Trustees

THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE FOUNDATION was created to foster the preservation of Government House and its grounds; to enhance its decor, character, maintenance, historical and cultural values; and to provide funding for the Lieutenant Governor’s programs and awards that have a positive impact provincewide. Funds donated to the Government House Foundation are placed in a trust account with proceeds directed for the benefit of British Columbians. Gifts in kind may also be accepted for display and use in Government House.

The Foundation has four Honorary Trustees: The Lieutenant Governor and spouse; The Chief Justice of British Columbia; and the Private Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor.

The Foundation’s Trustees are elected to a three-year term. They are British Columbians who represent particular areas of knowledge — law, history, engineering, horticulture, the arts, etc. — as their role is not only to guide the Foundation’s activities but also to serve as advisors to Government House when so requested by the Lieutenant Governor.

THE TRUSTEES

COLIN EARL SMITH, PEng, PE
President

Colin Smith’s career includes operations and corporate management, entrepreneurship and private practice consulting in the resource and infrastructure sectors and over 15 years of public service.

Throughout his lifetime, Mr. Smith has engaged himself in the leadership of local, provincial and national service organizations including Engineers Canada and Chambers of Commerce. In addition to being
a Trustee of the Government House Foundation, he is currently an active Harbourside Rotarian,
a Commissioner of Greater Victoria’s Core Area Wastewater Treatment Project, a Director of the Victoria Airport Authority, Chief Warden of Iron Ring Camp 23, President Elect of the Canadian Society for Senior Engineers, Chair of the Vancouver Island Branch of the Engineering Institute of Canada, a University of Victoria Engineering Associate, Canadian Private Sector Lead with PNWER (The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region) and a Founding Member of the University of BC Alumni Victoria Leadership Council, among several other organizations.

His service has been recognized with several Fellowships, the 125th Anniversary of Canada and the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals.

DIANA MAUGHAN
Vice-President

Diana Maughan has extensive experience in board leadership, business and community affairs in Vancouver. After high school graduation, University of BC course work and marriage, Ms. Maughan graduated with a diploma in International Studies from the University of London, England. She is also a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors’ Governance Essentials Program for Directors of Not-For-Profit Organizations.

Ms. Maughan currently is a director of Heathcliff Properties Ltd. and Ronin Management Inc. After many years of involvement in a variety of community endeavours, her focus was on education. Through board leadership and a consulting business, she has worked to improve the governance practices of Canadian independent schools and international schools. Ms. Maughan’s most recent work was with UWC International in London, England, which comes after many years of involvement with and as Board Chair of Lester B Pearson UWC College of the Pacific. In addition, she is involved with Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club Board Committees and enjoys playing competitive golf.

BERNARD BECK
Secretary / Treasurer

Bernard Beck is a second generation member of the RCMP who retired as Commander Federal Crimes, Commercial Crime Section, after years of joint forces operations targeting international organized crime in Canada, the U.S.A., U.K. and South America. After leaving the RCMP, Mr. Beck became Vice President, Director Forensic Investigations at Deloitte & Touche and later CCO  at Custom House (Western Union Business Solutions), a commercial foreign exchange and cross-border payments company with operations in seven countries. He is a co-founder and current executive VP of AscendantFX Capital, a non-bank financial institution and FinTech company specializing in foreign exchange hedging solutions and international payments. Headquartered in Toronto (with a satellite HQ in Victoria), it operates in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.

Mr. Beck is a past president of the Union Club of B.C. and helped establish its community outreach and scholarship program at UVic. He is currently on the board of Pacific Opera Victoria and co-chaired the recent $2.8-million anniversary campaign. A longtime volunteer, he has worked with children with mental and physical disabilities, school liaison programs, bicycle rodeos, tele-miracles, youth mentorship, and as a director of  Vancouver Crime Stoppers and much more.

JOE GARDNER, MB, PAg, MSc

Joe Gardner joined the Government House Foundation as a trustee in 2012.  Over the past four decades, he has worked in a wide variety of professional capacities in both the private and public sectors.

Mr. Gardner has served on the Federal Farm Debt Review Board. He is best known for his 40-plus years running the Douglas Lake Cattle Company – Canada’s largest working cattle ranch. He is presently also a trustee of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Foundation. He earned his Master of Science degree in Animal Science at the University of British Columbia, is a commercial-rated fixed- and rotary-wing pilot. In 1986, he received the Medal of Bravery.

