UBC law professor skeptical of Atira’s response to BC Housing audit

A UBC law professor is highly skeptical about Atira's promise to launch a third-party review of its policies and practices.

UBC law professor Carol Liao is highly skeptical about Atira’s promise to launch a third-party review of its policies and practices in the wake of this week’s bombshell audit into BC Housing.

Atira, BC Housing and the provincial government have all come under fire after the much-anticipated financial audit of the Crown corporation was released.

The Ernst and Young report uncovered a conflict of interest connected to Atira CEO Janice Abbott and former BC Housing CEO Shane Ramsay, who are married, and who held the top jobs at the same time.

On Friday, Atira said it will be creating a taskforce that will oversee the third-party review.

“The taskforce will be comprised of Atira’s board chair and the chairs of the finance and governance committees, and discussions are underway toward the appointment of the independent review team,” Atira staff said in a release.

Liao told Global News, she’s concerned Atira’s third-party review will be influenced as the taskforce includes the board chair and other board members.

“For the internal review…my sense is it’s a bit of a deflection. The government has already stated it wants a renewed leadership and (Atira’s) board refused,” Liao said.

“While having a third party conduct the review is obviously necessary for these circumstances, the trick is that those that are commissioning the review can dictate its scope.”