PALMER’S VIEW,
McDonald's rapid ouster leaves CEO position open as Site C questions linger
On the morning after John Horgan appointed Ken Peterson as chair of B.C. Hydro, the premier's guy descended on a meeting of the board of directors Friday with marching orders from the boss.
The fallout was soon circulating to Hydro employees, via a statement over Peterson's signature at midday.
“Please be advised that the board of directors has consolidated leadership at B.C. Hydro by ending Jessica McDonald's employment and appointing Chris O'Riley as president,” it read.
There followed an astonishing testimonial from the board, all B.C. Liberal appointees other than Peterson, to the good qualities of the just-fired president and CEO.
“The board wants to express its sincere gratitude to Ms. McDonald for her exemplary leadership of and dedicated service to B.C. Hydro, and recognizes the profound impact her vision, innovative thinking and unwavering commitment to excellence has had, and will continue to have, on the company.”
Exemplary leadership. Dedicated service. Vision. Innovative thinking. Unwavering commitment to excellence. Sounds like a statement one might put out to justify giving the CEO a big raise, not when tossing her onto the ash heap.
McDonald departs with a severance package of half a million dollars and every likelihood that she'd land a position elsewhere that will make Horgan look ridiculous.
She was chosen CEO via a process the board approved. In reviews, board members endorsed her performance three years running.
Thus board members were not about to pretend that getting rid of McDonald was their idea, even as they bowed to the will of the shareholder (meaning the government) in the person of the premier's handpicked chair.
Nor was there any doubt that the orders to dump McDonald came straight from Horgan.
Reporters discovered as much Friday afternoon when they descended on Energy Minister Michelle Mungall, nominally in charge of B.C. Hydro, only to discover she professed to know nothing about what was unfolding within her bailiwick.
Granted Mungall was caught flat-footed on only her third full day on the job. Still, it reinforced suspicions that Horgan, who long served as the NDP's energy critic, remains in charge on the file.
In the absence of any public explanation from the NDP for firing one of the most accomplished women in the provincial public sector, I assume the political-hit job was connected to their concerns about Hydro in general and the Site C project in particular.
New Democrats have made insinuations about questionable practices in contracts and finances at the $9-billion Site C project.
But something else that jumped out Friday was the board's naming of O'Riley to take over as president. (I gather the board has so far balked at inserting Peterson into the CEO position with the title of executive chair.)
The choice of O'Riley signals further confidence in the existing leadership at Hydro, particularly the handling of that prime target of the NDP- Green alliance, Site C.
O'Riley has been serving as deputy CEO to McDonald. Moreover he is a professional engineer with specific responsibility for Hydro's massive infrastructure program including Site C. Based on briefings that I have attended, he knows at least as much about the project as McDonald does, maybe more. O'Riley has also been dealing directly with the separate committee of the Hydro board that was established to “deliver the Site C capital project on time and on budget; and meet government reporting and approval expectations, to help facilitate corporate fiscal and operational planning, as well as to help ensure there are no surprises for B.C. Hydro or its shareholder.”
The committee consists of four members of the board, each with expertise in major construction projects and/or budgetary challenges.
The chair is John Knappett, president and CEO of a private firm that owns commercial properties and manages construction projects.
Other members are Valerie Lambert, a chartered accountant who served as Hydro treasurer under both the NDP and B.C. Liberal governments; Janine North, former resource company manager and now CEO of the Northern Development Initiative Trust; and John Ritchie, a civil engineer with 35 years' experience managing hydropower and resource projects around the world.
One further item on Ritchie's resume stands out: “He currently works as a consultant in the field of anti-corruption compliance for engineering service firms.”
If New Democrats have evidence — as opposed to suspicions — about corruption, they would surely want to start by talking to him. Likewise if they want more on Site C finances, they could talk to Lambert, who served as Hydro treasurer when Horgan worked as an adviser on energy matters in the NDP government of the 1990s.
The Site C committee of the Hydro board has met regularly since construction started two years ago. The most recent meeting was in early June, at which time Hydro was still reporting the overall project to be on time (despite delays in some segments) and on budget.
As of Friday, the new president and others at Hydro were dealing with another tension crack at Site C that may lead to delays.
But if the New Democrats think that Hydro and its directors are hiding anything greater, they could start by making public the minutes of the oversight committee so everyone can see.
Exemplary leadership. Vision. Unwavering commitment to excellence. Sounds like a statement one might put out to justify giving the CEO a big raise, not when tossing her onto the ash heap.