Jenny Kwan Repays Nearly $35,000 In Trips Charged To Vancouver Charity And Takes An Unpaid Leave Of Absence From Legislature

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British Columbia’s NDPOpposition leader says his partyis still figuring out the terms ofcaucus member Jenny Kwan’sunpaid leave from the legislature,prompted by her connectionto an audit of a Vancouverbasednon-profit group, but heis brushing aside questionsabout whether Kwan shouldresign.The Vancouver member of thelegislature made tearful apologiesat a news conference Friday,saying her husband assured herhe’d paid for the family portionof the trips to Disneyland inAnaheim, Calif., and a trip toEurope that included stays inVienna and the UnitedKingdom in 2012.Kwan announced the leave onFriday after writing a $35,000cheque to cover her family’strips to Disneyland and Europe,which were paid for by thePortland Hotel Society, a groupthat works with some ofCanada’s poorest and most vulnerablepeople.The Portland Hotel Society wasestablished more than 20 yearsago to help house DowntownEastside residents, many ofthem mentally ill and addictedto drugs. The group is bestknown for administering Insite,North America’s only safeinfectionsite where peopleshoot up their own drugs withclean needles under medicalsupervision to prevent overdosesand the spread of infectiousdiseases.Kwan insisted she wasn’t awareher former husband, Dan Small,used money from the PortlandHotel Society, of which he was aformer executive, to pay for thetrip. She said it is her understandingthat Small was attendingconferences in Europe whenhe brought the family along.”He reassured me that the paymentswere made by him and Iaccepted that. In a relationshipthere is an element of trust.”NDP Leader Adrian Dix saidthe length of the leave is Kwan’sdecision, but he said the partywas also checking with legislatureofficials. There are examplesof members taking leaves inthe past for health issues.”Right now, she’s taking thisleave to legitimately deal withfamily issues and to providesupport for her children, and Isupport her in that,” said Dix.”When she’s ready to return,she’ll return.”Dix brushed aside questionsabout Kwan’s possible resignationover the funding issues.”In this case, she’s taken strongsteps,” he said. “She immediately,without delay, moved to paythe money back. They are theright steps.”Dix said he supports Kwan’sdecision to take time off, eventhough there have been calls forher to resign or face suspension.Questions over spending by thesociety that received $28.5 millionfor the current fiscal yearprompted an internal review andaudit that led to an externalaudit covering March 2010 toMarch 2013. Most of the fundingfor the society comes fromthe Crown agency BC Housingand Vancouver Coastal Health.The society also received HealthCanada grants and $100,000 indonations last year.Other findings in the auditsshowed that society credit-cardexpenses for 764 restaurantmeals amounted to $69,000.Travel costs expensed for tripsto Vienna, Paris, Istanbul, NewYork City, Banff and Jasper andOttawa amounted to $300,000.Last week, the B.C. governmentfired four managers andappointed an interim board.Neither Vancouver CoastalHealth nor BC Housing hadfiled a complaint with police byFriday over a criminal investigationinvolving the society.Rich Coleman, the ministerresponsible for housing, saidKwan’s decision is a personalissue, though he’s never heard ofa case where a member took aleave of absence under similarcircumstances. “I think that wejust have to recognize what’sgoing on with people’s lives andthey have to make their ownchoices,” he said.