ACORN Metastasizes to Canada and Elsewhere

I had known that ACORN was involved in Canada but hadn’t known exactly how.

ACORN International, a New Orleans-based nonprofit entity with offices outside the U.S., now has three offices in Canada, according to its website. The headquarters is in Toronto with two other offices in Vancouver and in the Canadian capital, Ottawa. Whether these offices are more than mail drops is unclear. 

ACORN disclosed in a 2006 report (see pages 14 and 15 of large PDF file) that the group has “an emerging partnership with the British Columbia Government Employees Union (BCGEU).” The report also states that “Katrina Rebuilding allowed us to consolidate a joint project with the Canadian Automobile Workers (CAW) which will help us in both countries.” ACORN Canada issued a report in March 2007 called “A Conflict of Interest: How Canada’s Largest Banks Support Predatory Lending.”

The 2006 report also refers at page 14 to a planned office in Montreal, Quebec, but that office is not referenced on ACORN International’s website. 

ACORN International also discloses on its website that it is operating in the Dominican Republic, India, Mexico, and Peru.

Although ACORN founder Wade Rathke was forced out of ACORN after he covered up his brother’s nearly $1 million embezzlement of ACORN funds for eight years, he retains his position as “chief organizer” at ACORN International.