Read Motion seconded by Mayor Gillingham

Moved by (Councillor Gilroy)

Seconded by (His Worship Mayor Gillingham)

WHERSAS government-held social housing stock is decreasing, and vulnerable people without access to social housing are increasingly pushed to live in private market housing without ready or appropriate access to social and mental services support;

AND WHEREAS many private market landlords are not prepared or equipped to address health and safety concerns arising from this trend;

AND WHEREAS the City has been required to respond to many of these challenges on a case-by-case basis through by-law enforcement, Winnipeg Police Service call responses and Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Services calls, within jurisdictional limits;

AND WHEREAS these health and safety issues are having a negative impact on the health, safety and overall livability of rental market homes and the surrounding communities;

AND WHEREAS many of these buildings have tenants that rely on EIA.

AND WHEREAS because of the safety concerns within these buildings, some individuals feel more safe on the street or in other unhoused or marginally housed circumstances, resulting in threats to safety or even loss of life;

AND WHEREAS the Province of Manitoba and City of Winnipeg could help to address a range of housing, social and safety issues by addressing this challenge more systematically:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED

1. That the City of Winnipeg request further dialogue, cooperation and assistance with the Province to address ongoing efforts to reduce and prevent homelessness stemmed from building neglect and safety concerns;

2. That the City of Winnipeg work with the Province and other stakeholders to identify and track private market residential buildings where there is a need for social and/or mental health supports for residents, based on the number of recent interventions by City of Winnipeg departments and/or stakeholders to respond to safety and health concerns;

3. That upon collection and aggregation of data through Recommendation #2, the City Public Service be asked to consider procedures to better manage clean-up of garbage and other debris around these buildings, helping to manage the impacts of mental health and addiction issues that cause hoarding in our public spaces;

4. That the City asks the Province to assist landlords that are receiving government funding primarily through EIA (Employment and Income Assistance) to help arrange support for vulnerable residents, including connection of social and mental health supports directly to market rental apartments where appropriate; and

5. That the City request the Province to consider licensing and standards requirements, similar to daycares and seniors’ complexes, for low barrier buildings that are primarily funded directly through EIA.

Winnipeg Councillor wants province to license apartment buildings with crime, health, safety issues

Cameron MacLean · CBC News · Posted: Apr 12, 2023 7:26 PM CDT | Last Updated: April 12

A Winnipeg city councillor wants the province to license apartment buildings where vulnerable people live, but which also face recurring problems of crime, health and safety concerns.

Daniel McIntyre Coun. Cindy Gilroy presented a motion to council last month, seconded by Mayor Scott Gillingham, that asks the province to do more to address rental properties with recurring problems, including several in her ward.

"We really want to protect people that are the most vulnerable people, making sure that they have safe living conditions and making sure that these landlords are held accountable … making sure that [properties are] safe, but also making sure that the province is providing the adequate supports," she said.

The persistent problems with the Adanac apartment building on Sargent Avenue, which is in Gilroy's ward, drew the attention of members of the Opposition NDP during question period at the legislature this week.

That building has been the site of two homicides and a fire within the last year.

Ira Hayes Disbrowe, 26, was shot to death at the apartment block on April 18, 2022.

Star Alicia Thomas, 23, died after a fire broke out inside the building on Jan. 3. A 26-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in her death.

"The Adanac used to be a decent building that families called home," Wolseley MLA Lisa Naylor said during question period at the Manitoba Legislature on Tuesday.

"But now, it's an illegal dumping ground full of garbage. There's multiple bylaw infractions leading to fires, property crime, drug and sex trafficking."

Properties linked to same owner

Gilroy identified several other properties in her ward that have been the scenes of crime — all of which share an owner in common.

Daniel Michael George Cook, 29, died in a shooting at 583 Furby St. on Nov. 26, 2022. Further south on that same block, at 485 Furby St., police arrested several people involved in a sex trafficking ring in 2015. A sign currently posted on the front door of that building says the numbered company registered as its owner is in receivership. The building is currently vacant.

Another house on the same street, 522 Furby St., is also currently vacant.

A search of city tax records and the provincial business registry shows that one person, Patrick Penner, is listed as an owner of all of those properties.

Penner owns several companies, including Harpenn Construction Ltd., K & P Properties Inc. He is also linked to the Living Recovery Foundation of Winnipeg, a non-profit organization that provides low-barrier housing that was founded by his wife, Karin Harper-Penner.

CBC News reached out to the organization for comment, but a representative declined to answer questions.

Licensing for 'low-barrier buildings'

If passed, Gilroy's motion would ask the province of Manitoba to consider licensing and standards requirements "for low-barrier buildings" that are primarily occupied by people who access provincial programs like employment and income assistance.

It would also ask the province to help identify and track private-market buildings that demonstrate a need for social and mental health supports — based on the number of "recent interventions" by city departments in response to safety and health concerns — and arrange to provide those social and mental health supports directly in the buildings.

During question period Tuesday, Naylor asked whether the Progressive Conservative government would support Gilroy's motion.

Families Minister Rochelle Squires responded that the province has committed $126 million for its homelessness strategy, which includes mental health supports.

