Latest news with #KashHeed
CBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CBC
'We're not doing our job': Richmond councillors push for more oversight of Olympic Oval
Social Sharing The controversy over Richmond's Olympic Oval continues to go around and around — but there could soon be clarity on its future. "We need to do our job, and we're not doing our job as councillors," said Coun. Bill McNulty at a meeting this week, criticizing his fellow councillors for not providing enough oversight, and the managers of the Olympic Oval for a lack of communication with the city. The Oval, which was built for the 2010 Olympics for speedskating, is fully owned and operated by the city, but has been managed and overseen by an arms-length corporation. The city has historically provided between $3 million and $4 million a year, around 20 per cent of the Oval's operating revenue, with the rest coming from program fees and an Olympic trust fund given to facilities that continue to operate as performance and training venues. But over the last 18 months, the Oval has faced a tumultuous time in the aftermath of its longtime CEO leaving. Council quickly moved to replace its former board, there were several stories critical of previous expenses, and is now the city is auditing the Oval's overall operations. The meeting this week ended with council approving a motion put forward by Coun. Kash Heed that would cap the money given by the City of Richmond to the Oval at $2.5 million next year, along with a staff review of whether the Oval should be directly overseen by the city, similar to community centres across the region. The motion will need to be approved at a full council meeting next Monday. Outgoing CEO receives around $1 million for 2 years' work At the centre of the controversy is a retired staff member who ran both the City of Richmond and the Oval for many years — George Duncan. In 2022, Duncan retired as Richmond's chief administrative officer after more than two decades on the job and received nearly $275,788 in benefits and compensation above his base salary for his final year. While that level of retirement compensation is not unheard of for a senior staffer in Metro Vancouver, he stayed on as CEO of the Oval and was given a new contract with a salary paid for by the Oval. WATCH | Richmond Olympic Oval under microscope: Richmond, B.C., councillors want more oversight of Olympic Oval 7 hours ago Duration 2:31 It's one of Metro Vancouver's biggest Olympic legacies, but Richmond, B.C., politicians are now asking tough questions about how the Olympic Oval has been run. It is fully owned by the city, but as Justin McElroy reports, there are questions about who it benefits, and the benefits given to its former CEO. But he retired from that role just two years later, departing in July 2024. While both Duncan and the Oval called it a planned departure, he received an additional $372,991 in benefits and additional compensation for those six months of work, in addition to $209,249 in base salary. A spokesperson for the Oval said it couldn't comment "as this is a personnel matter," and Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie said the city's hands were tied. "The Oval board, which is a separate corporate board, they ratified that arrangement," he said. "So while I do think that they are subject to review and we need to examine them further, it was a mutual parting as agreed." However, that arrangement has rankled many councillors, who have pointed to it as evidence of the need to change the hands-off relationship with the Oval, even after changing the members on the board. "Mr. Duncan was very good at writing contracts, and his … board made sure that those things were approved," said Coun. Carol Day. "The [new] board that we have put in place the last two years is doing a phenomenal job, and I would encourage them to become part of … the board for the new community centre, which would be part of the City of Richmond." High performance or community centre? Beyond the governance of the Oval exists a separate question about its primary focus: whether to be a hub for high-performance athletes or essentially a large community centre. "All the other community centres, for $29, you have open access for the entire summer. That just doesn't happen here, it's only for the elite," said Day. "I think that sends a very bad message to people who aren't rich and famous." But Coun. Alexa Loo, who was council's liaison to the Oval for many years and competed in snowboarding in the 2010 Olympics, said changing its focus could risk losing Olympics-related funding for the facility. "If we're keen to keep that funding … and provide opportunities for Richmond athletes to make it to the Olympics and to achieve their dreams, then we have to continue down the road of still having some high performance," she said. "I'd love to say that the Richmond Olympic Oval is a very special place." Though what that place could look like, and be operated as, in the future is currently a big question mark. "It's not healthy, and if you think it is, you've got your head shaken … we are the buck here — not the board," said McNulty. "I think that direction is needed to make some changes to all facilities so that they're available to Richmond residents."
Global News
4 days ago
- Business
- Global News
Richmond Olympic Oval poised to have city subsidy slashed
See more sharing options Send this page to someone via email Share this item on Twitter Share this item via WhatsApp Share this item on Facebook Richmond's Olympic Oval is poised to receive about a million dollars less per year, after a motion was put forward to cap a municipal subsidy to the facility at $2.5 million annually. The motion, put forward by Councillor Kash Heed, is expected to be approved by council next week. On average the subsidy has been about $3.5 million per year, and more in recent years. 1:49 Questions surround Richmond Oval CEO's salary The Oval received $3.904 million in 2023, $4.001 million in 2024 and $3.574 million in 2025. Story continues below advertisement Canadian Taxpayers Federation B.C. director Carson Binda believes $2.5 million a year is still too much of a subsidy Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Look, there's been a consistent culture of waste at the Olympic Oval,' he said. The Oval is undergoing a forensic audit for possible fraudulent activity. 2:11 Richmond mayor responds to city controversies Global News has also reported that Richmond Olympic Oval CEO George Duncan's compensation last year totalled $582,000. He was among eight people from the Oval and city who went on a secret European junket, costing more than $77,000. In the months ahead, there could be more changes coming at the Oval. Richmond council has directed the city's chief administrative officer to review possible options for replacing the Oval Corporation.
