AFSC board relieved of their duties
Agriculture minister ‘loses confidence’ in board
A-retired Lethbridge professional and everyone else on an Alberta Crown corporation’s board have been dismissed by Alberta’s agriculture minister. Chartered accountant Dean Gallimore, former Highwood MLA George Groeneveld and four others were relieved of their duties this week as members of the board governing the Alberta Farm Services Corp.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Oneil Carlier also suspended the public corporation’s president, its chief operating officer and a vice-president.
“I’ve lost confidence in the board doing what they were supposed to do, and that was to have oversight for the executive,” Carlier said, referring to reports of improper gifts of liquor, rounds of golf, sports and theatre tickets reportedly accepted by the well-paid executives.
Details of an investigation conducted by the province’s chief internal auditor, he said, have been turned over to the RCMP for further investigation.
Gallimore, citing the possibility of litigation, preferred to offer no response when contacted by the Lethbridge Herald. He’d served on the board for less than two years, he said.
Retired from his professional practice after more than 28 years with KPMG, Gallimore has continued his community involvement through volunteer roles in such ventures as the Lethbridge 2015 Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games.
Groeneveld, named minister of agriculture by then premier Ed Stelmach, was more vocal.
“I have no regrets,” he told reporters. “I’m very proud of what (the AFSC) and these people have accomplished.”
The tax-funded agency provides loans, crop insurance and farm income disaster assistance to Alberta’s producers and agribusiness operators.
AFSC president and managing director Brad Klak — who was also a member of the six-man board — has been suspended with pay, along with chief operating officer Merle Jacobson and vice-president (innovation) Wayne McDonald. According to the corporation’s annual report for 2015, Klak received $670,000 in pay and benefits during the 2014-15 fiscal year.
That’s three times more than Premier Rachel Notley receives, officials confirm. The New Democratic Party government has announced plans to review all 301 of Alberta’s provincially appointed boards, agencies and commissions, in an attempt to reduce that number and cut costs. Collectively, they direct spending of about half the province’s operating budget.
Carlier said top staff members were cited in the auditor’s report. It covered the last four years and it found numerous irregularities. Many of the problems focused on the broker hired by the corporation to get the best deal on re-insurance.
Despite rules forbidding the executives from getting gifts from vendors, the report said, Klak accepted “meals, alcohol, paid entertainment (including theatre and concert tickets and sporting event admissions), rounds of golf and gifts on a frequent basis over four years from the broker.”
Said the auditor, “This is a clear violation of the procurement policy, which prohibits acceptance of gifts of any kind from vendors, and the Code of Conduct which indicates gifts must be of a nominal nature.”
Other perks he reported included long limousine rides, luxury box seats for Edmonton Oilers games, alcohol and meals during the Calgary Stampede, and a $5,100 dinner in Tokyo.
“The report’s findings point to a culture of entitlement in the last administration that Albertans firmly rejected in the election,” Carlier said. It’s “a culture of entitlement that will not be tolerated by this government.” — with files from The Canadian Press Follow @D-Mabell-Herald on Twitter