Sudbury children's aid director Colette Prevost racked up $90K hotel bill

The $90,000 hotel bill singled out by Ontario's auditor general last week came out of the budget of the Sudbury children's aid society.

The audit report shows that almost $90,000 was spent over two years for a Toronto hotel room, including over $10,000 in incidentals such as parking and telephone charges.

"The Society did not consider more cost-effective options such as leasing a condominium, which could have reduced Society costs considerably perhaps by as much as 50 per cent," the report reads. 

"We were also advised that the hotel room that was rented was used less than 50% of the time in the first year, which further questions the rationale for the annual rental."

Colette Prevost, the former executive director of the Sudbury and Manitoulin children's aid society, has acknowledged that she claimed those expenses.

She declined an interview, but did release this statement:

"I have worked in the social services sector for over 30 years. The time in question, while I was with the Sudbury CAS, I was commuting regularly to Toronto to represent Northern agencies on province-wide projects and initiatives. The expenses I incurred in this time were all Board approved, those work-related expenses deemed outside Board policy, I am reimbursing."

Prevost, who headed up the Sudbury children's aid from 2008 until earlier this year, is now CEO of the York Region children's aid society.

Her successor as executive director of the Sudbury CAS Elaina Groves also refused an interview but did provide a statement.

It reads:

"The former Sudbury Manitoulin Executive Director represented the North on a number of provincial committees that required frequent travel to Toronto resulting in travel expenditures including car rental, parking, hotel accommodation and meals. 

The former Executive Director proposed a long term hotel accommodation in Toronto with the understanding it would be used by her and other members of our Society who also routinely travel to Toronto and the Board approved this arrangement with the understanding that it was going to be a significantly lower cost than the daily hotel room rate. Unfortunately the unit did not end up being used as much as anticipated.

The Board accepts responsibility for this oversight and has put in new procedures and policies to ensure all travel expenditures be more closely reviewed.

In addition, the former executive director reimbursed the Society for expenses that were not consistent with the Society's policies."