PATTY GRANT
President, The Friends of Government House Garden Society

Patty Grant has been a member of The Friends for 10 years and has twice been appointed as President. She is proud to be a Terracite, as those lucky enough to volunteer on the Terraces are called.  A retired acute care nurse, she began her more than 40-year career following her graduation from nursing school in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Of those 40 years, 30 were spent at Victoria General Hospital. Post retirement she began cello lessons and enjoys playing with a small cello ensemble. Some of Patty’s past volunteer experiences include the Royal BC Museum, Scouts Canada, Beacon Hill Little League, and the 1994 Commonwealth Games held in Victoria. Her proudest achievements are her two sons and her granddaughter, five year old Greta Marigold.

GERALDINE HINTON, DStJ

Geraldine Hinton has had a 40-year career featuring leadership roles in both health care policy and practice, focusing on older adults. She retired as Executive Director of the BC Government’s Office for Seniors in 2002.
In retirement, Geraldine has continued to advocate for the aging population, serving on many committees and boards at all levels of government and in the not-for-profit sector. She is currently on the boards of Mount Douglas and Dawson Heights Housing Societies and is an appointed member of the Council of Advisors to the Seniors Advocate. She served on the Alzheimer Society of BC’s Leadership Council and is a founding member of that society’s highly successful and long-running “Breakfast to Remember” Committee. Each year, she presents the Sailor of the Year Award at CFB Esquimalt in memory of her husband.
Since joining the Foundation in 2011, she has chaired the Lieutenant Governor’s Programs Committee which supports Literacy, Stewards of the Future, Reconciliation, and Conversations on Democracy as well as other legacy projects. A keen supporter of music and the arts, Geraldine is on the Victoria Conservatory of Music board and plays the cello.
During her 50-year association with St. John Ambulance, Geraldine was elected Vice Chancellor of Community Services for the Priory of Canada and served on the BC/ Yukon Provincial Council. In 2003, she was invested as a Dame of Grace of the Venerable Order of St John.
Her additional awards include the Queen’s Gold and Jubilee medals, the YM/YW Women of Distinction Lifetime Achievement Award, the Alzheimer Society Clyde and Lanny Slade Memorial Leadership Award, the University of Victoria School of Nursing Alumni Award of Excellence and the BC Community Achievement Award.

MARK HORNE

Mark Horne, K.C., has practiced in Victoria since 1979, principally in the Wills, Estates, Trusts and Charities area where he is the senior member of Horne Coupar’s Inheritance and Incapacity Planning Group.

From 1958 to 2002, through Ian Horne and Mark Horne, the firm provided estate administration services to the Government of British Columbia as Official Administrator for the County of Victoria and to the Public Guardian and Trustee as Deputy Official Administrator for the Vancouver Island Region.

After a decade in private practice, Mark received the first Fellowship in Equity, Trusts & Fiduciary Relationships and returned to UVic Law School where he worked and studied with Professor Donovan Waters. Mark has written and taught for the Continuing Legal Education Society and Professional Legal Training Program and taught the Succession course at the University of Victoria Law School for many years. In 1992, he was elected a fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Council and, in 1994, as an academician in the International Academy of Estates and Trust Law reflecting his experience in cross-border and international estate planning.

He is a Past President of both the Victoria Estate Planning Council and the Victoria Wills and Trusts Subsection of the Canadian Bar Association. In 2009, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel (now referred to as King’s Counsel).

Mark is an active supporter of the arts and the environment. His firm is a proud member of the 1% For The Planet initiative, contributing 1% of its gross revenues to environmental sustainability, principally on Vancouver Island. He has served as a director of the Pacific Opera Foundation, Sierra Club of BC Foundation, and as an Honorary Governor of the Victoria Foundation.

PATRICK KELLY
Senior Associate (British Columbia)

Patrick is a member of the Leq:ámel First Nation (Stó:lō Nation.) He operates a consulting business and was Advisor and Director of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry. A long-time advisor to the Lieutenant Governors of BC, Patrick co-chairs the Banff Centre Indigenous Program Council and is a member of both UVic’s Gustavson School of Business International Advisory Board and UBC’s Sauder School of Business Ch’nook Indigenous Business Advisory Board. Patrick is Past President of British Columbia Golf, Director of Golf Canada, past chair of the Victoria Foundation board and was also appointed to the BC Provincial Judicial Council in 2016.

The Leq:ámel First Nation elected him as Treaty Representative for treaty negotiations, a role he held from 1998 to 2001.

He has served as Vice President, National Services, CESO; as BC Director, Strategic Planning and Communications, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada; as Manager, Cultural Relations and Corporate Training in BC Hydro’s Aboriginal Relations Department; and Executive Director of the BC Chapter of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

In 2002, the BC Attorney General appointed Patrick as a Bencher for the Law Society of BC, to represent the public interest in the administration of justice. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of BC Buildings Corporation, completed five years on the Board of Governors of Vancouver Community College and six as Governor of the Law Foundation of BC.

