Province fires board of B.C. Housing following critical report, makes replacements
CBC
The B.C. NDP government has fired the board of its housing agency after an independent probe of B.C. Housing uncovered some problems.
The provincial housing agency's budget is nearly $2 billion, an increase of more than 140 per cent from five years ago. And with a $7 billion boost in the budget for the next decade, the province tasked firm Ernst & Young to look into the agency.
Just a week after its report went public, B.C. Housing Minister David Eby announced its Board of Commissioner members are out.
The Ernst & Young probe — completed in May but released late last month — found problems in the agency, including inadequate oversight over decisions and spending, and unclear roles and responsibilities potentially impacting B.C. Housing's ability to manage risks.
A Friday news release from the province said Eby made the decision, and the new board would "ensure the implementation of best practices" at the agency. The statement directly referenced the Ernst & Young report.
"The review was initiated by the B.C. government in 2021," the statement read, "to ensure that B.C. Housing can deliver its expanded budget and mandate in consideration of government's historic $7-billion investment in affordable housing over 10 years and the rapid growth of the Crown corporation."
But B.C. Liberal Housing Critic Mike Bernier accused Eby of making a "cover-up announcement" by releasing the news late before a weekend.
"Typical of the [NDP]," Bernier tweeted Friday. "Wait until late on a Friday to try and hide more of the failures of this [NDP] government.
"Eby has failed to deliver on almost every housing promise as Minister of this file!"
The outgoing board members had all been appointed after the New Democrats came to power in 2017.
Included in the change — announced in the news release — is the replacement of NDP-appointed board chair Cassie Doyle.
She is replaced by Allan Seckel, former head of B.C.'s public service under the B.C. Liberal government in the 2000s and the province's former deputy Attorney General.
"Doyle did not seek re-appointment of her four-year term, which ends July 18, 2022," the province said in a June 30 release.
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