The leadership of the Portland Hotel Society have resigned after the provincial government gave them an ultimatum to resign or go into receivership.

“One of the most unpleasant interviews I have endured in four decades of journalism was a few years back with Mark Townsend.”

“If PHS had come under the full control of B.C. Housing, key contracts with Vancouver Coastal Health would have been placed in jeopardy…”

“The board resignations come a little more than a year after PHS was involved in a public dispute with VCH over funding for a women’s program at the Rainier Hotel.”

“Many years ago, when the PHS was still small, my sister worked there, and from what I observed then, staff did a remarkable job with the few resources they had.”

The B.C. government says a financial review and audit of the Portland Hotel Society has uncovered significant concerns.

The results of recent audit on the Portland Hotel Society (PHS) “paints a picture of an organization that is inept at maintaining financial records.”

According to B.C.’s health minister, the Portland Hotel Society has misspent millions of dollars.

The PHS spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in questionable expenses for vacations, limos and overseas trips, with little financial oversight, poor documentation and a host of other financial irregularities, according to government auditors.