An active community volunteer, Patrick has held executive positions with the Mission Chamber of Commerce, the Mission Heritage Association, the Mission Indian Friendship Centre, and the Coqualeetza Cultural Centre. As well, he attended dinner with Queen Elizabeth II in 1982 as a Young Achiever for Canada at the ceremony to repatriate Canada’s constitution, is a recipient of a BC Community Achievement Award and founding President of the BC Aboriginal Golf Association.

GRANIA LITWIN

Victoria-born Grania Litwin holds an English degree from the University of Victoria. She worked as public relations director at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and then spent 35 years as a municipal politics reporter, editor and feature writer at the Times Colonist newspaper, where she is currently a part-time columnist.

After serving as a longtime board member and then chair of Victoria Hospice, she became a charter member of the Victoria Hospice and Palliative Care Foundation. She then chaired the Victoria Foundation’s Honorary Governors for five years, served on the board of Queen Alexandra Foundation and was board member and president of Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre. In 2000, Grania was named a Woman of Distinction for her communication skills. In 2003, she was given a spirit award by Canwest Global Communications and, in 2012, she received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service. A keen lover of the musical arts, she is currently president of Pacific Opera Victoria.

NANCY McHARG
Principal, McHarg Communications Vice-President,
Strategic Counsel, Hoggan and Associates

Nancy McHarg has worked in media and public relations for 25 years, counselling clients in energy, real-estate development, entertainment, sports and retail, as well as public and private education, academic administration and government. Her areas of expertise include stakeholder engagement and dialogue, crisis and issues management, research, community relations, and media relations.

Ms. McHarg has a passion for sustainability-related issues and led the team at Hoggan & Associates in the design and implementation of the most comprehensive research ever conducted on Canadians’ views on sustainability. First initiated in 2005 and repeated periodically since, the Hoggan Sustainability research has established a rich compendium of insights into Canadians’ views in the context of the shifting and challenging economic, environmental and societal circumstances of the past several years. She has also worked on sustainability related issues with companies such as Shell Canada, Canadian Tire, the North West Cruiseship Association, BC Hydro, Ethical Funds, and the University of British Columbia. Ms. McHarg began her career as a business reporter in Montreal and worked in current affairs research and production for a PBS producer.

Her first public relations job was with McGill University. Other past employers and clients include Bosa Development, BHP Billiton, Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment/Vancouver Canucks, City of Vancouver, District of Kitimat, Whistler Sport Legacies, University of British Columbia, Credential Financial, Tides Canada and Urban Development Institute.

Ms. McHarg is on the Board of West Coast Environmental Law and is a past board member of Canuck Place Children’s Hospice. She has a journalism degree from Concordia University and is pursuing a Certificate in Dialogue from Simon Fraser University. She loves yoga, swimming, running, hiking and skiing.

RICHARD OSLER

Starting in 1975, Richard Osler’s careers included journalism, writing for the Financial Post and appearing as a CBC business columnist on Peter Gzowski’s Morningside program. Having extensive experience in finance, he provided analysis through a major Western regional brokerage house and was president of his own portfolio management company, Aequanimitas Inc.

Mr. Osler, who holds an Honours English degree from Queen’s University, is currently a poet. His first full-length collection “Hyaena Season” was published by Quattro Press in 2016. Mr. Osler is a poetry blogger and poetry-writing retreat leader in Italy, Canada and the U.S. He is also a poetry therapist at a mental health and recovery facility run by a national Canadian health organization in Victoria and in Victoria-based out-patient clinics for men and women in recovery from trauma, and drug and alcohol dependency. He has served on numerous boards for TSE-listed companies as well as non-profit organizations, including Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary and Island Pacific School on Bowen Island. He is a former governor of Brentwood College School in Mill Bay, BC.

PAULINE RAFFERTY, OBC

Pauline Rafferty is the former chief executive officer of the Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM). Trained as an archaeologist, her work first centred on archaeology, then on heritage interpretation. Throughout her career, Ms. Rafferty held various high-level positions in government, and was appointed assistant deputy minister at the Ministry of Women’s Equality in 1990. After retiring from the RBCM in March 2012, she has continued to be active on the boards of both national and provincial organizations. She serves as Chair of the board of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and board member of University of Victoria Gustavson School of Business Inc. She is a former board member of BC’s Provincial Health Services, Simon Fraser University, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, as well as former president of the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada. Ms. Rafferty has also been honoured for her work in 2014 with an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Victoria. In 2016, she was honoured with the Order of British Columbia and also received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

BRIAN ROGERS

After a successful career in the sugar industry, Brian Rogers retired in 1998, and moved with his wife to Victoria to pursue their passion for gardening.

