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“I think it’s important for people to understand that in both cases … the Salvation Army has been victimized,” said Maj. Murray, who characterized this as a “troubling time” for the organization in terms of leadership.

When you’re defrauding the Salvation Army, you’re defrauding the most vulnerable in the community

“When you’re defrauding the Salvation Army, you’re defrauding the most vulnerable in the community. That, for us, is very troubling.”

In the Toronto case, a whistleblower first alerted senior management to “irregularities” at the warehouse in mid- to late-August, Maj. Murray said. The Salvation Army’s national office conducted the audit. Mr. Rennie, who had been suspended since September, was let go on Monday.

In the third week of September, the national office called in the Toronto police department, which launched its own investigation. The Salvation Army also put its insurer on notice and that company has now hired external forensic auditors specializing in criminal audits, Maj. Murray said.

The Salvation Army also hired KPMG to do a separate procedure and security audit to determine lessons learned.

“We certainly have extraordinary checks and balances in place,” the major said of the warehouse, which suffered a fire in 2008. “The security at the facility is excellent.” The locks were changed at the end of August after the initial audit got in motion, he said.

The executive director was the only job loss as a result of the audit, Maj. Murray added.

The Salvation Army appointed a new executive director of the busy warehouse, which moves about seven million pounds of food every year and is housing more than 140,000 toys for the annual CTV Toy Mountain campaign, about to kick off next week.