How the Board Took Control of Vancity's Profits

On November 30, 2021, the Board of Directors made a confidential decision that involved taking some of Vancity's profits and giving it to third parties. They refused to give me (that is, all of us) the formal details of this decision.

Previously, we had been getting 50% of these funds for ourselves, and giving 50% to community programs.

Vancity announced the change in a message that was sent to our accounts. The message appears to be coming from Vancity management. In truth, this was a Board decision, and should have been disclosed as such. They don’t want us to realize that they’re taking control away from us.

The Board wouldn’t have even mentioned the decision at the 2022 AGM if I hadn't asked about it. They don't want to remind you that they're taking your (our) money without allowing us to vote on it.

Here is the message they sent. It doesn’t say anything is being taken away from us.

Here is the “Find out how” link, where they say they are discontinuing the Patronage program.

Here is the series of letters between myself and the regulator, where I object to the Board’s actions:

2022-08-31 My complaint to the regulator (the first of three formal complaints that I filed, on three distinct issues).

2022-11-16 Response from Godwin Tse.

2022-11-29 I asked for a better response since his first one was terrible.

2022-12-15 Tse’s revised response.

2022-12–19 I elevated the matter to his manager.

2022-12-28 Response from Sean Sisett.

2022-12-29 I elevated the matter to the Superintendent.

2023-01-23 Response from their lawyer.

Fundamentally, the regulator doesn’t care about democratic governance and ownership, so there was never a clear, direct response to the points I raised.