ALC says it had no role in audit filed in CNIB lottery suit
Audit document indicates account was 'confirmed by ALC'
The Atlantic Lottery Corporation says it had no involvement in an audit filed as a part of a CNIB lawsuit, even though a court document indicates the account in dispute was "confirmed by ALC."
The "lottery audit" is filed in a case against Ed House of Truro, N.S.
The CNIB says House is responsible for more than $25,000 in missing funds. He's one of four lottery operators throughout the Maritimes being sued for a total of $100,000.
The CNIB has a contract with the Atlantic Lottery Corporation to sell ALC products at 17 booths in Atlantic Canada. The charity hires contractors to run the booths.
In the case of Ed House, the audit filed with the court indicates his booth was missing $29,103 on Nov. 13, 2013. It indicates three CNIB managers were present for the audit, which took place at the lottery booth at the Truro Walmart.
House and the other lottery operators tell CBC they didn't take anything and have no idea what happened. House says he's never received a clear explanation from CNIB about the missing money.
The document filed in court includes an entry that reads "Account confirmed by ALC" next to a box marked with an "X."
'Disappointing and upsetting'
ALC communications counsel Carla Bourque tells CBC, "We did not confirm, verbally or otherwise, the status of any account."
With respect to the document filed in the case of Ed House, Bourque says the document is "a CNIB internal auditing document. It has not been created, reviewed or approved by Atlantic Lottery."
The CNIB declined to comment directly to questions about the audit document. In a statement, it said that, "Given that all of the cases in Atlantic Canada are presently before courts and tribunals, we cannot speak about the specific operators publicly or share the evidence gathered by the CNIB."
"Certainly, this has been a disappointing and upsetting situation for all involved — both our charity and these kiosk operators. However, the legal actions being taken aren't about accusing individuals of taking the funds directly, but rather about holding business owners responsible, per their contractual agreements, for shortages in collecting funds that help benefit Canadians who are blind or partially-sighted."