After ministry reno, a resort retreat :Management gathering for deputy, 14 others had $20,000 price tag

Lindsay Kines, Times Colonist Friday, November 09, 2007

B.C.'s deputy children's minister and 14 of her senior managers held a $20,000 retreat at a First Nations resort near Kamloops just months after completing a lavish renovation of their offices and boardroom in Victoria.Lesley du Toit, her assistant deputies and regional executive directors met for four days in September at the Quaaout Lodge and Conference Centre on Little Shuswap Lake at Chase, the ministry confirmed.The meeting drew nine executives from Victoria and six from elsewhere in the province.The resort's website states that Quaaout Lodge offers a "retreat from the daily grind to a natural sanctuary where your worries float away on gentle breezes in the Thompson Okanagan's four seasons playground." Standard rooms go for $130 a night during the week or $190 for a lake-view Jacuzzi room, the website says.News of the Shuswap sojourn broke less than a week after the ministry confirmed it spent $560,000 renovating its leased executive offices and boardroom on Broughton Street.The redesign, which was completed early in the summer, included more than $20,000 in First Nations art to make the boardroom, which can accommodate 50 people, more welcoming to aboriginal people.

-----NDP children's critic Nicholas Simons and his colleagues attacked Children's Minister Tom Christensen yesterday, accusing him and his ministry of "misplaced priorities.""It's clear to me that they chose to have a meeting far away from Victoria despite the fact that they just renovated a boardroom for over half a million dollars," Simons said.Christensen, who has been under fire repeatedly during the current legislative session, defended du Toit and her staff despite mounting criticism of their decisions. He said such getaways are necessary for managers from time to time, and he called it a "constructive use" of the leadership team's time. "It's different from them being in Victoria where they may be in the boardroom for a couple of hours," he said. "This was a concentrated retreat that was intended to move a number of items forward and allow for in-depth conversation."Christensen said the ministry specifically chose the lodge because it is run by the Little Shuswap Indian band and would enable a "better appreciation" of aboriginal issues.Christensen acknowledged that the Victoria boardroom was renovated for a similar purpose but added that the lodge has an elder who provides cultural awareness training. "My understanding is that staff find that very beneficial," he said.