VANCOUVER: BC Housing has stepped up to the plate and is now auditing the Greater Vancouver Housing Corporation (GVHC). This comes after the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) publicized allegations of wrongdoings at subsidized housing units managed by the GVHC. BC Housing is currently working on an operational audit, and has engaged KPMG to do a financial audit. The reports' results should be released in September.

"It's about time," said Maureen Bader, BC Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. "If taxpayer dollars are being mishandled and wasted, it has to stop. An audit is a welcome first step."

"The CTF received reports from whistleblowers earlier this year, but complaints go back almost a decade," added Bader. "BC Housing is now ensuring the GVHC has processes in place to handle complaints and that the GVHC is meeting its obligations to the province."

The GVHC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD). The GVHC manages housing units for low-to-moderate income families. The GVHC has over 50 different rental sites across Greater Vancouver.

The federal government transferred responsibility for about 51,600 social housing units to the province last year. When the CTF called for an audit of the GVHC in January 2007, responsibility for the GVHC housing portfolio was in the process of shifting from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to BC Housing.

"The GVRD is one of the least affordable housing markets in the country," said Bader. "Poorly managed programs wastes taxpayers dollars and creates an unfair burden on taxpaying families who struggle with their own housing affordability problems."