Responsibility is a big word. It is something that some of us take on gladly, something others avoid like a plague. At the worst, it is often given to people who choose to wield it like a hammer until the time when they start pretending they don’t have it. Once the journey down that path begins, the results can be akin to a train wreck. This has been a week of responsibility-shirking train wrecks.

At the federal level, we were treated to a spectacular display at the Harper Party of Canada convention. After a few weeks of spiraling controversy that seems to be closing in on the big desk in the Prime Minister’s Office and in which Harper has taken repeated body blows from Mulcair in the House, he stood in front of the Party Faithful to give a much-anticipated speech. Instead of addressing the issue, he avoided it completely, and only talked about how everything in Ottawa is tickety-boo except for a few trouble-making Senators whose name he hardly remembered. A review (in the very Conservative National Post) of the speech from (the very Conservative) Andrew Coyne is one of the most spot-on analyses of Stephen Harper ever written.

The entire point is that Stephen Harper, who has so single-handedly ruled for the last few years that his name has replaced Canada’s in official Government media and has honed to a sharp point the PMO-centric governance model already polished by Jean Chrétien, is now claiming he knew nothing of several secret deals to compensate a Senator for paying back illegally-claimed entitlements, although the plan was cooked up in his office by his closest advisers. It doesn’t matter that he was, ultimately responsible, he is claiming no responsibility. Someone else is to blame.

Then we have the situation in Toronto. As Rob Ford’s constantly-shifting defenses (there is no video, It’s not me in the video, I’ve never seen the video, no-one knows what that is I’m smoking in the video, I might have made a mistake being filmed in that video) do little to build his credibility. However, despite the various strange stories around the phantom video – arrested drug dealers, dead informants, police investigations – the Mayor seems to think this is all a vendetta against him by a newspaper, or the Left Wingers, or his Police Chief, or his driver/dealer, or someone. Deep in denial, he rails against those who might suggest that maybe some part of the current situation might be a result of his actions. Someone else is to blame.

At a different scale, and very locally, the presumed-still-official President of Hyack wrote a letter to the local papers last week that that offers a different view on the Hyack fiasco, a view that differs from that previously offered to the public, or even to members of Hyack.

Unfortunately, many of these points only serve to make the situation more muddy. For example:

“Most directors of the Hyack board were aware of the numerous points the executive committee were working with when preparing an ‘employee review’ for Douglas Smith, the former executive director, prior to his departure. The immediate past president was the board member who did not allow the committee to present their findings to the board on July 30, after he raised an ‘incorrect’ point of order, which abruptly ended the meeting and prevented the board from considering all of the evidence available to it.”

First off, this is a perfectly reasonable explanation of why the Board did not approve the removal of the ED, but it does not explain why the ED was removed without the approval of the Board. That the Board was “aware” that the Executive wanted him removed is not in dispute, what is in dispute is whether the Board was required to approve of it, and if there was just cause for dismissal. Even if just cause was presented, was there a plan to deal with potential legal or financial issues that would arise from terminating the contract? If just cause was not present, what would be the result of the ensuing legal action? In my (usually) humble opinion, the job of the Board would be to provide this type of due diligence before decisions are made. If the decision was made without this due diligence, who made it?

Secondly, who chaired this meeting that was caused to abruptly end due to an incorrect Point of Order? The job of chair is to manage the meeting and avoid this type of issue. One Point of Order should not a meeting destroy, or you need a new Chair.

“With respect to the Oct. 22 ‘gathering’ that 25 individuals had at the Columbia Theatre, it was not a sanctioned meeting of Hyack.”

This unsanctioned gathering was just a collection of paid Hyack Members who gathered at the time and place designated by the President in his announcement to the Members of a Special General Meeting. The majority of those members never received notice from the President that the meeting had been cancelled.

”The comments that have been made by persons at that meeting were only the opinions of those individuals and did not reflect the views or opinions of the Hyack board and the association itself.”

Every comment made at that meeting was made by a paid Member of Hyack, and a General Meeting is usually a meeting of Members, not one where comments are limited to those offered by the Board or Executive.

“A number of them were ‘brand new members’ who had been recently signed on only to further the ends of the dissident directors. These people had little independent information or knowledge or information about our association.”

As a relatively new member of Hyack, this strikes close to me. I joined a couple of months ago, in the middle of the “troubles” and at the request of a couple of Board Members. My membership fee was accepted by the Board, and it has never been suggested to me that I am second class member. I got involved in this process, and spent my own $55, because as I said at the very beginning, I really hoped that Hyack could move past this situation and continue to serve the City. I happen to agree with much of what I read in the newspaper written by Douglas Smith after his departure – Hyack had huge potential to move forward and become more relevant through strategic changes. I actually got excited about the possibilities, and thought I could contribute. My interest was only to make this organization stronger and more effective. Being a member of several not-for-profits that do good volunteer work, I have no interest in damaging one.

