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BC: Thin Calendar for Deposed Half-Million Dollar TransLink CEO

Author: Jordan Bateman 2016/06/20

It’s been 16 months since Ian Jarvis was relieved of his duties as CEO of TransLink. In case you need a reminder, here’s a piece from CBC in February 2015:

In a hastily arranged news conference, the board announced it would be removing Jarvis as head of Metro Vancouver's beleaguered transit authority to "restore public confidence" on Wednesday.

Even by the gold-plated standards of the average CEO, business experts say TransLink's deal with Jarvis is unusual. Jarvis will continue to draw his $422,000 annual salary until June 2016, when his contract ends. Only now he's an adviser.

"The guy is not adding any value. Why keep him around? Showing the way — showing the bad way?" asks Kai Li, finance professor with UBC's Sauder School of Business. "All in all, this is outrageous and a manifestation of bad governance within TransLink."

When Jarvis was kicked aside, it was announced he would keep earning his big pay as an advisor to the TransLink Board of Directors.

Well, his time at TransLink is finally winding down, so we filed a Freedom of Information request to get his calendar from February 16, 2015 to January 3, 2016 (we filed this a while ago, but it took a long time for TransLink to get it to us). We wanted to see what taxpayers got for our half million bucks. The answer: not much. The highlights:

  • A 60-minute meeting with his replacement, Doug Allen, on Feb. 19, and a 30-minute follow-up March 11.
  • A 60-minute meeting with Transit Police chief Neil Dubord on Feb. 23.
  • A 60-minute meeting with “DR” on Feb. 26. Could this be then board member Don Rose? Is this “advising” the board?
  • A 60-minute meeting with board member Don Rose on March 20. He also met for an hour with Rose on June 9, July 8, September 29 and November 16 (marked tentative). (Rose would take over as board chairman on Jan. 1, 2016.)
  • A 60-minute “board advisor role” meeting on March 2. At the White Rock White Spot. Probably not getting into much heavy stuff there.
  • A 60-minute meeting with “Marcella” on March 13. Was this then-board chair Marcella Szel? Or Vision Vancouver spin doctor Marcella Munro?
  • A 60-minute “mobility pricing/governance” meeting April 22.
  • Two three-day “Directors Education Program course” April 24-26 and June 26-28.
  • A 30-minute phone call with HR VP Sandra Hentzen on June 3.

There are many other events – dozens redacted, apparently for personal privacy reasons, along with generic TransLink events. But you get the gist.

Three to five hours with a board member, plus a hour advising at a White Spot. Ninety minutes with his replacement. Maybe another hour with the chairwoman (or maybe a spin doctor).

All for half a million bucks. Your TransLink tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen.

See his whole calendar HERE.


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