Many politicians in the Cowichan Valley agree that the Island Corridor Foundation, which is working toward resurrecting rail service on Vancouver Island, needs to be more open and transparent.
But they also believe that the work the ICF is doing is too important to the Valley and the Island for it to be torpedoed, despite a report released this week that is critical of many aspects of the foundation.
The report was commissioned by the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities and prepared by aKd Resource.
It concludes that the ICF’s lack of transparency regarding its business case for bringing rail service back to the Island has resulted in a lack of trust and support from even the most staunch supporters of rail.
The report, which provides 18 recommendation for the ICF, also raised questions and made statements about the finances, governance and management of the ICF.
Jon Lefebure, chairman of the Cowichan Valley Regional District which has committed $486,000 towards the approximately $21-million project to fix the tracks on the Island’s aging rail corridor, said he’s still “optimistic” about the ICF and the rail project, despite the criticism the foundation is facing.
“There’s no doubt that the ICF needs to be more open and transparent, but I’m confident that the board at the ICF will take into consideration the consultant’s recommendations and follow up on them,” Lefebure said.
“There’s still tremendous support for this project moving forward. One of the concerns is that Graham Bruce [CEO of the ICF] is sometimes overly optimistic, but he’s an enthusiastic guy who really believes in what he says.
However, it’s quite a complicated system he has to deal with in which the ICF has to respond to five regulatory authorities, various First Nations, VIA Rail and both the provincial and federal governments. It makes it very difficult to get things done.”
The ICF is a not-for-profit corporation established to preserve the 319 kilometre rail corridor between Victoria and Courtenay.
Formed in 2003, the foundation is run by a board of 12 directors, representing 11 First Nations, five regional districts and two directors-at-large from stakeholder communities along the corridor.
Despite Lefebure’s statements of support for the foundation and Bruce, aKd Resource’s report stated that the recurring theme in the interviews with regional district board members was the lack of trust in, and credibility of Bruce and, by association, the ICF board.
It said that much of the dissatisfaction was generated in the last couple of years when expectations were raised by overly optimistic predictions and public promises of funding expectations, contracts or agreements which did not materialize.
Regional districts on the Island have committed approximately $7 million towards the long-anticipated project, and the federal and provincial governments have said they would contribute $7.5 million each.
But the funding from the districts will not be released until the ICF has the funding from the other levels of government in hand.
The sign-off for the cash from Ottawa was delayed by the federal election in October and then earlier this year by the Snaw-Naw-As (Nanoose) First Nation filing a civil claim against the ICF and the federal government.
The ongoing delays to begin the work and other concerns has frustrated many stakeholders and has seen the Regional District of Nanaimo rescind its commitment last year to provide the ICF with almost $1 million in funding.
Bill Routley, MLA for the Cowichan Valley, said he also questions many of the decisions and directions of the ICF, but understands the importance of restarting the trains to his riding and the Island.
He said most modern societies around the globe have innovative train systems, and not having one on the Island puts more stress on the highway system and the environment.
“But there seems to be a lot of talk about this project over the years and little action, so I wonder about the accountability,” Routley said.
“The foundation seems to focus more on upgrades to train stations and watering flower baskets than to upgrading the infrastructure of the tracks themselves. I think there’s not enough reports and information on the ICF’s progress with the project and I find that frustrating.”
In a statement, the ICF’s chairwoman Judith Sayers said the foundation has already begun to implement some of the report’s recommendations and remains confident in Bruce’s abilities.
“The ICF board works closely with our CEO and we have complete confidence in his ability to manage the daily affairs of the ICF,” the statement said.
“Staff and board members have attended regional board meetings, local government and First Nation council meetings and have organized special meetings for councils and boards. The ICF has also initiated a number of steps to provide better communication amongst members, including the establishment of liaison committees.”
To help the ICF be more transparent in its affairs, Sayers said the board also decided at its meeting in July to open the annual general meeting to the general public.
“As well, the recommendations concerning financial reporting aspects of the foundation will be reviewed with our auditors, and those that have corporate legal implications will be discussed with our solicitor,” she said.
