E-Comm has grown rapidly since it was formed 25 years ago. It began as a regional emergency communications service provider, to operate a radio network for police, fire and ambulance in the Lower Mainland, and to provide 9-1-1 and public safety call-taking services.
Today, it serves local governments and public safety agencies across B.C., yet its corporate and board structure, and funding model, have not changed to keep pace.
As such, an independent review by Deloitte of E-Comm’s corporate and governance structure was launched in 2023, with the goal of identifying opportunities for improvement.
Deloitte consulted with 80 different E-Comm stakeholders and representatives from its shareholder organizations, and their findings are outlined in the summary and full report below.
The review identified 10 key changes to strengthen E-Comm’s governance and financial model. These changes need to be reviewed and eventually approved by each of our shareholders.
Corporate structure and board governance:
1. Implement a new governance structure (including a streamlined Board).
2. Refine the use of representative service governance bodies, such as User and Service Committees with member appointed representatives.
3. Propose revisions to Board and Management Committees to support enhanced decision-making and oversight.
4. Create a shareholder Nominating or Screening Committee to identify and approve new Board director candidates.
5. Enfranchise all users regardless of regional geography by making them shareholders (rather than the current state in which only radio users are Class A shareholders.
6. Seek Board, member and Ministerial approvals, as required, of proposed changes to the governance structure and Articles/Members’ Agreement.
7. Refine the Board agenda, cycle, materials, procedures, and policies, including a formal Delegation of Authorities.
Financial governance:
8. Redesign the operating cost/budgeting model to provide greater equity and transparency by changing the cost and capital allocation processes, and by pricing by type of service.
9. Develop a streamlined service delivery and pricing process to drive stronger economies of scale and efficiency in the governance, pricing, and service delivery processes.
10. Develop investment funding and operating cost forecasting strategies to provide greater clarity of future costs and remove unexpected fluctuations from the pricing/funding models.
E-Comm is committed to working closely with its shareholders in the months ahead to provide the information needed to consider and respond to the governance review recommendations.