Questions about B.C. Housing's relationship with Atira go back more than a decade

On Tuesday in B.C.'s Legislature, the opposition B.C. United Party spent their entire time asking the government about the relationship between B.C. Housing and Atira Women's Resource Society.

More specifically, they asked why the province had continued to allow the former to increase funding to the latter in spite of serious issues. 

"Why was he more than increasing the funding by over 300 percent [while] at the same time, he was sitting on reports that showed the damning amount of misuse of public funds?" said Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon. 

It's true the B.C. NDP increased funding in spite of concerns, chief among them the fact that the CEOs of B.C. Housing, Shayne Ramsay, and Atira, Janice Abbott, were married to each other. 

At the same time, it's also true that when B.C. United were called the B.C. Liberals, they let the same thing happen.

Funding grew even as leadership changed

"Atira has received a lot of tax dollars from B.C. Housing. An estimated 20 million and counting since 2007," said CBC News reporter Eric Rankin in a story on Sept. 10, 2012.

"Some Downtown Eastside activists believe B.C Housing can't be objective when giving money to Atira, hinting that Abbott or Ramsay should step down."  

CBC News had done a series of stories on the concerns about Atira and B.C. Housing, looking into the relationship between Abbott and Ramsay, and concerns about the condition of the buildings Atira was responsible for.

However, the minister responsible for housing at the time expressed his confidence in the arrangement.

"I have no indication whatsoever at any time that has not been handled properly," said Rich Coleman. 

"People are allowed to have relationships," he said to The Vancouver Sun. 

Eventually, the stories came to an end.

But Atira's funding continued to grow: from $2 million from B.C. Housing in 2008, to $18 million when the B.C. NDP took office in 2017 — and then increasing all the way to $74 million last fiscal year. 

Issues around public expectations, accountability

Part of the reason for Atira's increase in funding was the same as many non-profit housing organizations': the B.C. NDP put much more money generally into affordable housing, particularly after the pandemic left thousands of people in more precarious living situations. 

In interviews and statements in recent years, the organization has also said its costs are higher and its buildings can have greater challenges because they take on some of the toughest supportive housing projects in Vancouver. 

Since the forensic audit into B.C. Housing was released, Atira has not spoken publicly, except to issue a statement with documents where the board expressed confidence in Abbott and noted that the report did not find Atira and its staff benefitted financially from the arrangement. 

However the situation with Atira unfolds, B.C. Housing will have to contend with both the public and local governments that might be more skeptical of how it handles its money — not just with Atira, but with all the other non-profit organizations it gives hundreds of millions of dollars to each year. 

"I think it calls into question the bigger issues around the public expectations, around public accountability and transparency," said Vancouver councillor Lisa Dominato, whose city has been pushing for more regional diversity in how B.C. Housing and other Metro Vancouver municipalities provide social housing. 

And it's possible that B.C. Housing has been well aware of those issues for months.

In December 2022, as the investigation into its relationship with Atira was wrapping up, they told the province they were extending to hire a public relations company for nearly $400,000 for all of 2023 to assist them.

Among the things the company was tasked to do?

"Build trust with municipalities."