The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) released documents today that show Red River College’s former President took surplus marble from the College’s Patterson GlobalFoods Institute (PGI) building and had it installed in the kitchen of her former home.
Emails obtained by the CTF through Freedom of Information suggest Red River College is unsure of the exact volume of marble installed and whether or not college policies were broken. However, the college’s asset disposal and ethics policies are posted online. They suggest surplus property should be sold off and employees should first consider the public response if “this action attracted media attention.”
“If the former President had taken a few scraps of old plywood, no one would care,” said CTF Prairie Director Colin Craig. “But we’re talking about expensive marble and photos suggest there could be a sizeable amount. The college should have sold off the material.”
Some quotes from the emails:
“Marble from the PGI construction exists in Ms. Forsyth’s residence and she has indicated it was material marked for disposal.” – click here
“Her indication that this was marked for disposal is not verified by a third party.” – click here
“Remember, her home and photos are on MLS listing with a fair bit of counters and backsplashes visible – with a before and after comparison of the house before and after the renovation on two different listings from different time periods.” – click here
“The report of the review was provided to the Board on Aug 20 but was unable to determine whether College policies had been broken.” – click here
“I don’t think it matters to the public what policy says. Referencing policy to justify or support a position risks creating the impression the College is hiding behind policy. The simple fact is that marble is in SFs house and a certain quantity came from PGI. Even if it was marked for disposal it shows poor judgment at best, dishonesty at worst.” – click here
Some Questions that Remain
1) Will the College immediately release the report they received in August that examined the marble situation?
2) What is the volume and value of marble in question?
3) Was a severance package provided to the former president?
4) What is the College doing about the situation?
“First the former President expensed golf shoes and her driver’s license, then there was the bill for wedding-related expenses and now we’re talking about her taking home expensive marble,” added Craig. “The College needs to come clean on what’s going on. We’re talking about taxpayer dollars and student fees.”
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