Two events last week nicely illustrated the failure of Government's housing policy and the bankruptcy of the Social Agenda unveiled with such fanfare 18 months ago.

One was Health and Family Services Minister Patrice Minors' climb down on Thursday over the baseless accusations she made against the Salvation Army late last year.

Mrs. Minors was fortunate that her Salvation Army announcement came on the same day that a Supreme Court jury convicted Kenneth Burgess and Dennis Robinson for the murders of twins Jahmil and Jahmal Cooper. As a result her story, which would have been front page news on a "normal day", was relegated to the inside pages of the Island's newspapers and the lower depths of Thursday's newscasts.

The controversy stemmed from her declaration in the House of Assembly that she was "fed up" with the Army's demands for funding for the homeless shelter on North Street and for its other programmes. She went on to claim that the Army sent ten percent of the money it raised in Bermuda to Canada.

By Thursday, Mrs. Minors was no longer fed up with the Army and she was not attacking them either. Instead, the "confusion" had been resolved, she said.

She had not understood that the Salvation Army's divisional headquarters were in Bermuda, she said. Ten percent of the money raised by the Army goes to fund the headquarters.

Mrs. Minors also said Government will provide funds for the repairs of the homeless shelter, which is in a disgraceful condition, quite a turnaround from being fed up with the Salvation Army's supposed greed.

It is worth noting that Mrs. Minors did not apologise for her statement. Indeed, she said she was now "satisfied" with the Salvation Army's explanation of how it disbursed its money, as if it was the Army's responsibility to explain how Mrs. Minors had come to be so confused.

Government will also put the management of the homeless shelter out to tender. The Salvation Army says it welcomes the submission and will submit a bid. Assuming the 200-person homeless shelter gets built, one can only hope that the Army wins the tender, since it may be the only organisation that actually knows how to run one.

Certainly, Government cannot, if its handling of the other housing story last week is anything to go by. Mrs. Minors and Housing Minister Sen. David Burch announced on Wednesday that 56 single men were to be moved out of the Canadian Hotel, which was to be closed because the landlord could no longer get insurance.

Mrs. Minors and Sen. Burch seemed caught unawares by the development, and effectively said there was nowhere for the tenants to go, at least until an "expedited" redevelopment of a hostel at Southside was completed. They hoped this would occur by the end of February. If not, Warwick Camp will be used.

Government has been aware that the Canadian Hotel could be closed at any time for at least the last two years. But little has been done. Even if the landlord, Edmund Powell, had not found a partner for the office building he has long planned for the site, it must have been clear to even the most casual observer that the building was a slum and a firetrap.

Indeed, it is remarkable, given the close attention that the Smith's and Trimingham's buildings at the other end of Reid Street have received from the Bermuda Fire Service, that the Canadian Hotel has somehow escaped its notice and it has been up to Mr. Powell's insurers to condemn it.

But the Bermuda Housing Corporation's failure to get anything done in advance is the greater sin. Perhaps it has been preoccupied with evicting single mothers.

To be fair to Sen. Burch, he has not been back in the Housing Ministry that long, although he has been on its board of the West End Development Corporation's ? whose record on allowing housing to fall into disrepair is second to none ? for much longer. His reputation as an effective administrator and "the man who gets things done" will not stand scrutiny for much longer if something does not happen.

Mrs. Minors' situation seems worse. Having libelled the Salvation Army ? something akin to accusing Jesus Christ of turning water into wine and then selling it ? she managed to get Premier Alex Scott to defend her and now still has not had the grace to apologise. It's time she did the right thing, if she knows what it is.