Board chair Don Smith has been suspended from his position at the CAAT Pension Plan amid mounting governance concerns tied to decisions approved by the board, The Globe and Mail reported Tuesday.

The concerns include a large CEO payout and the handling of a workplace relationship involving the chief executive.

Smith was suspended by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which appointed him to CAAT’s board of trustees, following the abrupt departures of three senior executives in January and growing unease over board oversight, the OPSEU confirmed to the Globe. The executives’ exits triggered scrutiny of governance practices at the $23-billion pension plan, sources familiar with the matter told the Globe.

Derek Dobson, the pension plan’s CEO, sent an e-mail to employees saying that the executives left on “good terms” but did not elaborate, according to the Globe.

Two issues were central to the controversy. The first was a $1.6-million payment approved by board leadership to compensate Dobson for unused vacation time. The second involved the board’s decision to sanction a consensual relationship between Dobson and a CAAT employee, a matter that some insiders questioned given the CEO’s authority within the organization, according to the Globe.

While confirming the union’s action, OPSEU spokesperson Emily Visser told the Globe that OPSEU has been reassured about the pension plan’s financial position, noting that CAAT remains in strong financial health .

CAAT confirmed that Smith has been suspended as OPSEU’s nominee but technically remains a trustee unless formally removed. The situation has also drawn the attention of Ontario’s pension regulator. Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario spokesperson Russ Courtney told the Globe that the regulator is aware of recent developments at CAAT and emphasized that its role includes overseeing sound governance and administration at pension plans, but said it does not comment on any specific supervisory activities at them.

CAAT is a multiemployer pension plan founded in 1967 to serve Ontario’s colleges of applied arts and technology. It has since expanded to cover more than 800 public- and private-sector employers and approximately 125,000 members across the province.