Vancouver Sun
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Why police forces serving multiple towns are breaking up in B.C.
Police forces are splitting apart in B.C. despite more than two decades of recommendations and discussion on amalgamating municipal police agencies into larger regional forces. In Metro Vancouver, Pitt Meadows is establishing its own RCMP detachment, separate from Maple Ridge. A new $21.7-million building for the RCMP is under construction. Langley Township also plans to establish its own RCMP detachment, separate from the City of Langley, making the breakup official last month . In each case, the communities had shared RCMP detachments, but now want more control over their own detachments. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The B.C. government did not respond to Postmedia's questions put to it last week on why it's giving the OK to fragment policing, creating more, smaller police forces. The moves by Pitt Meadows and Langley township require provincial approval. Kash Heed, a former B.C. solicitor general and longtime advocate of amalgamating smaller forces into regional forces, called the moves a step backward. He also pointed to Kelowna, which is considering creating its own municipal force , and said it is a concern because what is needed is a regional force in the Okanagan, not separate independent RCMP detachments in several communities. The City of Surrey is in the midst of a controversial transition to its own municipal force from the RCMP. 'There are endless examples on the balkanization of our police services in British Columbia,' said Heed, now a city councillor in Richmond. Heed supports the 2022 recommendations of an all-party legislative committee on policing reform that said B.C. should replace the RCMP with a provincial police force and examine several areas for regionalization, including southern Vancouver Island and parts of the Lower Mainland and Okanagan. 'We need to come together and have a unified police service that's going to deliver the accountability, that's going to deliver the efficiencies and certainly deliver the effectiveness,' says Heed. The all-party legislative committee noted that having police services structured according to municipal boundaries has led to gaps in communication and administration, as well as fragmented services. Amalgamating police forces by region can increase efficiency and effectiveness of services that are highly technical, capital-intensive and specialized without sacrificing policing that is informed and responsive to the community, the committee said in its report. However, Craig Hodge, a Coquitlam city councillor and co-chairman of the local government roundtable on modernizing the B.C. Police Act, says communities should have the ability to choose the policing model best suited for them. That's particularly important given that policing can represent as much as 40 per cent of some local governments' budgets, he said. 'I think we're seeing communities with integrated detachments de-integrating because they want to be able to deliver a different level of service than their neighbour. It really goes against this whole idea that one size is going to fit all,' said Hodge. He noted it does make sense for economies of scale and for operational efficiency, and because criminals don't respect borders, to have certain parts of police services amalgamated, such as for homicide and organized crime. That is something that does take place to some extent under operations such as the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. The debate over regionalizing police forces also comes against the backdrop of questions about whether the RCMP should become solely a federal force and focus on areas such as cross-border, organized and financial crime, and stop providing contract policing to municipalities and provinces like B.C. because it drains their staffing resources. The history of calls to examine regionalizing policing stretch as far back as 1990. That year, the B.C. government launched an inquiry into policing, where police executives and other experts favoured regionalization, while most mayors and police board members were opposed. In 2007, then B.C.'s Solicitor General John Les said he was ready to talk about a regional police force for Metro Vancouver, an idea that had been raised by Heed, who was then the police chief for West Vancouver. Heed became solicitor general in 2009 and again advocated a regional force. In 2012, former judge and B.C. attorney general Wally Oppal, who headed an inquiry into the response of law enforcement into missing women and serial-killer Robert Pickton's case, recommended that Metro Vancouver form a regional police force. So far, the B.C. government response to the recommendations, including to those from the all-legislative committee, has been muted. Mike Farnworth, a recent B.C. solicitor general, said in 2023 the idea is not on the front burner. The province's current solicitor general, Garry Begg, who sat on the all-party legislative committee and is a former RCMP officer, has not said what are the government's plans, if any, for a provincial police force or combining numerous police forces into regional forces in Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria. The B.C. government did not make Begg or someone else available for an interview for this article. In Pitt Meadows, the council believes having its own force will better serve the needs of the community, with a population of 19,000, than a combined force with Maple Ridge, with a population of 102,000. In a recent council meeting that provided a transition update on its new force, Pitt Meadows councillor Bob Meachen said now the city gets to manage the resources for which it is paying. 'That's a fundamental reason for doing what we are doing,' he said. Meachen noted that increased costs from areas such as body-worn cameras that the RCMP is bringing in would have to have been paid under the old model as well. Mayor Nicole MacDonald noted the transition is on time and on budget. 'There are lots of questions from other areas that are seeing what Pitt Meadows is doing,' she said. ghoekstra@
CBC
21-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Richmond, B.C., councillor 'dumbfounded' by alleged misuse of city hall gift card program
