Consumer Protection BC is governed by a Board of Directors which is responsible for overseeing strategic direction and governance. The Board of Directors has been established under section 6 of the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority Act . The Act provides for the appointment of directors, qualifications of directors and standards of conduct. The Board has established advisory groups to identify consumer and industry related issues and potential solutions for consideration by the Authority and to provide feedback on any matters put forward for consideration.

Governance
Board Governance Manual

The Board consists of the following members:

Frank Barr, Chair;
Hal Yacowar, Director;
Della Smith, Director;
J.W. Brad Bond, Director;
Philip Hochstein, Director.

Board Biographies:

Mr. Frank Barr
Chair of the Board

Mr. Barr is a Chartered Accountant who has extensive experience in public accountability and reporting both in the private and public sector. He is past President of the Institute of Chartered Accounts of BC, Chair of the Risk Management and Governance Board of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) and a former chair, member or associate of CICA task forces established to provide accounting and auditing standards to the public and private sectors. Mr. Barr was Assistant Auditor General in British Columbia and is currently consulting on governance, financial and accountability matters and serves on a number of boards and committees. Mr. Barr is serving a five year term as chair, ending November 23, 2014.

Mr. Hal Yacowar
Director

Mr. Harold (Hal) Neil Yacowar, QC, has been appointed to the Board effective November 1, 2005. Mr. Yacowar has had extensive experience with the provincial government in the areas of criminal justice, most recently serving as the Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Branch. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in April, 2000. Mr. Yacowar has worked with wholesale and retail industry representatives within the video industry, magazine distributors and retail businesses on specific issues. His work on committees includes: Chair of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada, Criminal Law Section; Commissioner with the Uniform Law Conference of Canada ; and Chair of the Crown Police Liaison Committee. As well, he served as a representative on various Federal/Provincial/Territorial committees, as Chair of the Motion Picture Act Revision and Implementation Committee, as member of the Motion Picture Act Task Force and as Chair of the Criminal Justice Branch Strategic and Future Directions Committee. Mr. Yacowar is serving a three year term ending October 31, 2011.

Ms. Della Smith
Director

Ms Della Smith was appointed to the Board effective April 1, 2006. Ms. Smith has extensive experience in the communications field, spanning over 20 years, during which time she has represented clients from virtually every sector of both industry and government. Since 1995, Ms. Smith has been a partner of QUAY Strategies Inc., a communications firm specializing in strategic planning, crisis and issues management and corporate communications. Ms. Smith currently sits on the Board of the Burnaby Hospital Foundation, the Genome BC Ethics Committee and volunteers for Potluck Café Society, a social enterprise organization that grew out of a “youth at risk” employment Initiative.  She is past President of the Better Business Bureau of the Lower Mainland and previously was a member of the VTV/BC CTV Community Council.  She is past Chairperson of the BC Institute of Technology Sales and Marketing Committee, past Director of the National Advertising Benevolent Society and past Director of the Vancouver Richmond Association of the Mentally Handicapped. As well as being a member of the Public Relations Society of B.C., Della is also a recipient of their Award of Excellence. Ms. Smith is serving a three year term ending March 31, 2012.

Mr. J.W. Brad Bond
Director

Mr. J.W. Brad Bond was appointed to the Board effective May 1, 2007. Mr. Bond is President of Barrier Management Inc. a private consulting firm that works with medium sized companies to enhance their long term value.  He is also a partner in The Dialogue Shop a communications company that specializes in customer and staff engagement surveys, as well as, online CRM programs. 
Brad was Chief Executive Officer of Pharmasave Drugs (National) Ltd. for nine years.  During his tenure at Pharmasave, he directed the re-positioning of the company, and created an innovative and leading edge portfolio of store programs to differentiate their brand.  The result was franchise growth from 175 to 336 locations across Canada, and system wide sales increases from $330 million to almost $1 billion.

Previous to this Brad was Vice President of Shato Holdings Ltd. and managed a diverse portfolio of companies including: White Spot, KFC’s, JDS Sweid, Gaines Pet Foods, and Winchells Donut Houses.  He was also President of Keg Restaurants Ltd., and has merchant banking experience as a General Manager of RoyNat Inc.

Board experience includes being the past Chairman of Rx Canada, a managed care organization in Toronto and past Director of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia and the Fraser Health Authority.  He was Chair of the audit committee in all of these companies.  Mr. Bond’s has exceptional skills and experience in promoting growth, developing human resources and building stakeholder relationships.  Mr. Bond is serving a three year term ending on April 30, 2010.

Mr. Philip Hochstein
Director

Mr. Philip Hochstein was appointed to the Board effective May 1, 2007. As President of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of BC for twenty years, Mr. Hochstein has been actively involved in public policy analysis and development on behalf of the many small businesses that comprise BC’s construction industry.  He is a former Chair of the Coalition of BC Businesses that represents over 50,000 small and medium sized businesses on labour and employment policy issues.

Mr. Hochstein serves on the Board of Directors for the SHARE Family and Community Services Society, the Residential Construction Industry Training Organization and ICBA Benefit Services Ltd. He also currently chairs the 2010 Construction Leaders Taskforce.

Some of his former involvement in public policy development came as a member of the Homeowner Protection Office’s Provincial Advisory Committee, the Safety Development Advisory and the Industry Training Transition Advisory Committee.

Mr. Hochstein has a deep understanding of regulatory roles and consumer protection mandates as well as vast small business knowledge and experience developing strategic partnerships.  He earned a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Victoria in 1984 and an Honours Degree from McGill University.  Mr. Hochstein is serving a three year term ending on April 30, 2010.