The chair of the Justice Institute of BC’s (JIBC) Board of Governors is stepping down.
The move comes days after watchdog group Integrity BC questioned if Robert Kroeker was right for a leadership position at an institute offering law enforcement courses and which trains sheriffs and corrections officers.
Kroeker was head of compliance at Great Canadian Gaming Corporation — the company that ran River Rock Casino — in the period in which a government probe determined money laundering was taking place.
In a statement posted to the Justice Institute’s website, Kroeker said media attention at the school was distracting the institution from its core mandate.
“Students, staff, faculty and other board members should not be subject to these intrusions,” Kroeker said.
“While my term as a governor concludes shortly, I have taken the decision to step down from the board effective immediately to remove the possibility that students, staff and the work of JIBC may experience further disruption.”
However, Dermot Travis with Integrity BC says it’s Kroeker’s association with the gaming companies, not the media attention that has brought, that should be of concern.
“The fact that the Justice Institute removed his Great Canadian Gaming employment from his bio, prior to any of the media coverage in the past 10 days demonstrates they understood the inappropriateness of that employment with the position that he had with the Justice Institute.”
Kroeker remains a vice-president of corporate security and compliance with the BC Lottery Corporation.
-With files form Michelle Morton