Forensic audit of BC Housing completed, findings to be released 'as soon as possible'
A forensic audit of BC Housing that the government ordered last year has been completed, though it's unclear when it will be released to the public.
The audit examined the agency's dealings with certain service providers, and followed a separate external review by Ernst and Young that was delivered in 2022.
The Ministry of Housing noted the province has obligations under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act that must be met before the findings are shared publicly, including a duty to give the service providers involved time to respond.
"I believe it's in the public interest for that report to be made public with as little redactions as legally possible," Minister Ravi Kahlon told CTV News on Friday.
"In order to do so, we need to reach out to the entities that potentially may be named in the report to give them an opportunity to have their say, and that's a process we're going to be going over in the next few weeks."
The province aims to have the report released "as soon as possible," Kahlon added.
BC Housing is a Crown corporation that develops, manages and administers subsidized housing in the province. The Ernst and Young review, which was released last June, found "roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of both the government shareholder and BC Housing are unclear."
It concluded there is a risk that oversight policies could contain gaps that "could result in inefficiencies and additional reporting burden on BC Housing."
Premier David Eby, who was then the province's housing minister, announced the dismissal of seven members of the government-appointed BC Housing board days after the Ernst and Young report was released.
Kahlon told CTV News his ministry is already working to address the issues highlighted in that review to help BC Housing "function in a better way."
The government will also be sharing more details on its plans to address the larger housing crisis in the province in the coming weeks, Kahlon said.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Prison service to review decision to transfer killer Bernardo to medium security
The federal prison service says it will have a second look at its decision to move convicted killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security facility as political leaders of all stripes react to the news with shock and outrage.

Poilievre threatens to filibuster budget bill if Liberals don't meet demands
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is threatening to use procedural tools to delay passage of the federal budget in the House of Commons if the Liberals don't meet his demands.
About ducking time: Apple to tweak iPhone autocorrect function
One of the most notable happenings at Apple's event for developers on Monday is likely the iPhone maker's tweak that will keep its autocorrect feature from annoyingly correcting one of the most common expletives to 'ducking.'
Canada facing critical shortages of leukemia and thyroid cancer drugs
Canada is currently facing a critical shortage of drugs used to fight thyroid cancer and a form of leukemia.
Small-brained ancient human cousins may have buried their dead, according to a surprising study
An ancient human cousin may have buried its dead and carved symbols into cave walls, surprising findings for a creature with a small brain.
Facing evacuations due to a forest fire or flood? Here’s what to pack in a grab-and-go bag
While some natural disasters or bouts of extreme weather may require sheltering in place until authorities can restore power to the area, others require residents to evacuate quickly, sometimes in a matter of hours — and if you want to be prepared, you should create a grab-and-go bag.
Poor air quality, evacuations in multiple provinces due to wildfires
Wildfire smoke prompted warnings about poor air quality for many regions across the country, stretching from northern Alberta to the Atlantic.
Data shows COVID-19 hospitalizations, severe outcomes continue to decline, but we must remain vigilant: experts
Wastewater testing, hospitalization and death data from COVID-19 tell us the virus' spread continue to trend downward in Canada. But we're not at the end, and public health experts say we must heed lessons learned from the pandemic and remain vigilant. Read the analysis on CTVNews.ca.
Apple unveils sleek 'Vision Pro' goggles. Will it be what VR has been looking for?
Apple on Monday unveiled a long-rumoured headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination