Posts Tagged Cowichan Lodge

This posting is to illustrate first steps taken by citizens holding to account members of a governing board. In this example it is the board members of a major Canadian provincial government agency,  the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA). VIHA is charged with healthcare  on Vancouver Island and running the facilities for it, under the direction of the provincial Health Minister. The Minister has ultimate responsibility  and public accountability for how the province’s several health authorities carry out their tasks. Each authority is the face of the Minister for that area of the province. What health authority board members intend and do, or fail to do in their duty, affects citizens in important ways.

Below is the third-stage letter from the Citizens’ Accountability Group formed on VIHA to each individual member of the  board, again asking for their view of their own public accountability. Each earlier asking was rebuffed. The letter exchange below shows that the Board members feel accountable only to the Minister, which means that they do not feel publicly accountable to the citizens they affect — only to the official who appointed them.

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