Kevin Kriese

In 2020, the Forest Practices Board will be 25 years old. When it was first established in 1995, one of the most important attributes of the Board was that it would act independently and work on behalf of the public interest. From its inception, the concept of independence was built into the legal structure and composition of the Board. And over the next 25 years, the Board established the operating procedures and policies that ensure it operates at arm’s length from politics and from the usual constraints of ministerial responsibility. …The current Board recently reviewed the status of our independence; we identified several areas where we will improve our internal processes. One of the areas for improvement is to ensure our Board recruitment process, which must be merit based, is clearly documented, including transparent competencies to recruit potential board members to the role. An independent Board increases public trust in our work.