Current members of the Skilled Trades BC Appeal Board are listed below, and are also listed on the website of the Crown Agencies and Boards Resourcing Office (CABRO).
The tribunal consists of members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council for terms of up to five years. One member of the tribunal may also be designated as Chair and another as Vice Chair. Members may be recommended for reappointment after their initial term.
Members are appointed, after a merit-based process, from across the province based on their knowledge and experience in administrative law and the skilled trades sector. All members must meet a high standard of conduct consistent with the General Conduct Principles for Public Appointees.
To learn more about how members are recruited, please see the Career Opportunities page.
To learn about how members are paid, please see the page for Annual Reports and Board Remuneration.
Tribunal Member Biographies
Tribunal member biographies are updated annually, in conjunction with the publication of the tribunal’s annual report.
Gordon Armour (Chair)
Gordon Armour is Chair of the Skilled Trades BC Appeal Board and the past Coordinator of Transition, Training and Trades for School District 27, Cariboo Chilcotin (Williams Lake). Mr. Armour was responsible for the development of career education programs and coordination of work experience programs and apprenticeship training in partnership with post-secondary institutions and industry. Previously he was a Senior Instructor in Construction Trades with School District 27. Active in his community, Mr. Armour was a Member of the Community Care and Assisted Living Appeal Board, Thompson River University Community Education Advisory Committee, the Williams Lake Work Placement Committee, and the Williams Lake Community Futures Training Sub Committee. He also served as Board Chair of the BC Health Association, Cariboo Park Lodge, and Cariboo Memorial Hospital. Mr. Armour has a Bachelors of Education from the University of British Columbia.
Martha Dow
Dr. Martha Dow is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social, Cultural and Media Studies at the University of Fraser Valley (UFV). Previously, Dr. Dow was the Independent Chairperson to the Correctional Service of Canada (Pacific Region) with the Solicitor General of Canada. Active in her community, she was a Member of the Abbotsford Police Department’s Chief Constable’s Diversity Advisory Committee, a Member of the UFV Bachelor of Arts Program Advisory Committee, and Chair of the UFV’s Instructional Probationary Evaluation Committee for the Department of Social, Cultural, and Media Studies. Dr. Dow also was a Member of the United Way Campaign Cabinet. Dr. Dow holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies from the University of British Columbia, Master of Sociology and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Western Ontario.
Richard Grounds
Richard Grounds is an Adjudicator for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and an Adjudicator for the Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariat. Mr. Grounds has also worked as an investigator on matters relating to oversight of the RCMP. He is active in his community as a member of the Industry Training Appeal Board and the Employment Standards Tribunal. He was previously a panel member of the Employment and Assistance Appeal Tribunal. Mr. Grounds holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta.
Gavin Hoekstra
Gavin Hoekstra works for the Law Society of British Columbia as a lawyer. Prior to joining the Law Society, he was the manager of litigation for the Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia (“WorkSafeBC”). Prior to WorkSafeBC, Gavin was a litigator in private practice for over three years. Gavin is active in the community. He has volunteered with Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver since 2012 by spending time with youth who do not otherwise have male role models in their lives. He has served as a moot court judge at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at UBC most years between 2013 and 2023.
Daniel Smythe
Daniel Smythe is an Associate Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley. He instructs all levels of the electrical apprenticeship training program as well as the master electrician program. Active in his community Mr. Smythe is a Director with the board of Technical Safety BC. He holds a Red Seal Endorsement and a BC Master Electrician (FSR B) certification. Mr. Smythe has worked across the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of the electrical trade and has owned and operated an electrical contracting company. He holds a Bachelor of Integrated Studies from University of the Fraser Valley and has completed the Governance Essentials Program through ICD-Rotman Business School.
Joel Feenstra
Joel Feenstra is an Associate Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley teaching electrical apprentices. Previously he was the principal of Feenstra Electric Ltd. Mr. Feenstra has been active in his community serving as a Chair of the BC Electrical Instructors Provincial Curriculum committee, Director of the University of the Fraser Valley Alumni Association, and Member of the Canadian Standards Association. He holds a number of designations including a Red-Seal Endorsed electrical journeyman (RSE) and BC Master Electrician (TSBC). Mr. Feenstra also completed his training as a provincial instructor with the Vancouver Community College and as an electrician at the University of the Fraser Valley.