During my membership, I have worked with the best information I could get. I have received almost no correspondence from the President that would provide me this so-called “independent information or knowledge or information about [the] association”. If the Membership had not received this important information, isn’t it the duty of the President (who has taken pains to point out all of the people who don’t speak for the Association) to transmit that information to the members?

I have received a couple of reports from the President, mostly on the topic of recent parade-related successes in Washington State. The only official reference to the current “troubles” from the President prior to the SGM was the announcement of and rationale for the SGM, excepting these two sentences from the Presidents Report delivered October 13th:

”By now, you know we are having a Special General Meeting on October 22nd where you will be asked to make some tough decisions. The future of New Westminster’s Hyack Festival Association rests on the outcome of this very important meeting and with you, the members. I know you will make the right decisions.”

That’s it. In a 1,000-word report with photos that talked about the activities of Honourary Colonels and First Ladies in Tacoma, Leavenworth, and Issaquah, there were two sentences that obliquely referred to any “independent information” that would have allowed us Members to make the “right decisions”.

I don’t want to attack the current President personally, I honestly believe he is doing what he thinks is best, with the best intentions. However, I think this Letter to the Editor, better than anything I have seen up to this point on the entire Hyack annus horribilis, demonstrates that he cannot see the situation for what it is. Someone else is to blame.

“Rogue” Board members, Douglas Smith, city council, former sponsors, the local newspapers, 25 Hyack members who attended the SGM, the media, the immediate past president, letter writers, etc.; a myriad of dark forces are out to destroy Hyack. Now that I have written this, you can probably add me to the pile. But not once has the President ever suggested that he may have ever done anything that might require some reflection. Through all of this, no mistakes, no bad choices made in the best intentions, not a step wrong. No apologies offered for not managing this situation better.

Instead of deflecting, it is time for someone to act Presidential and take ownership of the situation. If mistakes were made or decisions look worse with the benefit of hindsight, he will be judged less by admitting to it, and apologizing. A mistake is an opportunity to learn, but first there has to be an acknowledgement. Part of Leadership is the accepting of responsibility. That may be the only path forward right now. The solution will not be found in continuing to look for someone to blame.

PS: there were a couple of other moments in the letter that I simply have to address, because they did not reflect my personal experience during the October 22nd event. I stand to be corrected, but it is my opinion that the President got some facts wrong:

“At an official special general meeting, only fully paid members are allowed to vote and only the items on the agenda can be discussed.”

That is the experience I had at the Special General Meeting. There was business to appoint a chair (as the President failed to show up), business to appoint a Secretary, and 4 resolutions, all passed. That is all that took place at the meeting, and all discussion was around that agenda, as sent out by the President prior to the meeting.

“As well, one long-time Hyack member was turned away at the door by one of the dissident directors when he attempted to enter. This was obviously not an open gathering but rather a partisan group of people with a closed agenda.”

That is NOT the experience I had at the Special General Meeting. There were many people turned away before registration for the meeting began, but they were sent home by a representative of the President who, when I arrived, was telling people to go away as the meeting had been cancelled (then he did not stick around to sign in for the meeting). When two dozen people decided not to go away, but to await the arrival of the President to ask him questions, it became apparent the President was not going to arrive. At that time, the doors were opened, and registration was taken, to assure names of each participant was recorded (in case there was a challenge about membership status). I witnessed one person being turned away, because they arrived long after the doors were sealed at 6:45 (as indicated in the agenda supplied by the President) and after voting on several resolutions had already proceeded. Turns out that person was not even a member, but hoped to sign in at the meeting.

The agenda was the one provided by the President prior to the meeting.Nothing more, nothing less.

Despite some hysterics on Twitter and other media, I cannot think of another, better result for Hyack than the careful approach New Westminster City Council took this week. Although, it will probably not make some people happy.

Some entrenched long-time supporters of the Hyack Festival Association would like the whole thing to go away and for everyone to pretend that nothing happened over the last 6 months, except the perfectly normal and legitimate firing of a staff member for (too secretive to discuss) just cause, and the cleansing the organization of a few rogue members bent on its destruction and (by association) the destruction of the City. They want to go back to business as usual.

There is a second group who want Hyack to change into a more modern community festival society. They want to see the valuable assets and volunteer base of Hyack directed towards local events with less emphasis on the pomp and ceremony of hosting and being guests of the self-appointed “Royalty” of various Pacific Northwest cities and town. They have concerns about the taxpayers’ money being spent on what they see as junkets with no benefit to the taxpayers of New Westminster, and have a more aggressive attitude towards changing the organization.

