BMDA Chairman Smallwood, however, says while the large representation of ByWard stakeholders is not appropriate, he says the BMDA is being asked to do something more difficult than the traditional BIA. It is necessary to consider not only business, but all stakeholders in the area: residents, tourists, hotels, residences, galleries, NCC, homeless. He says that if every group were to be given seats on the board, they could get into endless conflicts of interest that would prevent any form of governance at all. Board independence, he says, is not a flaw in the design – it’s the point.
