THUNDER BAY - The future of the Finlandia Association is up in the air as a special meeting is scheduled to take place next week where a motion will be presented by the board to voluntarily liquidate the corporation.
According to an agenda for a special meeting of the Finlandia Association of Thunder Bay to be held on Wednesday via video conference, members will be presented with a motion that reads: “Be it resolved that the Corporation be voluntarily wound up pursuant to the provisions of section 230, and sections 253 to 265 of the Corporations Act.”
Wound up refers to the process of dissolving a company and is synonymous with the term liquidation.
Members will also vote on appointing Grant Thorton as the liquidator of the corporation and that Derek Parks and Kevin Vesa as inspectors for the purposes of approving any compromises made by the liquidator with debtors.
The Finlandia Association owns and operates the Finlandia Hall and the Hoito Restaurant on Bay Street.
One member of the Finlandia Association, Ulla Ahokas, is expressing concerns over the meeting scheduled to take place next week, saying there hasn’t been enough transparency on behalf of the board.
“In my opinion this meeting has been called at a most inappropriate time and without consulting the community that the Finlandia Association purports to represent,” Ahokas wrote in a letter to the board that was also shared with Dougall Media.
“The Board has failed to inform the community of the true nature of the problems the organization now faces and has ignored the organization’s by-laws. To call a meeting in the middle of the Covid pandemic is out of the question. The decision suggests that swift action might allow for some topics to go unnoticed. The Finlandia Association is responsible for a National Historic Site and is responsible to the community as a whole.”
Ahokas is calling for a postponement of the meeting, adding: “there are no current members eligible to vote and the terms for the board of directors have expired. This much the Board owes FA supporters and the Finnish community of Canada.”
Members of the Finlandia Association Board have said they will not comment on the content of the meeting until after it is held.
