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David and Gail Asper resign from Canwest board

By: Martin Cash

Posted: 02/10/2010 12:45 PM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

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David Asper (FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)

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Gail Asper (FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)

WINNIPEG — David and Gail Asper have resigned from the board of directors of Canwest Global Communications, the once-great media company their father founded in Winnipeg in the late '70s.

Their departure is formal indication that the Asper family no longer controls the company.

When the parent company was placed in court protection in early October it was announced that debtholders would take over ownership of the company.

The Asper family holdings in the company will shrink from about 56 per cent to a little more than one per cent.

The company is currently under two separate court-supervised restructuring proceedings after failing to keep up with massive debt servicing costs on the close to $4 billion it owed. One is for the parent company including its stable of speciality channels and the Global Television network, and a separate process that is seeking a buyer for its 10 metropolitan newspapers and 11 community papers.

Lisa Pankratz, who is the president of Mackenzie Cundill Investment Management Ltd., will also resign her position on the board.

A corporate release cited the three departing board members' "desires to pursue other business commitments and charitable initiatives as well as to assist the company's efforts to reduce the size of its board."

Leonard Asper, David and Gail's younger brother, remains CEO of Canwest and continues to sit on the board of directors.

Both David and Gail Asper had been on board since 1992. Gail also served as its corporate secretary until Jan., 2008.

She is currently president of the Asper Foundation and national campaign chair for Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights which is spearheading the development of the new national museum in Winnipeg.

David Asper held various positions at the company since 1989, including executive vice-president of Canwest and chairman of the National Post. He is currently an assistant professor of law at Robson Hall Law School at the University of Manitoba and executive chairman of Creswin Properties Inc., which is working towards the construction of a new CFL football stadium and retail development in Winnipeg.

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