BUILDING A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR LAND TITLES

The Province led the planning of the Land Title and Survey Authority with input from an interim CEO and a stakeholder committee comprised of organizations with a direct interest in efficient and effective land title and survey operation. The authority was first announced last May and the Land Title and Survey Authority Act received royal assent Oct.21, 2004.

The authority’s permanent board includes nominees from government and key stakeholder groups, including the Law Society of B.C., the Association of B.C. Land Surveyors, the First Nations Summit, the Society of Notaries, the B.C. Association of Professional Registry Agents, the B.C. Real Estate Association, and the Union of B.C. Municipalities.

Biographical Notes – Land Title and Survey Authority Board of Directors (nominated by):

Wanda Costuros, Chair (Province of BC)

Wanda Costuros is the board chair of the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia. She also serves as a director of B.C. Hydro and Power Authority, Powerex Corp., Art in Motion Income Fund and Science World. In addition, Costuros serves as chair of the Audit Committees of B.C. Hydro and Power Authority, Art in Motion Income Fund and Science World.

Costuros has held a series of Senior Financial positions, primarily in technology and forest industry sectors. She was formerly vice-president and chief financial officer of Xantrex Technology Inc, chief financial officer of Aber Resources Ltd., vice-president of finance for Fletcher Challenge Canada Ltd. and chief financial officer of TimberWest Forest Ltd.

Costuros is a Certified Management Accountant and holds a Masters in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University.

Peter Cook (Province of BC)

Peter Cook is a seasoned financial services executive and professional economist who has spent his 37-year career in businesses and government. For the last decade, he has managed both a management consulting firm and a company that specializes in treasury services for financial institutions. Previously he served as president and chief executive officer of Citizens Trust Company and chief financial officer of VanCity Savings.

Richard (Dick) Wright (Corporation of Land Surveyors of BC)

Dick Wright has over 40 years of land surveying experience including 20 years as a notary public, excelling in numerous aspects of the land development process. His expertise covers all the legal and technical aspects of a development project. He provides strong technical knowledge, project management skills, and knowledge of the land title system to clients in the land development business and the real estate divisions of forest companies and pulp and paper companies.

Lydia Hwitsum (First Nations Summit)

Lydia Hwitsum graduated from University of Victoria’s Law School in 1997. She served as elected chief of Cowichan Tribes for two terms from 1997 to 2001. She also served as an elected member of the First Nations Summit, Political Executive from 2002 to 2004. Hwitsum has worked in many roles in her community. She managed the Cowichan Tribes Cultural Centre and worked in the education department. She coordinated community planning at the Friendship Centre and delivered peer counselling. She conducted legal research, worked at the law centre and for a local law firm. She has also worked with Cowichan youth in a variety of roles.

Peter Baran (B.C. Association of Professional Registry Agents)

Peter Baran began his career in the information systems industry in 1982 and over the next nine years worked with a wide variety of mainframe systems clients in the energy, insurance, airlines, trucking, mining and distribution industries. He gained international recognition for his work in developing financial strategies specifically for system procurements and for his management record.

Robert (Bob) Reid (Society of Notaries Public of B.C.)

Bob Reid is an associate professor emeritus of law, having retired from the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2003 after 28 years as a full-time member of the law school. When he retired, Reid also was the assistant dean of admissions and career placement.

Robert Wallace (B.C. Real Estate Association)

Robert Wallace is chief executive officer of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, Canada’s second-largest real estate board. The board represents more than 7,600 realtors. Wallace was instrumental, along with the executive officers of the Fraser Valley and Chilliwack real estate boards, in establishing a joint initiative between the three Lower Mainland real estate boards that resulted in a regional Multiple Listing Service® technology system. It stands as a model for co-operation among real estate boards in Canada.

Brian Ross (Union of BC Municipalities)

Brian Ross completed his law degree at the University of Alberta in 1971 and is the senior partner of Fulton & Company in Kamloops. He specializes in the corporate, commercial and municipal fields. In his practice he helps businesses and municipalities with their business decisions and long-range planning including: acquisitions, contract negotiations and funding of these enterprises. As president of a Mortgage Investment Corporation and trustee of a Pension Plan, he assists clients with their investment goals.

Richard Swift (Law Society of B.C.)

A native of Burnaby, Richard Swift obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Simon Fraser University, and, in 1975, he received his LL.B degree from the University of British Columbia. He articled in Vancouver, and practiced there briefly before moving to Courtenay in 1977. He is now the senior partner in a nine-lawyer practice.

Michael Waberski (Corporation of Land Surveyors of B.C.)

Michael Waberski is a Professional British Columbia Land Surveyor with Waberski Darrow Survey Group Ltd. of Fort St. John. He has 26 years experience as a professional land surveyor. Areas of expertise include planning, survey engineering, project analysis, and design as well as liaison with various government agencies. Waberski has been involved in the oil and gas industry in northeastern B.C. for the past 25 years. In 1982, he founded Waberski Darrow and in 2000 became the president of EBA Waberski Darrow, a new joint-venture company formed with EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd. offering environmental and land management services for the oil and gas sector.

Christine Elliott (Law Society of B.C.)

Christine Elliott is a lawyer with law degrees from Oxford University and the University of Victoria. She has practiced in the area of commercial real estate in Vancouver for over 20 years with a national firm, a mid-sized firm and in a boutique. She acts for both institutional and entrepreneurial clients.

Godfrey Archbold, Chief Executive Officer

A career public servant, much of Archbold’s career has been focused in a management capacity on public land administration in policy, registry operation, and land negotiation capacities. He has conducted a number of successful corporate assignments, including the acquisition of significant additional protected areas, as well as the development of the Integrated Land and Resource Registry and the redefinition and deregulation of land surveys. Additional recent accomplishments include the introduction of land titles electronic filing and managing the transition of the Land Title and Survey Authority as interim CEO.

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Media contact:	Mike Long Communications Director 250 387-4962

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