Social Sharing A city councillor in Richmond, B.C., is calling for a more fulsome audit of city finances amid a police investigation into alleged misuse of a gift card program. In a statement on May 15, the City of Richmond said it purchased approximately $446,000 worth of gift cards from 2022 to 2024 as part of an employee recognition program — but found in a recent review that around $295,000 of them were unaccounted for. Richmond RCMP said their serious crimes section has opened an investigation into the gift card case, which was first reported by Global News. The city said "an individual's employment with the City has concluded" following a personnel investigation. It also said it no longer uses gift cards and would be conducting a forensic audit of the past three years of finances. Richmond Coun. Kash Heed introduced a motion Tuesday to expand the audit to include the past decade, and have the findings presented to council afterwards. The motion was approved unanimously. He also co-signed an open letter to B.C. Premier David Eby that says the province needs to either reinstate a specific office to oversee municipal spending or expand the auditor general's mandate to cover it. Heed spoke with CBC's On The Coast host Gloria Macarenko on Tuesday afternoon. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. So what do we know about these gift cards? What we don't know is the troubling aspect of this — how we could let almost $300,000 worth of unaccounted transactions take place in the City of Richmond.... So that is very troubling. And we just know this from three years of data. The gift card program has been in existence for over a decade. As a result of that, I think we have to dig further into this particular problem to identify where this went off the rails, why there is such a discrepancy [in] the accounted-for and the unaccounted amount. Why does the city hold this much money in gift cards? I'm dumbfounded. I've never experienced this in [my] career. When I talk to other councillors throughout the Lower Mainland, they don't have a particular program like this. We have to remember gift cards are actually treated as monetary cash.... So when we have reconciliation, for example, for cash items that are purchased within local government, that is all looked after and it's all caught by the auditors to make sure there's integrity behind it. These cards were used as part of an employee recognition program. Do you think this is the most appropriate way to offer recognition? Absolutely not. It's proven itself that it's not the appropriate way. We cannot control it. We can't even account for it. So this is something that has been halted here in Richmond, but the reason why this went off the rails and the reason why we're unable to reconcile it has to be looked at, has to be explored. I'm not sure … whether this is a deficiency in our oversight or that there is actual fraudulent activity taking place, and until we do the level of forensic audit that's required to determine what went wrong, we will never know. We do annual audits outsourced by a particular company, they were unable to pick up on this. We have internal auditors that work within the City of Richmond, they were unable to pick up on this. We've got to delve into this. What do you make of the decision to stick with KPMG for the forensic audit since they also audited the city's financial statements? I think, based on whether there's a clear conflict or the possibility or the perception of a conflict, they should have outsourced it to another company that has the ability to do these types of forensic audits. KPMG is the auditor, they've been the financial auditor for the City of Richmond for decades now. And now we're bringing that same company in to do the forensic audit. It is very telling. According to media reports, one employee in Richmond has already been fired. What more do you think needs to be done for accountability? My fear is, do we have a deeper problem within our financial accounting of the taxpayer dollar in Richmond? And I think if we can truly understand what occurred here, maybe we can start looking into other areas to see and ensure the right standard operating procedures and auditing systems are in place.
Global News
21-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
Forensic audit into City of Richmond gift card spending expanded to last decade
Amid a police investigation into spending, a forensic audit at Richmond City Hall has been expanded to review the past decade. That decision came during a City of Richmond General Purposes Committee meeting on Tuesday afternoon, at which Councillor Kash Heed put forward a motion calling for the review to go back to 2015. 2:06 RCMP investigating Richmond City gift card program It was approved unanimously, with Councillor Bill McNulty commenting, 'it's on everyone's mind in the city, it doesn't matter if you go to McDonald's or you go shopping.' Story continues below advertisement Following a months-long Global News investigation, the city admitted being unable to reconcile $295,000 worth of restaurant gift cards bought in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy One employee has been fired. That person's emails were contained in the results of Global News' freedom of information request. Among the emails raising questions was one which stated, 'We need to order more…We need 75 Keg asap. $50 value, bonuses on top. We also need 50 white spot asap $50 value, bonuses on top.' Another email said, 'We have a somewhat urgent order for GCs. I'd like to have them by end of day tomorrow. I can pick up from anywhere. We need: 25 x $100 Boston Pizza.' Also among the emails, 'I know we just ordered but I think we need a different denomination of WS cards. Can you order 60x $100 cards excluding bonuses. Optically, I think it looks better if each restaurant card is in the same amount.' And, there was this one, 'Here is my 2023 statement of account you can see the values spent already this year. Based on the amounts spent already to the various suppliers, do you want to send me a revised gift card request?' Story continues below advertisement When asked how much might be unaccounted for over a decade, and if that could reach a million dollars, Heed responded, 'that's a possibility.' 'I'm not discounting anything at this particular time, given the fact as to what has come to the forefront,' he added. The scandal has prompted four municipal councillors in the region to renew calls for the province to reinstate B.C.'s municipal auditor general. They have also launched a petition. 'This petition today finally gives the public the opportunity to actually participate and have their voice heard,' New Westminster Councillor Daniel Fontaine said. As the investigation continues, it remains undetermined if others could be fired or if there could be criminal charges.
