Last night, on CP24’s Our Town program, TPA Director Douglas Reid told viewers that the proposed tunnel project has never come to the Toronto Port Authority’s board of directors for discussion, let alone approval. All he knew, he said, is what he’s read in the newspapers.

Reid is one of a minority of four who have been regularly excluded from information made available to the five-man majority, he also stated.

The TPA board has been described as dysfunctional over the years – most recently in a bizarre decision, attached, that found that although TPA Director Colin Watson had described himself many times as a “friend” of Robert Deluce, CEO of Porter, that wasn’t enough to prevent him from casting the swing vote in favour of purchasing a second ferry with public money at the request of Porter.

That dysfunction is also apparent in documents anonymously received by CommunityAIR recently.

“This recent revelation by Mr. Reid, and these documents reveal a shocking abuse of power by the board majority appointed by the Harper government, and unacceptable involvement by the Tory Minster of Transport’s office in its affairs.”, said Brian Iler, Chair of CommunityAIR.

Iler pointed to the following documents:

·        The Minutes of a March 28, 2008 meeting, describe how the majority, taking advantage of the absence of two directors, removed the then chair, and elected one of their own.

·        This removal and election were reviewed by legal counsel for the TPA – a prominent Bay Street firm -  it stated in its April 7, 2008 opinion, that

“The appointment of Mr. McQueen [who is the current chair] without the required notice was unlawful [our emphasis] because it breached the Regulations [under the Canada Marine Act] and is therefore invalid.”

·        By letter dated May 6, 2008, a director asked then Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon to intervene, referring to this opinion. He added:

Additionally, I wish to formally notify you that over the last year your office has on multiple occasions attempted to interfere with and repeatedly attempted to direct and influence directors[our emphasis]  in connection  with issues that are the sole purview of the board of directors as provided for in the Canada Marine Act. I also  understand that one of your office staff has threatened directors with removal or replacement if they did not comply with his directives.

The Harper government’s only response, to our knowledge, was to expand the board and appoint two additional directors – both loyal Conservatives: Jeremy Adams, a former political aide in the Harris government, and another Harrisite, Sean Morley.

It is anticipated that questions as to the legitimacy of the TPA’s governance of Toronto’s port, given these shenanigans, will be posed at the TPA’s AGM on September 3.

Attachments:

1.      “The Watson Report” by Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.

2.      Minutes of a March 28, 2008 meeting

3.      Davies Ward Beck April 7, 2008 opinion

4.    Henley letter dated May 6, 2008

(Editors note:  These attachments will be available on the CommunityAIR website by Monday.)