Mr. Rogers, who grew up in Vancouver, has extensive volunteer experience, including positions such as President of the BC Food Processors where he served on the National Board, Chair and Life Member of the Vancouver Salvation Army Advisory Board, Founding Chair of the Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust and he was a member of the Environment Committee of the Vancouver Foundation.

After joining the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, his interest in and enthusiasm for gardening led him to also join the Friends of Government House Gardens Society. Mr. Rogers has since served twice as president of the Society. Currently, he is a member of the board and sits on the Garden Management Board. As a Foundation Trustee, Mr. Rogers has served two years as Chair and sits on both the finance and awards committees.

 

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HONORARY PATRON

BRANDT C. LOUIE, OBC, LL.D, FCPA, FCA

Under the stewardship of Dr. Brandt Louie, London Drugs has become one of Canada’s most trusted retail brands, and a leading contributor to environmental and social causes. Dr. Louie practiced as a chartered accountant until joining the family business in 1972, applying his financial mind and entrepreneurial energy to growing H.Y. Louie Group. He became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of London Drugs in 1998 and again in 2014. A visionary business leader, he advises North America’s most prominent corporations and public institutions.
For his business and philanthropic leadership, Dr. Louie has been honoured with several awards, including Entrepreneur of the Year, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, the Simon Fraser University Business Impact Award, C.H.I.L.D (Children with Intestinal and Liver Disorders) Foundation’s Great Canadian Achievement Award, the Golden Pencil Award, and the Cornucopia Lifetime Achievement Award CCGD.
An elected Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia, Dr. Louie received an Honourary Doctor of Laws degree from Simon Fraser University and served as Chancellor of that institution for six years. He is also a recipient of the Order of British Columbia, the Rix Award for Engaged Community Citizenship and the T. Patrick Boyle Founders Award from the Fraser Institute. In 2015, he was inducted into the BC Hall of Fame Business Laureates and accepted the EY (Ernst & Young) Entrepreneur of the Year Family Business Award of Excellence.

 

THE HONOURABLE JUDD BUCHANAN, PC, OC, MBA, LLD

The Honourable Judd Buchanan joined the Government House Foundation as a trustee in February 2004.

Mr. Buchanan’s background includes a career in the life insurance industry followed by federal politics where he was appointed Minister of the Crown in a number of portfolios, including Indian and Northern Affairs, Public Works, Science and Technology, and President of the Treasury Board.

After leaving politics in 1980, he brought his expertise to the tourism industry, leading Silver Star Mountain Resorts Ltd. and, in 1995, he created the Canadian Tourism Commission. Mr. Buchanan received the Order of Canada in 2000.

 

MICHAEL O’CONNOR, K.C.

Michael O’Connor is a senior partner at McConnan Bion O’Connor & Peterson. In his preferred area of practice – civil litigation with a focus on personal injury claims and estate litigation – he has extensive experience dealing with complex cases, including paralyzed clients, brain injuries, and injured children. A graduate of the University of Victoria (BA) and the University of British Columbia (LLB), he was called to the Bar in 1975.

Mr. O’Connor has deep roots in the community and is Past Chairman of the Victoria Hospital Foundation Board, Past Commander of the Victoria Commandery of the Order of St. John, was Co-Chair of the British Columbia Paraplegic Association Spring Fundraiser in Victoria and co-chaired the David Foster Foundation’s 25th Anniversary Gala.

He has held numerous volunteer positions at the local, provincial and national levels, including Vice-President of the Canadian Rugby Union, President of the British Columbia Rugby Union, Chairman of Canada’s First World Cup Rugby Team and Past Vice-Chairman of the 1994 Commonwealth Games held in Victoria. Mr. O’Connor is also the recipient of The Queen’s Diamond and Golden Jubilee medals and has received a Vice-Regal Commendation.

 

MICHAEL RYAN

Michael Ryan grew up in Vancouver and completed his education at the University of British Columbia, graduating with a BCom in 1953. He then started a long career in the investment business in Vancouver, retiring in 2003.

Some of his roles in the investment field include Past President of the Vancouver Society of Financial Analysts, Chairman of the Canadian Council of Financial Analysts, Director of the International Association of Investment Management and Research, and Chairman of the Vancouver Stock Exchange. He was also active in several cultural organizations.

He has maintained ties with the University of British Columbia, being a former member of the UBC Senate and of the Sauder School of Business Faculty Advisory Board. He was one of the three founders of the prestigious Portfolio Management Foundation, where a small team of students serves a two-year term managing a portfolio of more than $4 million.

In his spare time, Mr. Ryan plays tennis, pulls weeds out of his garden plot and fiddles around in the stock market.

 

DR. ERIC CHARMAN, CM, OBC, LLD
1932-2020