Categories: Capital Read, Inside the Queensway

Imagine Adoption: Gary Goodyear's wife on the payroll – and the company they co-own is on the creditor list.

by kadyomalley on Thursday, July 16, 2009 10:12pm - 43 Comments

The Kitchener-Waterloo Record reports on the link between Valerie Goodyear and the ongoing Imagine Adoption/Kids Link International bankruptcy meltdown:

The 16 employees of the bankrupt agency included Valerie Goodyear, wife of federal cabinet minister and Cambridge MP Gary Goodyear.

In a written statement yesterday, Gary Goodyear said his wife helped place children with families and wasn’t involved with the agency’s finances. He also said he has never been involved with its operations. [...]

In an agency newsletter last year, Valerie Goodyear was described as co-ordinator of its African adoption programs.

A profile said she had been to Ethiopia three times and was one of the agency’s first employees.

In the same newsletter, photographs showed Gary Goodyear and other local politicians alongside Susan Hayhow at a ribbon-cutting to mark the agency’s move to new offices.

He is also quoted in a story accompanying the photos.

“This is a wonderful group of people,” Gary Goodyear reportedly said. “I want to congratulate Sue (Hayhow) and her team on the most excellent work and incredible progress.“

The agency newsletter can be found on the Imagine Adoption website.

The Record reports that bankruptcy officials are “trying to determine why the agency was renting three properties in Cambridge with payment obligations of $13,000 a month,” and notes that only one of the three — “the location at 780 King Street East … was used for agency offices.”

ITQ checked the public registry for MPs, and found a disclosure summary for Gary Goodyear, filed earlier this year. In it, he states that he and his wife are co-owners of Constant Energy Ltd. — the same “private real estate holding firm” listed as the landlord of one of those three properties.

According to the Statement of Affairs released earlier this week by BDO Dunwoody, the agency was paying $3,000 a month to Constant Energy for property at 382 Queen Street West in Cambridge. BDO lists Constant Energy’s total outstanding claim at $96,000, which works out to 32 months rent, and it is the first entry on the list of “preferred creditors for wages/rent/etc.” The Queen St. W property is currently occupied by the Hespeler Community Chiropractic Centre.

BDO estimates that the total claims held by unsecured creditors — the 400 families who have “active files” with the agency — to be at least $800,000, but warns that that number is a “conservative” estimate, since it’s still not clear how much is owed to each family. The first meeting of creditors is scheduled for the end of the month.

Tags: constant energy, gary goodyear, imagine adoption, kids link international, valerie goodyear

More by kadyomalley

http://intensedebate.com/people/KadyITQ KadyITQ

Just wanted to note that this Globe story has more information on the founders.

http://intensedebate.com/people/M_A_N M_A_N

So many questions. So very many questions.
ACD

IThis from the Goodyear disclosure. His wife was President.

Spouse’s/ activities:
• President, officer and member of the board of directors of Constant Energy Inc.

Anon

I'd be interested to see how this story — ahem — evolves. It could be a bad year for the Goodyear family business.

steven b

A bad year for the Goodyear family business? This a great story for the Goodyear family business. They rent a property to a worthwhile organization which falls behind in paying rent for 3 years. Out of the kindness of their hearts, the Goodyears allow them to stay even though they can't pay. Now that's an amazing act of generosity by the Conservative MP Gary Goodyear!

http://intensedebate.com/people/sea_n_mountains sea_n_mountains

don't you mean letting a worthwhile organization who is having economic troubles pay the rent for an office that another business occupies and then are willing to expropriate the money owed for this pleasure even ahead of the families who lives are invested in the organization?

http://intensedebate.com/people/SeanStok SeanStok

Overseas adoptions, from poor nations, are something we ought to question Canadians getting involved in, not the least because of:

http://news.therecord.com/News/CanadaWorld/articl…

(p.s.: why the change of heart regarding comments?)
Brent Fullard

Am I correct to conclude from this ITQ account of things Gary Goodyear, that this now bankrupt adoption agency was footing the bills for Gary Goodyear's chiropractic clinic…..insofar as Gary Goodyear is a chiropractor and the adoption agency was paying $3,000 a month in rent to the Goodyear's real estate company for the privilege of having the space at 382 Queen Street occupied by the Hespeler Chiropractic Clinic and not the adoption agency?

