Chairman dismisses Tory criticism of NPC
Posted By COREY LAROCQUE, SUN MEDIA
Posted 2 months ago
Holding annual general meetings could help the Niagara Parks Commission regain the public's confidence, a government report says. It's an idea chairman Jim Williams said he pitched when consultants prepared the report in the spring.
"That would give the public an opportunity to pose whatever questions they would have. It would also give us a chance to say, 'Here's the year in review,' and the next couple of years in advance," Williams said Monday in response to the release of two full reports whose summaries had only been made public in September.
"I would love to get in front of an audience and say why we went ahead with the Maid of the Mist lease," he said, referring to the controversial deal that put the commission under the government's microscope for a year and a half.
But it's too late for Williams and the current board to restore confidence, Conservative tourism critic Bob Runciman said. Runciman wants the province to "start from scratch" by replacing the entire 12-member board.
He's considering calling for a public inquiry into how the Niagara Parks Commission has been run.
"Certainly, on the surface of it, it looks like the board should be replaced," said Runciman.
Runciman said he had not yet read the reports and had based his opinion on media reports about them.
He said he will decide within the next month whether or not to call for an inquiry.
Ontario's Ministry of Tourism last week released two reports scrutinizing the way the provincial agency does business.
Tourism Minister Monique Smith commissioned them in March, after Ontario's integrity commissioner, Lynn Morrison, handled a complaint from then-commissioner Bob Gale, who called the parks commission's decision to award the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co. a 25-year lease extension "dirty."
When the reports were completed in September, only one-page summaries were posted on the parks commission's website. Smith cited privacy concerns for not releasing the full versions of the 51-page governance review and 24-page audit of purchasing and leasing policies.
But Ontario's Ministry of Tourism released the reports last week in response to a freedom of information request.
Williams said the reports give the commission a "pretty clean bill of health," but suggest areas for improvement like communicating with the public, record-keeping and doing business with the public.
"Neither report -- this has been our position all along -- says there was any wrongdoing, illegalities, improprieties or anything the taxpayers or government should be concerned about," Williams said.
He dismissed Runciman's criticism of the commission as an attack by an Opposition MPP going after a government stinging from recent scandals at other agencies.
"He feels he's got the government on the run on all these other issues," Williams said.
Smith's meeting schedule did not permit time Monday to comment on the reports and which recommendations she might act on, ministry staff said.
Smith said in October she had confidence in Williams and the commissioners, despite overturning their decision and ordering a competitive bidding process to run boat tours on the Niagara River.
Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor said he doesn't yet agree with Runciman's assessment that the commission needs to be replaced, nor with Williams that the reports give it a clean bill of health.
"It would be best to let the public decide," Craitor said, adding the reports are available at his Montrose Road office.
"Before I jump in and say yes or no, I'd like the reports out there," he said, adding he'll wait a couple weeks to gauge public reaction.
The governance review concluded the parks commission is "not generally well understood" by the public. "Despite the many successes over the years, public confidence in NPC has fallen," according to the Niagara Parks Commission Governance Review, prepared by KPMG consultants.
Its 11-page summary of recommendations suggests it can work better by:
holding a public annual general meeting;
delivering audited financial statements and annual reports in a timely manner;
publishing minutes on its website;
clarifying the commission's and management's roles;
ensuring commissioners receive the necessary level of information required to make informed and educated decisions.
A second report, an audit of the parks commission's purchasing and leasing policies, was conducted by the Ministry of Finance's audit division.
"In general, NPC's procurement polices and controls are consistent with best practices," that reports states.
