Press Release: Review by Province of B.C. finds no financial impropriety at Atira Women's Resource Society; Board continues to support senior leadership

A report reviewing BC Housing provides no evidence of mismanagement and confirms all funds used for their intended purposes.

Download 2023-05-08 Media Statement | Review by Province of B.C. finds no financial impropriety at Atira Women’s Resource Society; Board continues to support senior leadership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 8, 2023

Vancouver, B.C. | Unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations |

The Board of Directors of Atira Women’s Resource Society responded to the report made public today by the B.C. Ministry of Housing.

Atira is a 40-year-old not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting women and children affected by violence by offering safe and supportive housing and delivering education and advocacy aimed at ending all forms of gendered violence. Atira operates 2,969 units of housing for women, children, and all-gender individuals in the Lower Mainland.

Statement from the Board of Directors, Atira Women’s Resource Society:

Atira has received a copy of the ‘Investigation of BC Housing’ Report of Observations and Recommendations. The Board is examining it carefully.

It is important to appreciate that neither Atira nor its executive staff benefited financially by expanding and taking on more buildings. To the contrary, as a non-profit organization, Atira’s expansion provided no financial benefit to Atira and was simply an effort to provide more housing to people in need.

We are unsurprised by the key finding of the review that there was no evidence of financial improprieties within Atira’s operations. Atira cooperated fully with EY, which was contracted to conduct the report, and provided all requested information, including accounting records and our full general ledger. We will make our submissions to the BC government as well as our correspondence with BC Housing available to the public and media on our website on May 9th.

A limited group of Atira staff and only one representative of the Board of Directors were given an opportunity to review a draft of the report and provide feedback in advance of its release today. In its submission, Atira pointed out many factual errors in the draft review and it appears those errors were not corrected in the final report released today.

To the extent the review highlights administrative and operational challenges to be addressed by Atira, those recommendations will be examined closely with the assistance of independent professionals and action will be taken to resolve them. In addition, the Board welcomes the forensic audit proposed today by the B.C. government.

Atira has grown quickly in an effort to respond to British Columbia’s housing and homelessness emergencies, and administrative and operational challenges understandably have arisen as Atira took on the management of new buildings and projects to meet the overwhelming need for safe and secure housing.

Atira’s Board of Directors remains confident that its CEO and senior management will guide the organization through these challenges and make required improvements to Atira’s operations and administration. The Board acknowledges and appreciates the quality of the work of our finance and accounting staff, and their tireless commitment to Atira, in service of our mission.

Atira also remains committed to working with the provincial government and our non-profit colleagues in the housing sector to implement any recommendations that make the system work better for the people it serves and for the people who work within it.