Follow the money.
Stewart

Paiken did a recent show on the subject of adoption recently with Hayhow as a guest.

http://www.tvo.org/cfmx/tvoorg/theagenda/index.cf…
Concerned Mom

I have read all the excuses that are out there, wether be fiancial, property, ho owns what but no one has mentioned the affected ones THE CHILDREN. I am sure no one else will suffer from this situation.
A concerned MOM

http://intensedebate.com/people/Douglass Douglass

I suspect a lot of people are suffering. Along side the children waiting to be adopted, there are the family's that are having to deal with this heartbreak. I indirectly know a couple that was trying to adopt through this agency. They are crushed, as are their finances.

I hope they get to the bottom of this bankruptcy. Something seems off.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Torybaiter Torybaiter

I suspect we'll see a great many Tory attempts to change the channel today.
Stretch

Earth-shattering stuff here. An MP has real estate holdings. Wow. His wife is involved in a company that rented some of those properties. Oh my. Unfortunately that company went bankrupt. Oh dear.

What's the story????

http://intensedebate.com/people/sea_n_mountains sea_n_mountains

one of the stories that i see is that the average Canadian is clearly better able to stick with the plot than you are.

cam

Stretch, the story appears to be that a Minister stated that he and his wife were not involved in the agency's finances yet they were a landlord for the company, and are owed money.

wilson

Which means they were not involved in the agency's financing, they are owed money.

Derrick Burns

Uh no – got it backwards – he's OWED $96,000 by the adoption agency.

Try reading the story next time.

http://intensedebate.com/people/SeanStok SeanStok

It's getting harder and harder to tell if I'm at the Maclean's blogs or some sort of MENSA gathering.

http://intensedebate.com/people/MaggiesFarmboy MaggiesFarmboy

Reverse MENSA, maybe. I guess that'd be ASNEM? Association of Snarky and Non-Employed Maclean's-readers?

Perhaps someone else can do better.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Wascally_Wabbit Wascally_Wabbit

Seems to me that the key is this Stretch…
"The Record reports that bankruptcy officials are “trying to determine why the agency was renting three properties in Cambridge with payment obligations of $13,000 a month,” and notes that only one of the three — “the location at 780 King Street East … was used for agency offices.”

What were the other premises being used for? Legitimate business of the adoption society? Temporary housing for adoptee families?

Hard to see how this thing could have dragged on so long with rent arrears clocking up like this…however good…on the surface….was the cause…

The other thing that occurs to me – where did the $800,000 paid by adoptee families go?

http://intensedebate.com/people/SeanStok SeanStok

Also:

"Gary Goodyear said his wife helped place children with families and wasn’t involved with the agency’s finances…
In an agency newsletter last year, Valerie Goodyear was described as co-ordinator of its African adoption programs."

Hard to reconcile someone being a coordinator, yet having no involvement with finances. Not that anything is necesarily wrong with anyone's behaviour, but it does seem that Goodyear was a bit miserly in his explanation of involvement.

Mike

I am definately no supporter of Goodyear but this article and discussion takes away from what should be our focus right now – the children needing adoption from Ethiopia and the parents here in Canada who are going through incredible heartache that very few of us can appreciate. There will be plenty of time to point fingers and try and score political points – but now is not the time. The media and the public should stay focused on what's important here.

Kenneth

This is the Inside the Queensway blog.
Anon

Change that channel. Change it!

http://intensedebate.com/people/SeanStok SeanStok

That's pretty good!

I
knick

"“She was responsible for helping to place children with new families, and was not involved with the financial operations of the agency,” Mr. Goodyear said in a statement."

But, as the spouse of an MP, shouldn't the Goodyears have been a little more diligent about looking into the background of the agency with which Mrs. Goodyear was involved in whatever capacity?

http://intensedebate.com/people/Nich Nich

As an MP? Also as a landlord owed a lot of money… the employee/landlord link is not good optics, especially since the land wasn't apparently being used…

Chet Champion

The Goodyears have been involved in this agency since its inception. It is a bit misleading to suggest that Mrs Goodyear was simply an employee. They were financially involved in the organization and Mrs Goodyear was the head of African adoptions.
nitro

Since Ms.Goodyear was a member of the agency board as well as a part owner of the company which rented the building isn't there a lack of due dilligence regarding a potential conflict of interest?

nitro

http://intensedebate.com/people/madeyoulook madeyoulook

She was ON THE BOARD!!!???!!! Then don't go around claiming "not involved in the finances," mister neck-twister Goodyear.
http://www.intensedebate.com/people/madeyoulook madeyoulook

She was ON THE BOARD!!!???!!! Then don't go around claiming "not involved in the finances," mister neck-twister Goodyear.

UPDATE: But a comment below questions the assertion that she was on the Board. So the plot thickens.

steven b

What is the story here? The agency went bankrupt – so what. The Goodyear's company had not been paid rent in almost 3 years. Doesn't sound like they were exactly taking financial advantage of the agency. More like they were allowing the agency to use their property for free!

