There is talk of mismanagement within the Finlandia Association following the decision this week by the board to liquidate all assets to pay the $1 million debt.
However, board spokesperson Derek Parks calls those people armchair quarterbacks who do not understand what has happened over the last 10 years.
“We’ve just come to a unique situation where the association has been carrying the debt like previous boards before and when COVID-19 hit that just pushed us over the edge,” admits Parks.
The Finlandia board member stresses it has been the Hoito restaurant which had been helping to pay some of the bills, but that could not be sustained, “we had to stop the bleeding.”
What the future of the Finnish Labour Temple on Bay Street holds is anyone’s guess however Parks believes there is someone who will be willing to take over the heritage building, but the association was not in a position to “facilitate those changes”.
He adds selling off the assets was the best course of action leaving a future buyer to do as it wishes with the restaurant and building, whereas bankruptcy would have simply handed the keys over to the bank, and walking away.
