We had been in our homes for over a year when the first
rumour of major problems was heard. I didn’t believe it at first but we were
behind in our mortgage payments. How could that be? It turned out that we
weren’t just a little behind. The bank notices had been going directly to our
treasurer, the person who was supposed to be paying the mortgages but hadn't. This was a
major crisis. We could all lose our homes. Our rents hadn’t been getting to the
bank, but more importantly, the subsidy money paid by the Federal Government
hadn’t been getting there either.
The government didn’t take kindly to someone absconding with
their money. An RCMP forensic auditor was soon on the case, interviewing the
members and going through the books. There was a lot of financial skullduggery
to uncover which had started subtly at first but grew as time went on. As the
investigation went on we still didn’t know how the rest of us stood with regard
to our homes.
In the end the government bailed us out and our co-op
remained in business. That was a relief. Our treasurer was charged with evading
income tax and she and her family were no longer members of the co-op. We
stayed in the house on Prescott Street for a few years longer until we once
again heeded the call of the West Coast and made our way back to Vancouver.
That was the end of our eventful co-operative venture.
Garage sale at Prescott Street before I left for the West Coast
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