Anon

And racking up a decent business loss, which can come in mighty handy and tax time.

steven b

Yeah I bet that's what they were thinking. You must be a business major with incredible logic like that. They allowed the agency to keep using their property for 3 years without making a dime from it out of the kindness of their hearts because they believed it was a worthwhile organization. A very noble and generous act by the Goodyears!

http://intensedebate.com/people/Torybaiter Torybaiter

Sounds like sound financial management to me. Sheesh…. the HIlls computers, tended slavishly by loyal Tory hacks, are alive and kikcking today. No early weekend either….
steven b

The desparation by Liberals like Kady is really quite amusing. There is no story here, the Goodyear's should be commended for allowing the adoption agency to use their property for free. Maybe they can get a charitable tax deduction for the 3 years rent that is owed. Get used to it Libs, you're on the opposition benched now and will continue to be for some time to come.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Ed_Sweeney Ed_Sweeney

Is the property at 382 Queen Street West in Cambridge worth something close to $3,000 per month in rent?
Jenn

Hey guys, I'd like to point out that with commercial real estate, it is common practice to sign a binding lease. That means that the company/organization leasing the space is on the hook for the full amount of the lease, not just month-to-month.

So there is no evidence that the Goodyear company allowed the charity to rent the space for three years without paying. The rent owed is the FUTURE rent in accordance with the lease.

So, when was this lease signed? What is the present value of the property for lease? Where did Goodyear work (what was the name of his Chiropractic business) before he became an MP? Who were his partners in said Chiropractic business? Who are the partners of the Hespeler Community Chiropractic Centre? Did the Hespeler Community Chiropractic Centre pay rent to Imagine Adoptions?

This stinks to high heaven, although I don't see any evidence that Mrs. Goodyear was a member of the Imagine board. Anybody got anything to confirm that?
http://yappadingding.blogspot.com/ Yappa

fyi, This blogger has done some digging on the organizaton: http://www.benedictionblogson.com/2009/07/16/imag…

Jenn

Wow, he/she sure has! Thanks for the link.

wilson

Perhaps the amount owing to Goodyears business is old debt that came with the Imagine Adoption taking over 'all responsibilities' of St Annes, which was located at 382 Queen St West:

Sue Hayhow:
''In 2006 I was approached by Saint Anne Adoption Centre , and in September of that year I legally assumed all responsibility for the Saint Anne Agency and clientele''
http://www.imagineadoption.ca/history.html

St. Anne Adoption Centre
Sue Hayhow, Director
382 Queen Street West
Cambridge, ON
N3C 1G8
Tel: (519) 623-5437 or 1-877-323-5437
Facilitates adoptions from Haiti and Ecuador
http://www.canadaadopts.com/canada/resources_pria…
Etob

The 400 families are **unsecured** creditors to the sum of $800,000, according to BDO.

Constant Energy is a **preferred** creditor. That is the Goodyear's company. Sum of $96,000.

Total assets of Kids Link Intl Adoption Agency: $723,004.

Total liabilities Kids Link Intl Adoption Agency: $1,086,004

BDO shows $500,000 cash as an asset.

There seems to be enough money to pay the secured and preferred creditors, but NOT the unsecured creditors.
Etob

According to a letter in the G&M, St. Anne's is not in bankruptcy, and is separately licensed. Here is the letter: "Those adopting from Ecuador (through Ste Anne's/Imagine Adoption) found out today from BDO that they are ONLY representing Kids Link (Imagine's Ethiopia and Ghana Programs) in bankruptcy.

Ste Anne Adoption, Imagine's Ecuador program, is not at this point in bankruptcy (though BDO has taken pocession of our files.) Imagine's (and therefore Ste Anne's) doors have closed. There is no staff and we do not know how to contact the board of directors to move forward.

Imagine/Kids Link website has closed down but Ste Anne's is still up- http://www.kids-link.ca/stanne/privacy.html

On the BDO site, it lists St Anne's as owing $70 000 to Kids Link. http://www.bdo.ca/imagineadoption Therefore, there must be separate accounts and finance. In the past, Ste Anne's clients have made out checks to "Ste Anne's Adoption -In Trust"- not Imagine Adoption. Where are the Ste Anne's bank accounts? Who is managing them since the agency has dissolved? Can the directors still access these funds? How can we find out this information?

The ministry and BDO are addressing Kids Link issues but I am not sure they really understand that Ste Anne's is a separately licensed, not in bankruptcy and but it is greatly affected as well. What do we do next? We are not in bankruptcy but no longer have an active agency!"