New provincial conflict-of-interest legislation is forcing a Fort St. John city councillor off the board of his most dear non-profit organization.

Larry Evans will have to resign as a director at the North Peace Historical Society, a position he has held for 20 years, if Fort St. John council is going to be able to make decisions affecting the finances of non-profit organizations anytime soon.

For council to have quorum, four members must be able to discuss issues at any given time. But because only three do not serve on the executive board of a non-profit – Trevor Bolin, Lori Ackerman and Byron Stewart – Evans is considering giving up his post, though not gladly.

“I’m frustrated because I was going along thinking as long as I wasn’t making any money on it, I mean nobody’s benefitting from it except the community of Fort St. John by keeping the museum open,” Evans said. “As are other non-profits, they all benefit the community. If we can help them and not go overboard I think we should. But until there is a ruling on the appeal of this, I don’t think we’ll be settled.”

Evans can still be a member of, and volunteer for, the Historical Society. But the Jan. 11 ruling from the B.C. Court of Appeal argued despite not being paid positions, there were monetary benefits of volunteering for the executive of a non-profit organization that constituted a conflict of interest.

For the full story, please see the next edition of the Alaska Highway News.