An Ethical Tale: Janice Abbott, Shane Ramsay & Bob (or Jane) The Accountant

Okay, so imagine for a moment that you’re on the funding committee of a government funded-organization. You’re name is Bob, and you’re one of the lucky dozen people who’ve been chosen to help approve funding & grant applicants. Bob’s all excited to be involved on such an important task. But, then, he realizes he’s stepped into a trap- the big boss’s wife is one of the applicants.

Bob’s got that feeling you get when you’ve just felt the dog pooh oozing around your new cotton sandals…

Bob’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. To make things worse, the wife’s organization has some serious problems. They’re known problems, and her agency’s customers are suffering because of them. At what point should Bob risk upsetting his boss?

What if there are illegal activities connected to the wife’s organization? How could Bob condone the continuation of her funding? Would it be a CLM (career limiting move) for Bob to insist to his boss there must be immediate reform?

Does Bob risk his credibility if he doesn’t speak out?

I don’t know how many people are on BC Housing or Atira Housing’s funding/grant committees- but, there are a lot of Bob’s (and Jane’s) between them. Each of these people have to go through extra stress, and they must endure that dog pooh feeling at each funding cycle.

Janice Abbott (Head of Atira) and Shane Ramsay (Head of BC Housing) may be the world’s experts at building firewalls between their personal and professional lives – let’s just assume for a moment that they are. What about the Bobs and the Janes, isn’t it responsible to put them in the middle? The stakes are high here- lives are at stake, and tens of millions of dollars are flying around.

Why are we even wasting time asking this question?

Have there been conflict-of-interest situations between Atira & BC Housing? I have no idea, I’m guessing we’ll find out sooner than later. But, once again, why are we wasting time asking this question? It’s unethical to put the people around them into such a minefield.

After the report that came out on the dismal conditions of Atira’s residences, it is now time for immediate reform. Either Janice Abbott should step-down, or Shane Ramsay should. This needs to happen quickly, people’s lives are at stake. A 13 year-old girl was at risk of losing her life after an overdose- that, in itself, is reason for an in-depth audit…