 grants to water and climate change societies on which they also served.
The tribunal found that it made “no difference that they put no money into their own pockets.”
“When the respondents moved and voted in favour of resolutions that benefited their societies through the granting of contracts, arguably contracts the societies might not have been awarded had the councillors not also been directors, their duties as directors to put the society’s interests first were in direct conflict with their duties as councillors to put the public’s interests first,” said the reasons for judgment by Justice Ian Donald.
Baker said that was the right result.
“The court of appeal decision really talks about the purpose of the conflict-of-interest provisions in the charter, and it’s to ensure that council members do not have divided loyalties.”
The Union of B.C. Municipalities successfully lobbied the government for the conflict-of-interest exception after complaints from its members.
The North Central Local Government Association, whose member councils represent 7% of B.C.’s population and cover 69% of B.C.’s land mass, passed a resolution that said “local governments across the province and particularly small rural local governments are suffering hardship and inconvenience, as often the pool of volunteers who participate in non-profit boards is small, and elected officials fill these volunteer director positions.”
An April 28 internal memo to Capital Regional District (CRD) mayors said “although the regulation provides some relief, it is not a comprehensive fix.”
“We will review the regulation, assess its impact on the CRD and its applicability to related societies and corporations and report back with this information,” wrote Brent Reems, senior manager of legislative and information services.
A government news release said local government politicians aren’t entirely off the hook. Perceived conflicts of divided loyalty could still trigger a petition by citizens and the regulations still make it an offence to accept a gift of personal financial benefit while sitting on any society or corporate board.
The 2013 Court of Appeal decision did not deter Vision Vancouver Coun. and Pacific National Exhibition chairman Raymond Louie. Mayor Gregor Robertson appointed Louie the fair’s chairman in 2009, but Louie has yet to be legally challenged for participating in council and committee votes on PNE and Hastings Park issues.
In June 10, 2015, Louie voted with the Vision Vancouver majority to eliminate the PNE board seat reserved for a member of the NPA-dominated Park Board.
In April 2015, a BC Supreme Court judge dismissed a conflict-of-interest petition seeking Robertson and Coun. Geoff Meggs’ ouster over Vision Vancouver accepting $102,000 in donations from CUPE, the city outside workers’ union, in 2014.
