We were all hopeful that under Craig Daniell's leadership, we'd finally see the SPCA making an attempt to be honest. We also hoped that the SPCA employee with the perpetual "misleading the media" habit would be fired in the recent house cleaning. What we got instead was bitter disappointment, and a CEO who appears to be no better than the last, in one important way. How simple it would have been for him to come clean with the public, and move on with honesty, integrity and a clear conscience. He would have had resounding support from everyone, including SPCA past critics. He has chosen instead to keep a multitude of questionable staff, and continues misleading the public through contradictory media statements.

First the SPCA says this when it's criticized for hiring so many new head office employees:
Excerpt from a letter that appeared in the Comox Valley Record Friday December 6, 2002 under the heading:
SPCA declares its position

“Since these new positions directly support increased volunteerism, and our mandate of providing humane education programming to the youth and adults around the province, we do not consider them to be “head office administration” but rather positions that will directly impact the welfare of animals around B.C. and help respond to the feedback from our public consultation.
With regard to the closure of clinics, there is no substance to the statement at all.
Lori Chortyk”

Seven months later, on July 2, 2003 the SPCA announced it was closing its Victoria Clinic.It also said this when it fired 14 head office employees:

Excerpt from Canada.com

http://canada.com/vancouver/news/story.asp?id=CA655162-55FB-453E-9FC8-FD9E5E4A4007

"We haven't made any changes that affect the day-to-day handling or the lives of animals at all," said Daniell. "We haven't eliminated one position which directly affects the animals."

The SPCA says they are not closing any clinics, but they do just that. Then they say the newly filled positions at head office are directly related to animal welfare when the hiring is done, but they miraculously become paper-pushing desk jobs that don't affect the animals,when they get fired! Self-serving justification at its finest!
Craig Daniell and Lori Chortyk are continuing the tried and true SPCA habit of blithely speaking out of both sides of its mouth, secure in the knowledge that the media is not keeping track. They seem willing and able to change their stories with the wind, and quite frankly, I have to wonder how either of them sleep at night.