It is pretty clear these two sides are not going to agree. The firing of Douglas Smith was a symptom of this problem, its questionable handling a result of this problem. However, it is not the only reason that the Hyack Festival Association is in the current quagmire. Just for the record, I want to put a few points out on the table to correct a bit of the misinformation that has grown in the community.

The Hyack Board never voted to remove Douglas Smith. Four members of the Executive (a sub-set of the board) did vote to remove him. Some argue that the Board (who, according to the Hyack Constitution, have the right to hire and set the terms of employment for the Executive Director) is the only body with the right to remove the ED, some argue the Executive was acting within its rights. I’ll leave that one up to the lawyers, but the Board did vote – in the majority – to reinstate Mr. Smith, and voted – in the majority – to censure the Executive members that acted without Board authorization and created a legal problem for the Association.

There were many bad decisions made from this point forward, on both sides of the issue. There were many ways out of the situation that would have allowed Hyack to protect its reputation and carry on doing the good work that it does. At one point the two sides agreed to hire an external Parliamentarian to interpret the Societies Act and the Association’s Constitution and Bylaws and, then provide mediation and administration of the Special General Meeting scheduled for October 22. However, when that Parliamentarian decided he could not help these people, perhaps the best opportunity was lost. The story of why the Parliamentarian left only exists in rumour, but is a story yet to be told. Another one for the Lawyers.

The loss of the Parliamentarian caused several members of the Board to decide they would not receive a fair hearing, and instead of risking their reputations in front of a kangaroo court, they resigned their Board positions, and half the resolutions for the SGM went away. They did, however, show up to attend the SGM and address the remaining resolutions, only to find it had been cancelled at the last minute by the very Executive members who were to face possible expulsion at that meeting. When the assembled members determined they represented a quorum for a duly constituted SGM, the votes to remove three Executive Members were near unanimous. Whether that SGM was “legal” under the Society Act and the Constitution, or whether the “emergency meeting” of the Board that cancelled it and appointed four new Board members was “legal” under the Society Act and the Constitution, I leave for the lawyers. Apparently Legal opinions have been sought and received for both sides of the argument.

So for those having a hard time keeping count: here is the list of Hyack board members for 2013 from the Hyack website, updated to show the events of October 22nd, when both the (questioned) SGM and the (questioned) emergency Board Meeting were held:

…in RED are the three Executive Members removed at the October 22 SGM;
…in BLUE are the 5 Board Members who resigned going into the October 22 SGM;
…in GREEN are two members who are no longer on the board, for reasons ostensibly unrelated to the current troubles, The President Elect moved out of town for work, and the Council Representative was replaced part way through the year;

…at the bottom are the 4 Board Members named by the Executive before the October 22 SGM;
…in ORANGE is one of those newly-named members who resigned on October 28 to avoid the perception of conflict of interest with City Council.

What a mess.

After spending months standing back and watching, City Council was finally pushed to the point where they had to react. The City provides money and in-kind support to Hyack for events held on City streets. To do this, the City must enter into legal agreements with the organization. Contracts are signed (or handshake agreements are made that constitute binding contracts under the law). Things like liability and indemnity come into play. The City needs to know, when these agreements are made, that the representative signing the papers and shaking the hand is the legal representative of the operation, authorized by law to make financial commitments on behalf of the organization, backed by the assets and insurance of that organization.

Even if we put aside for a bit the issue of financial accountability for taxpayer’s dollars, there is a gigantic liability issue here, for which the City needs to have some certainty. The questions Council is asking Hyack in this week’s resolutions will provide that certainty, and are the path back to a functioning, accountable, and functional Festival Association.

For the first time in 6 months, there is light at the end of the Hyack tunnel. I look at that list of Board Members above, and I see 5 original Board Members who have been publicly silent through this entire escapade. It is those 5 that need to step up now, and begin to bring the Public’s confidence back in Hyack.

Update to the Update – I’m not sure what happened last night. Approximately 25 members showed up for the Hyack Festival Association Special General Meeting, and resolutions regarding society finances passed with simple majority (the Treasurer was not present) and the three resolutions to remove the President, Treasurer and Vice President passed with a greater than 75% majority (none of the three Executive members were present). I don’t know where the society goes from here, but things may hinge on the question of whether the Society Act permits the cancelling of a properly announced and convened Special General Meeting of the members a half-hour before it begins on the whim of the Board.This is especially relevant when removal of Board members is on the agenda of the meeting. As an SGM is the only process available for Board Member removal, is it proper for the Board Members facing removal to cancel said SGM at the last minute? The Hyack drama keeps on giving. 

I would love to write more about this, but this is a busy week full of good news. For the next few nights, I will be volunteering at the NewWestDocFest. Then there will be a Rally on the topic of Ports and Coal at the Quay on Sunday. Have a good week New West! 

