Anglican general secretary's employment ends in wake of lease controversy

Alan Perry is no longer the general secretary of the Anglican Church of Canada, and while officials aren’t saying whether he was terminated or resigned, the Sept. 3 announcement comes in the wake of a controversy surrounding his denomination’s rental agreement with The United Church of Canada.

Perry went on leave in June after questions were raised about whether he and Anglican treasurer and CFO Amal Attia had followed due process in signing a lease agreement back in April 2024 that committed the Anglican Church to renting office space in Bloor Street United’s redeveloped property in Toronto.

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The agreement bound the Anglican Church and the Presbyterian Church in Canada to sublease space from the United Church, which signed a lease with Bloor Street. Questions are being raised about whether Perry and Attia were authorized to sign the agreement without seeking the approval of the denomination’s General Synod.

The Anglican Church also commissioned the accounting firm Doane Grant Thornton to investigate whether the leasing document is “legally enforceable.” The report was due at the end of July but the church has yet to affirm that it has been delivered. Both the Anglican Church and the United Church have declined to comment on whether the report has been completed or if there are any ongoing negotiations between their denominations. The United Church could also not be reached for comment on Perry’s departure from the Anglican Church.

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Harry Li, executive officer of finance for The United Church, stated emphatically in a July interview with Broadview that before signing, each of the three denominations followed a rigorous protocol.

“From our perspective, we followed the process strictly. And the other thing to add is before the lease agreements were signed, each denomination hired their own legal consultant and spent considerable time reviewing the lease agreement,” he said. “But we really respect the Anglican Church’s internal process and affirm the importance of transparency and accountability in all ecumenical partnerships,” Li added in July.

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Gillian Steward is a journalist in Calgary.

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