There is confusion over who — if anyone — has the authority to fire the appointed TransLink board of directors, the group that oversees a $10-billion regional transportation network in Metro Vancouver.

B.C.’s Opposition leader John Horgan, who chastised Transportation Minister Todd Stone for his mismanagement of TransLink during question period Thursday, called on the provincial government to ask the nine-member board to resign, following its surprise decision Wednesday to force out TransLink CEO Ian Jarvis.

Jarvis, who has been kept on as an adviser, will not receive a severance package but will retain his salary until his contract with TransLink ends in June 2016.

“I said to the minister to ask the (TransLink) board for two things: first really fire Ian Jarvis, don’t pretend to fire Ian Jarvis. And second, tender your resignation,” Horgan said in an interview. “Because the whole problem in the Lower Mainland is a governance issue. Everyone you talk to says, ‘I want to invest in transit and transportation improvements.’ Regular folks get all that, but they don’t want to reward bad behaviour by giving money to a board and government that just isn’t making it work.”

Stone claims responsibility for the board falls to the mayors’ council, while the mayors’ council insists it has no authority to dismiss the board under the provincial legislation that governs it. Indeed, the chances of anyone firing the entire board is slim: while the board can dismiss its own members under the legislation or they can voluntarily resign or not be re-appointed, it appears the only way to get rid of the full board is through a new governance structure — similar to what was done in 2007 when TransLink was created.

“I don’t think anybody does (have that power),” said Ken Cameron, a private consultant involved in drafting the TransLink legislation. “There isn’t any accountability mechanisms except for what the individual directors decide to do.”

TransLink is governed under the South Coast B.C. Transportation Authority Act, which was created in 2007 when the provincial government decided to replace the board of local mayors with an unelected appointed board to oversee operations and make decisions on everything from buses and trains to roads and bridges. The board members, who are appointed for a three-year term and can be re-appointed for up to another three years, also appoint the CEO.

Under the legislation, a five-member screening committee — consisting of representatives from the mayors’ council, the provincial government, Vancouver Board of Trade, Chartered Professional Accountants of B.C. and Greater Vancouver Gateway Council — vets potential board members and then presents them to the mayors’ council for approval. But Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore noted even if the mayors’ council rejects the candidates, the screening committee still has the power to appoint them. The TransLink board also includes two spots for MLAs and two members of the mayors’ council. The mayors of Surrey and Vancouver will sit on the board, but Moore said the council’s powers are still limited.

“I do not believe we have the ability to let go of the board,” he said. “I don’t think the government can do that either. They would have to change the governance structure.”

Cameron agreed, noting the legislation was drawn up to mirror that used by the ports and the airport to keep political control out of the equation. He added that while the mayors’ council gets to approve the board, it’s a “one-way door” in that the candidates are waltzed past for a yes or no — a process that has long been opposed by regional mayors.

“It’s a deliberate setup to operate out of any form of political control and that was a decision made by the province,” Cameron said. “The body responsible for the structure is the province.”

Horgan said Thursday Stone should intervene by asking the board to resign and firing Jarvis as the cause. He rejected the idea that TransLink avoided a more hefty severance package for Jarvis by keeping him on staff to provide advice to the new interim CEO Doug Allen.

“If he is not able to manage the corporation, and Doug Allen is required to save the day, then clearly there would be cause,” Horgan said. “If there’s no cause, then why are you bringing in Doug Allen?”

Stone sidestepped questions Thursday about why TransLink’s board hasn’t been dismissed.

“Certainly the buck stops at the board, there’s no question about that,” he said, but noted the board is accountable to the mayor’s council because it approves the members.

Stone also danced around whether he recommended replacing Jarvis. “I was asked if I have an opinion on the matter and what I said was, ‘Look, I support the board and the mayors’ council in their recommendation, their decision to make a change a the top, to bring in a new interim CEO,’” said Stone, who declined to say on what date he expressed that opinion.

“I support the decision the TransLink board and the mayors’ council have arrived at. This was their decision to make, it was not mine, it was their decision.”

ksinoski@vancouversun.com

rshaw@vancouversun.com

Marcella Szel, board chair

Appointed: Jan. 1, 2012 (reappointed January 1, 2015)

Term Expires: Dec. 31, 2017

Experience: Significant experience in the transportation industry. From 1977 to 2009, worked with Canadian Pacific Railway, where she held a number of senior positions.

Annual remuneration: $45,029 (She will earn more now that she is board chair. Former board chair Nancy Olewiler earned $101,688.)

Barry Forbes, vice-chair

Appointed: Jan. 1, 2011 (reappointed Jan. 1, 2014)

Term Expires: Dec. 31, 2016

Experience: President and CEO of Westminster Savings Credit Union for more than 34 years before retiring in 2012.

Annual remuneration: $51,429

Robin Chakrabarti

Appointed: Jan. 1, 2013

Term Expires: Dec. 31, 2015

Experience: One of the founding partners of Empresario Capital Partners, which has investment holdings and operational involvement in the food service, retail and automotive industries.

Annual remuneration: $49,029

Lorraine Cunningham

Appointed: Jan. 1, 2013

Term Expires: Dec. 31, 2015

Experience: Extensive business and management experience as well as a broad knowledge of the transportation industry worldwide. Chair of the Pacific Pilotage Authority, a Federal Crown corporation.

Annual remuneration: $56,839

W John Dawson

Appointed: Jan. 1, 2010 (reappointed Jan. 1, 2013)

Term Expires: Dec. 31, 2015

Experience: During his 29 years as a partner with an international accounting firm, Dawson counselled boards of directors and senior management in a variety of industries, including B.C. government agencies and Crown Corporations.

Annual remuneration: $51,029

Brenda Eaton

Appointed: Jan. 1, 2014

Term Expires: Dec. 31, 2016

Experience: Corporate director serving on a variety of boards. Chair of the Seaterra Program, which is building the $800 million sewage treatment project in Victoria, as well as director of Fortis BC, Transelec, and the BC Safety Authority.

Annual remuneration: no figure available due to 2014 appointment

Don Rose

Appointed: Jan. 1, 2011 (reappointed Jan. 1, 2014)

Term Expires: Dec. 31, 2016

Experience: Senior corporate lawyer with the Vancouver office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG). He has practised since 1973, having graduated from the UBC Law class of 1972.

Annual remuneration: $46,829

Appointed by the mayors’ council: Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner

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