On this edition of Journal, a subject that is near and dear to me – governance. I know, I know. Your heart is beating faster at just the thought of this topic, but bear with me.

If you are a government or a nonprofit or a business of any size, if you get the governance right, then you are on your way to success.

Sadly, it is often in government that we find problems. The example that is glaring in its unmanageability is Metro Vancouver.

Imagine: you are the Chair of this organization with 41 members, many mayors sitting around a very large table representing 21 municipalities, Tsawwassen First Nations, and Electoral Area A. Every single one of them has their own priorities and problems they want addressed.

How can you ever make that work?

Importantly, how are decisions made? Like for the overdue, vastly over-budget wastewater project that went from $700 million to $3.6 billion? Is it by consensus or by accepting a staff recommendation?

In part because of this dollar shock for taxpayers, Deloitte was asked to have a look. Their report highlighted many challenges with the Metro Vancouver model, including the obvious fact that the Board is just too large to manage, that directors’ expenses should be trimmed, and perhaps the Chair should not be a politician.

With all these problems, why would anyone willingly take on the near-impossible task of reorganization? Well, fortunately, mayor Mike Hurley of Burnaby has stepped into the fray and is serving as Chair. He calls himself a person of action and warns that possibly big changes are coming.

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Carole Taylor's Journal is a public affairs dialogue that digs deep into the most pressing issues of our times. For more, see our website at http://www.caroletaylorsjournal.ca.

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