A mass resignation has rocked one of Canada's most important contemporary art galleries. What happened?

On Sept. 21, a stunning announcement was made on Instagram: effective immediately, 15 board members of The Power Plant, one of the most important contemporary art galleries in Canada, resigned en masse.

The departure of the leadership — among them Jacques Bernier, a partner at Baker & McKenzie; Maria Hupfield, an assistant professor of Indigenous digital arts and performance and a Canadian research chair in transdisciplinary Indigenous arts at University of Toronto; and Antoine Mindjimba, a partner at Ernst & Young Canada — comes after months of legal wrangling over The Power Plant's leadership. 

Harbourfront Centre's CEO Marah Braye and Tenio Evangelista, president of Harbourfront's board of directors, say that the Power Plant board was dissolved as part of an ongoing governance review, and that there had been concerns about transparency leading up to the change. But the departing board members say Harbourfront is trying to undermine independent leadership of The Power Plant and avoid public scrutiny in the process.

What happened leading up to the resignations?

In June, Harbourfront's leadership notified The Power Plant's board of directors that it was ending the terms of 12 members elected by Harbourfront and replacing them with what they said was an interim slate of members. According to court filings, all the new interim members were either employees of Harbourfront or directors and officers of the organization. 

In a letter to the board, Evangelista said that the changes were being made as part of an ongoing governance review, undertaken to help Harbourfront and its affiliates transition to the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, legislation which took effect in 2021 and has to be fully complied with by 2024. Evangelista also said in his letter that staff turnover at the gallery had been high — something that was communicated to The Power Plant and was an issue of concern for Harbourfront leadership. 

The Power Plant has a unique relationship with the Harbourfront Centre. While they are separate charitable entities, The Power Plant operates on land provided by Harbourfront and gets about 15 per cent of its operating revenue from the organization. Harbourfront also runs Power Plant operations like staffing that allow it to function. However, The Power Plant is still independent, despite these ties. It was created as its own entity so it could seek funding separate from the operation of Harbourfront. And both institutions are majority publicly funded.

There are currently 27 director positions on the Power Plant board. Those are divided into two classes of members: Class A and B. Class B members are appointed by Harbourfront — in the past, a nomination committee run by the Power Plant board would present nominees to Harbourfront at the annual general meeting, where the organization's leadership would approve them. The remaining board members were independent — they were not approved by Harbourfront.

Power Plant's board believes members can only be appointed at an annual general meeting, which they were meant to have on June 20. In advance of that, a nomination list would be provided and vetted by a nomination committee. But after Evangelista sent his letter, the process stalled. According to court documents, materials about the new interim members were never sent to the nomination committee.  

And then, on June 22, Harbourfront applied to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to have its right to appoint board members approved. 

What Harbourfront says happened

In their application to the court, Harbourfront's leadership says it has the right to appoint 15 of the 27 directors, and that under The Power Plant's bylaws, Harbourfront can appoint or dismiss those members at either an AGM or in writing.

Braye told the CBC that Harbourfront is currently undertaking a governance review. Among the concerns was the size of the Power Plant's board — 27 seats in total. Their aim is to reduce the size of the board to 15, the same as the International Festival of Authors, another organization that falls under Harbourfront's umbrella. 

"The current board is an interim board and we are firmly focused on seeking new and independent board candidates for the Power Plant board who represent the diversity and the skill and the experience that's been at the heart of our mission for almost 50 years," says Braye.

Braye said it would be inappropriate to discuss internal issues publicly, but did note that they had been communicating concerns about transparency, accountability, and oversight to the board through the chair for more than a year. "These concerns were not being addressed by the Power Plant board," she adds.

According to the Globe and Mail, Gaëtane Verna, The Power Plant's long-time artistic director, departed in September. Court documents repeatedly note there was concern about voluntary staff turnover.

What the former board members say happened

Richard Lee, a Toronto-based theatre professional, is among those board members that announced their resignation on Sept. 21. He refutes Harbourfront's claims that the board did not respond to issues raised by Harbourfront.

"Any issues that they did bring up to us, we took the time to do all due diligence," says Lee, adding that the board is still ready to work through any issues Harbourfront has, if its leadership is willing to come to the table.

He notes that many staff departures took place in the middle of the pandemic, when many people were changing careers. Lee also believes it speaks to the talent of the people who were hired that they moved on to other projects. In 2021, 100 per cent of Power Plant staff also voted to join a union.

The Power Plant's lawyers have argued that Harbourfront does not have the right to dismiss the members as they did, and that their actions were undertaken in bad faith. They also note that this was the first time in the gallery's history that the Harbourfront has attempted to replace its directors en masse. 

Lee adds that the previous board was a diverse group that represented Canada's artistic community. "The fact that we are independent and separate from Harbourfront, which has its own business, means a lot," says Lee. "We're here to uphold contemporary art values." 

What role did money play?

Power Plant's independence allows it to fundraise separately from Harbourfront. This is crucial for applying for grants and funding that are specific for contemporary visual arts. The board also has to be able to guarantee funders that their money is going toward supporting the Power Plant mission.

"The lack of independence has raised practical operating issues," the departing Power Plant board members told the CBC in a statement. "In recent years, when The Power Plant has had a budget surplus, surplus funds have been scooped by Harbourfront for other purposes." 

Those board members say part of the reason they resigned was because they could no longer guarantee promises in funding applications that the board reflected the diversity of Toronto, because of the members Harbourfront appointed. 

In a statement provided to CBC, Braye said that The Power Plant will maintain its curatorial independence and continue to be a separate legal entity. "Many of the statements by departing board members are without context, are misleading or are not accurate," she added.

What happens next

The court has not yet rendered a decision. Braye told CBC that Harbourfront's focus remains on finding new candidates for the board who represent the diversity and skill of Power Plant's mission.

The former board members who resigned are calling on the City of Toronto, Heritage Canada, and all of the gallery's funders to hold the Harbourfront Centre accountable for its actions. 

The leadership issues, however, are not impacting The Power Plant's day-to-day operations. In a statement provided to CBC, Beverly Cheng, head of communications and marketing, said the gallery will be going ahead with its fall exhibition, "Arctic/Amazon: Networks of Global Indigeneity," which opened on Sept. 30.

The future of the gallery's leadership, however, remains to be seen. "I wish that there was a way that The Power Plant doesn't have to go through this ever again," says Lee.