The Board Chair of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District says they accept the findings of the BDO Canada forensic audit report without hesitation.

Ken Gillis made those comments on NL Newsday, adding a number of deficiencies that were made public were not known by the board.

“I don’t know that I can recall any specific incident but information began to trickle in once the new board was elected,” he said. “There were many new members on that board and information as I say began to trickle in and it trickled in, it became obvious to us that we had to take action.”

Gillis says the TNRD has already addressed some of those issues that were highlighted in the audit which found an “inappropriate culture of spending” under former CAO Sukh Gill.

Among other things, it revealed that he had many questionable expenses, and that in many cases his receipts from 2015 through to 2019 were not itemized. According to the audit, Gill was also paid significantly more than other CAO’s in regional districts across B.C.

He also spent a lot more that his peers, particularly at restaurants and coffee shops.

In March, while recommending that the board authorize a third-party audit, Gillis called the amounts that were made public after a lengthy investigation by Kamloops This Week ‘surprising’ and ‘somewhat distressing’.

He also previously told NL News that a lack of policy and oversight played a major role in the excessive spending – including on big parties, high-end restaurants, luxury hotels, and expensive gifts – that continued for years.

“They are giving us recommendations. We certainly intend to implement all of the recommendations,” Gillis said on NL Newsday this week.

“I think [the auditors] thought that there should be more oversight on the part of the board. During the term that [they were] investigating, things seemed to stop at the office of the CAO. So I think they want to see us do something along the lines of an internal audit but also that that internal audit should be reported to the board, not reported to the CAO.”

Audit is ‘Money Well Spent’

Gillis also said the money spent on the audit by the TNRD is money well spent.

Initially pegged to cost between $50,000 and $75,000 before the scope was widened, Gillis says it’s still not known exactly how expensive the undertaking was, but he again reassured residents, taxpayers, and staff that the recommendations will be implemented.

“The areas in which we have found reporting and that sort of thing to be lacking are going to be addressed and addressed as quickly as possible and I’d like to assure them that in large measure we have already moved to address a lot of the deficiencies within the organization,” he said.

Jervis Rodrigues, a partner with BDO Canada, said Thursday, he feels there is a “unique opportunity” for the TNRD to move forward in a positive light.

“You’ve got new leadership at the top, new in-house counsel and I believe you’ve got a unique opportunity to seize some of these recommendations, and both as senior management but also the board, the board need to grab a hold of these recommendations and start to systematically implement change,” he said.

He also noted the TNRD has already started to make some progress under its new leadership, though he called on senior management to ensure that all of the recommendations are acted upon.

“I think you’d really need to take an inventory of all of these recommendations and say to yourselves, what can we put into action over the next three months, over the next six months,” Rodrigues said.

Gillis believes this audit has gone as far as it can at this point adding again that work to correct past mistakes continues.

“We know how to deal with those problems. We’re getting recommendations as well from BDO in terms of how to deal with those deficiencies and we will remedy them,” he said. “At the end of the day it will have been worthwhile for the taxpayers.”

Current TNRD CAO, Scott Hildebrand, also said that the TNRD is “committed” to changing the practices of the past.

“We are determined to prioritize delivery of the forensic audit findings. We are committed to the public accountability and transparency and we will work as quickly as possible to ensure that the findings of the report are released to the extent that we are able to, bearing in mind our legal obligations under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,” he said.

“Our staff deserve better and our staff deserve to be heard.”

A separate RCMP criminal investigation into potential financial irregularities at the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, is still ongoing.

 

– With files from Jeff Andreas and Brett Mineer