• Manitoba announces $58M to create 700 social housing spaces this year, expand shelter hours

In an interview on Wednesday, when asked if she supported Gilroy's call for licensing landlords who rent to tenants receiving EIA, Squires said the program works with tenants individually, not with property owners.

"I have to be mindful of [tenants'] autonomy and their rights, and certainly wanting to look and see what we could do to ensure that there are better outcomes for everybody," she said.

The province currently has representatives on a city committee focused on addressing problem properties. This committee could serve as a starting point for co-operation between the province and city on licensing and supports for tenants, Gilroy said.

Gillingham says he supports Gilroy's motion.

"By partnering with the province of Manitoba and working with Coun. Gilroy … and the landlords that are providing that housing, I think that we can come to a place where we're doing a better job of helping people who are who are living in those places," he said.

Council's executive policy committee will vote on Gilroy's motion on April 18.

Corrections

Online Article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/problem-properties-licensing-winnipeg-city-councillor-1.6808639

• We initially reported that Patrick Penner is an owner of the Living Recovery Foundation. In fact, it's a non-profit organization founded by his wife. Apr 13, 2023 12:29 PM CT

Time to act on Adanac: NDP

By: Danielle Da Silva and Tyler Searle

Posted: 6:00 AM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 12, 2023

New Democrats are calling for government intervention in a troubled Winnipeg apartment block that was the scene of two recent homicides.

“The Adanac used to be a decent building that families called home,” NDP municipal relations critic Lisa Naylor said in question period Tuesday. “But now it’s an illegal dumping ground full of garbage (and) there’s multiple bylaw infractions leading to fires, property crime, drug and sex trafficking.”

Naylor described the three-storey apartment block at 743 Sargent Ave. as a “health and safety hazard for residents and neighbours” and called on the government to intervene.

The West End building has been the source of numerous complaints and public health violations. It was also the site of two slayings in the past year. Last April, Winnipeg police officers found 26-year-old Ira Hayes Disbrowe dead of gunshot wounds in the building. A 43-year-old woman was charged with second-degree murder.

This year, emergency responders found a homicide victim in the apartment block. Star Alicia Thomas, 23, had serious injuries following a fire in a suite on Jan. 3. She was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died. A 26-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder.

Cindy Gilroy, the area’s city councillor, said the property is one of several problem buildings in the neighbourhood, which include two other apartment blocks in which people were slain last year.

Heather Beardy, 26, was found dead inside 485 Furby St. in February 2022, and Daniel Michael George Cook, 29, was shot and killed at 583 Furby St. in November.

A review of tax documents at city hall showed all the properties, including Adanac, are registered to numbered companies. Further checks with the provincial companies database reveal that one man, Patrick Penner, is a shareholder in all of the properties.

Penner is linked to several businesses, including Harpenn Construction Ltd., K & P Properties Inc. and the Living Recovery Foundation of Winnipeg. The latter is a low-barrier rental organization aimed at helping vulnerable people secure housing.

Requests for comment from Karin Harper Penner, the foundation’s director, were not returned Tuesday.

Last week, NDP MLA Malaya Marcelino flagged concerns with the Adanac building to the government, saying tenants come directly from encampments and don’t receive adequate support services.

Government service workers, including home care providers and social workers, will not enter the building, Marcelino said.

Units are unsecured, running water and heat is not always available, windows and doors are broken, and people live in stairwells, she said.

St. Boniface Street Links director Marion Willis said the city and province have a responsibility to help people like the Penners, who are not social workers, but provide housing where others are unwilling.

“If not for the Penners, there would be hundreds of people still living outside,” she said. “This constant criticism is unfair. We want the most difficult people to be housed, but demonize the property owners who’ve been willing to house them?”

She called on the various levels of government to provide additional funding for social organizations.

If properly resourced, organizations such as Street Links could place permanent offices within low-income buildings, which would reduce the strain on private property owners, encourage affordable housing developments and improve outcomes for tenants with addictions and mental health barriers, she said.

Without social work experts on hand, private owners are not capable of handling the myriad challenges of low-income housing, Gilroy said.

“Support workers need to be in there working every single day and night to make sure those places run smoothly. We’ve had multiple deaths in those buildings, fires in those buildings; life and safety issues.”

Gilroy would like to see the province introduce licensing standards for developments that are marketed to vulnerable people. Last month, she and Mayor Scott Gillingham brought forward a motion to request provincial support to manage building neglect and safety concerns at private rentals. The motion calls for the province and city to track private apartments where tenants require social and mental health supports.

“We need to ensure the health and safety standards are met, similar to a seniors care home,” she said.

The executive policy committee, commonly called the mayor’s cabinet, will hear the motion April 18.

In respect to the Adanac site, Naylor said the province must address public health and safety concerns at the property. She called on the Tory government to act on Gilroy and Gillingham’s motion.

“Will the minister step up and answer the mayor of Winnipeg’s call for help in responding to the housing crisis at the Adanac and other buildings where vulnerable people are housed in this city?” Naylor said.

Families Minister Rochelle Squires said her government is serious about providing safe and affordable housing. It has earmarked $126 million for its homelessness strategy, which includes mental health supports.

Link to article Online https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2023/04/12/time-to-act-on-adanac-ndp