B.C. Transit gets a new chairwoman
The province has appointed a Victoria business advocate as chairwoman of B.C. Transit. Catherine Holt, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, will begin her new role this month. She replaces Frank Carson, a Victoria lawyer with B.C. Liberal ties.
“Ms. Holt is a natural choice for this important role as she has a vast and varied level of knowledge and experience that she has acquired in her impressive career spanning three decades,” Transportation Minister Claire Trevena said in a statement.
Holt has done extensive consulting work on public transportation, having worked as a strategic business adviser to the CEO of TransLink. In 2012, she co-wrote for the province a review of the relationship between local governments, the province and B.C. Transit.
Holt spent 17 years with the Sage Group and served as an assistant deputy minister under Mike Harcourt’s B.C. NDP government. Since joining the chamber, she has argued for a regional transportation authority for Greater Victoria.
Chamber chairman Al Hasham said the organization hopes to see that happen, with Holt in a provincial position. “We would really like an authority that has some power to make changes locally here,” he said.
If there is ever a conflict of interest between Holt’s chamber and transit duties, he said the chamber’s vice-chairman, Dan Dagg, is prepared to step in.
Carson has strong ties to the B.C. Liberal Party. His wife, Primrose Carson, is deputy chief of staff for the Liberal caucus and he served on a committee that set the rules for the ongoing Liberal leadership race.
Trevena appointed Wendal Milne, a former Sooke mayor and RCMP detachment commander, as a director on the B.C. Transit board. Milne worked at B.C. Transit from 1995 to 2008. He was director of operations and maintenance in Victoria, where he was responsible for 550 employees, as well as security, manager of transit operations.