The battle for the future of Hyack took another turn today, just before the Special General Meeting that was meant to address the internal conflict. Today 5 Board members, who represent a plurality of the Board, but claim to be unable to exercise that due to interference from three members of the Executive, resigned from the Board.

I have attached a transcript of their resignation letter here, without comment:

October 22, 2013
New Westminster Hyack Festival Association
Mayor & Council, City of New Westminster

With this letter, we the undersigned, resign as Board Members of the New Westminster Hyack Festival Association, effective immediately. Although we believe we have all worked to the best of our abilities as Directors toward maintaining a solid organization and building a promising future, we feel that this now has become an impossible task. The reasons for this include a failed governance model combined with the ineptitude and incompetence of the current President, Treasurer, and Vice President who this summer set the organization on a destructive path with the unjustified dismissal of Hyack’s Executive Director.

This past July, the ED’s employment was terminated for claimed cause by the President, Gavin Palmer, and the Vice President, Alan Wardle with the support of the Treasurer, Gloria Munro, and the former President Elect, Nadine Proulx (since resigned). This action was conducted against the advice of other Board members, without the full Board’s knowledge and without the required Board authority. When this action was finally brought to the Board table for discussion, we as part of a majority of the Board did not support these Directors and censured each of them for the unauthorized dismissal. We then supported a Board decision to engage a preeminent Vancouver law firm to review all facts related to the termination and advise the Board on a way forward. The result of that review was a written determination that Hyack did not have sufficient grounds to dismiss Mr. Smith from his employment for just cause, but instead, ongoing correspondence highlighted the many mistakes in law and action taken by the President, the Vice President and the Treasurer.

While the improper personal actions by these executive Board Members might have been remedied through their resignations, and which was suggested as being the appropriate course of action by our legal counsel and called for by other Directors at the lime, the group refused and instead persisted in pursuit of their self-interest at Hyack’s expense. Although a lawsuit has since been averted, with a legal settlement finalized last week with the ED, very substantial legal and settlement costs were incurred. These three Directors have refused to acknowledge any personal liability for these costs which directly arose out of their personal actions and therefore Hyack is facing a significant non-operating deficit that is now being put forward to the membership for financing through debt.

During this time, Gloria Munro completely failed to fulfill her responsibilities as Treasurer. The financial ineptitude that she tolerated and facilitated resulted in the Board not once in the past three months receiving a report on the financial position of the organization. This included a complete failure to provide an accounting to the Board of the financial impact resulting from the unjustified ED dismissal, the losses in sponsorship revenues and the extra costs from legal fees.

There have been many additional and ongoing examples of executive incompetence, failure to seek or follow Board direction, and projecting false or misleading information to the media and the public. Sadly, the Board meetings degraded to becoming a battleground rather than a time and place to conduct meaningful planning and to direct successful operations. The President,

Vice President, and Treasurer continued to refuse any responsibility for their mistakes and did not once) offer an apology to the Board for their actions.

While Hyack may in the past have been a vibrant, valuable service organization that benefited and contributed to the community spirit of New Westminster, we feel it is no longer that today. We believe that the organization has lost its way, focusing excessive money and energy on exclusive activities outside the City, rather than creating an organization that reflects, includes and celebrates the many ethnic, community and business organizations that make up our City.
We had intended to stay on the Board until at least the Special Meeting of the Membership scheduled for this evening. However this past Friday, the Registered Parliamentarian that the Board engaged to chair the meeting resigned due to the repeated interference and unilateral and illegitimate actions by the President, Gavin Palmer. Since most of the issues at the Special Meeting will be Special Resolutions requiring a 75% majority vote, it is very unlikely that any of these Motions will pass and the status quo will be maintained. We have therefore concluded that there is no benefit to remaining as Directors with the organization.

Our resignations are delivered after much deliberation and with great concern. We fervently fear that if the current President, Vice President, Treasurer, along with a small group of Past Presidents continue to control the present and future direction of the organization, it will be to the detriment of Hyack, the City, and, most importantly, the citizens of New Westminster. We believe that Hyack should be a festivals organisation that celebrates our heritage, our present and our future – IN the City and FOR the City. This is why we originally volunteered our time to serve as Board members.

(signed by Patti Goss, Mariane Kazemir, Stephen Lloyd, Bill Radbourne, and Ron Unger)

As far as I know, the meeting tonight is still a “go”, and the above-signed members, according to the Record report, still intend to be there. One hopes that their new status as Members (as opposed to Board members) will free them to ask the questions to which many of us in the City have wanted answers since the is mess began.

I have to admit, though, my attempts to remain positive and hopeful for a resolution that keeps Hyack as the City’s preeminent festival organization are beginning to wear. We’ll know more tomorrow