A judge has denied the Hearts and Hands for Homes Society's request to stop an order requiring it hand over its assets to Habitat for Humanity Canada.
The Prince George group appealed the July B.C. Supreme Court decision that gave it 30 days to provide a list of its assets and hand over several pieces of property, including the ReStore.
That period is up and on
Aug. 7 court documents show Court of Appeal Justice Harvey Groberman refused the request from the local group, which was disaffiliated from the national non-profit organization in October 2013.
"The judgment stands," said Dave Trafford, Habitat's interim communication director, in reference to the original decision. "Now we begin the process.
"I would expect that on the ground, they're going to have to determine exactly what the assets are, they're going have to determine whether or not the material's are there, everything's complete vis--vis the assets."
Hearts and Hands executive director Vivian Pyladuik was just getting back from vacation Monday so she wasn't aware of the updates in the case.
"We're still in the process so I don't have any comment. We're still working with our lawyer," Pyladuik said.
According to court documents, Hearts and Hands filed its notice of appeal on July 15, a week after Justice Neena Sharma ruled in favour of Habitat for Humanity Canada.
Now the group will have to comply with Sharma's decision, ordering the transfer of seven properties and six mortgages under its name, as well as all of the store's possessions, including build-site tools and equipment. Hearts and Hands must also hand over donors' lists and all donations collected.
Habitat for Humanity provides housing, built by volunteers, to low-income families. In its notice of claim, Habitat said the falling out started in September 2012 when representatives came to Prince George for a routine assessment and uncovered a "multitude of problems and issues," including a "number of conflicts of interest" related to the board of directors, "a serious human resources issue in the management of the Prince George ReStore" and a failure to meet 34 of the 56 standards affiliates are required to meet.
"It's been a rather protracted affair," Trafford said.
"I think the long and the short of it is, everybody here (wants) to make sure that the community is taken care of, that assets are passed on or transferred and now we can certainly get back to focussing on serving the families in Prince George."
Trafford said Habitat remains committed to its partner families in the community.
"We'll be reaching out to them to let them know there's still support there for them."
Whether that means Prince George could see a new office or support for new families, Trafford couldn't say.
"I think at this stage the important part is to actually deal with this, the transfer of assets to make sure all that's taken care of," he said. "Then we can move down the road after that but I think the important thing now is to take care of the assets."
-- with files from Mark Nielsen
