PCs call for more accessible public housing, NDP calls NLHC a 'slum landlord' in wake of Livingstone fire
Members of Newfoundland and Labrador's opposition parties say the province's housing corporation needs to do better after a fire destroyed six public housing units in St. John's last month.
On March 27, a fire burned through a row of six Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (NLHC) — a provincial Crown corporation — units on Livingstone Street in downtown St. John's. One person was displaced and has been transferred elsewhere. The five other units were vacant.
NLHC announced it will demolish the units "in the interest of public safety," according to interim Housing Minister Sarah Stoodley.
"Those properties were not salvageable in terms of repair," Stoodley said in a recent interview with CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show.
"From a public safety perspective, we thought it was important to demolish them as soon as possible."
Since the units went up in flames, Stoodley says they've been subject to vandalism and break-ins.
A metal fence now guards those six houses.
Stoodley says NLHC currently has a vacancy rate of four per cent. She says most vacancies in public housing are because of renovations that need to take place before a new tenant can move in, and the NLHC does not yet have a plan for what will happen to the soon-to-be empty lot on Livingstone Street.
Further, Stoodley says the the area is on a steep hill, and isn't "conducive to accessible units."
WATCH | Fire department says the extensive fire spread to adjoining properties:
1 person displaced after fire destroys downtown homes
19 days ago
Duration 0:56
Three fire stations responded to a call shortly before 1 a.m. NT Thursday after smoke was spotted coming from a vacant residence on Livingstone Street in downtown St. John's. Police say the unit was extensively damaged, along with adjoining units in the building. One resident has been offered support through the Canadian Red Cross. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Progressive Conservative housing critic Jodey Wall begs to differ.
"I'm sure we have the ability to put in accessible housing in any area," he said. "[There's] a staggering number with respect to people waiting for housing."
'A state of disrepair'
NDP Leader Jim Dinn wrote a letter to Stoodley.
"The provincial government and NLHC seem to have written off the Tessier Park, Livingstone, centre city area neighbourhood, and the people who call the area home feel abandoned," Dinn wrote.
He says the housing units in that area of St. John's have been "left in a state of disrepair," and wants a commitment from the government that the units will be repaired soon.
"I want something within the next year," he said. "I also would like to see every other unit there brought up to standard."
The cause of the fire is still unknown, but Dinn says he heard from nearby residents that unhoused people were staying in the vacant units to keep warm.
"They knew that there was eventually going to be a fire here," said Dinn. "People were, I guess, squatting in the place because they had nowhere else to go."
Walking through the downtown neighbourhood, Dinn says he's observed siding peeling off houses, smashed windows and exposed insulation. He says it's a sign of NLHC's neglect.
"The NLHC has started to look like a slum landlord," Dinn wrote in his letter to Stoodley.
He included an eight-point list of recommendations, including hiring staff to maintain public housing units, providing security to ensure fires don't break out in vacant units and to commit to a space for a community centre in the neighbourhood.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
20 minutes ago
- CBC
'It's happening. It's real': Northlander passenger train on track to return next year
Some 14 years after it was scrapped by the previous Liberal government and eight years after the current Progressive Conservative promised to bring it back, the Northlander passenger train is set to return in 2026. "Literally we are on track as we speak," said Al Spacek, chair of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission said. "The equipment is being manufactured and we've seen some exciting developments. Our staff have been down to the manufacturing facility. So it's happening. It's real." Spacek said the passenger service will be fully accessible, complete with Wi-Fi for guests. He also added that improvements are being made to the rail track. "This government has already invested over $70 million on upgrading the track between North Bay and Timmins," he said. "It will be a nice, smooth ride and this only represents 42 per cent of the work that's being planned on the track." Spacek said it's not yet known exactly how much it will cost to bring the Northlander back, but said the provincial government has spent "hundreds of millions of dollars" so far. "We've come a long way since the previous government said they're going to shut down this service," he said. "I'm not sure there was a lack of demand or ridership... certainly that was a decision by the previous government to shut it down for whatever reasons." Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne did indeed cite low ridership and high costs in 2012, when her government decided to scrap the Northlander passenger train and redirect that funding into Ontario Northland's passenger bus service. In 2011, the Northlander had 39,000 riders, with an annual subsidy of $100 million keeping the train running. By comparison, the 2022 business case for bringing back the train estimated annual operating costs at around $283 million, with as much as $93 million in revenues, if they hit a target of 58,000 riders by 2041. "Ticket prices haven't been determined yet, but this is a public transportation service so the cost will be subsidized. Affordability is a priority," said Spacek. "It's a right that people have access to public transportation. Passenger service doesn't make money. That's the fact of life."
Winnipeg Free Press
13 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Unresolved questions require independent commission
Opinion Manitoba's ethics commissioner, Jeffrey Schnoor, recently released a report in which he concluded that former Progressive Conservative premier Heather Stefanson and two of her former cabinet ministers violated the province's conflict-of-interest laws after losing the 2023 election. They were accused of breaching the rules in an effort to approve the controversial Sio Silica sand mine during the short 'caretaker period' before the new NDP government was sworn in. Schnoor found that their actions 'lacked ethical and constitutional legitimacy,' but failed to identify what motivated them to act so recklessly. He says he found no evidence that any of the them acted for personal benefit but, if that wasn't the reason, why did they do it? MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Then-premier Heather Stefanson and finance minister Cliff Cullen announce the 2023 budget to media. Columnist Deveryn Ross says it's time to have an independent commission examine PC spending decisions. That's just one of many serious questions still swirling around the former government. Last week, Finance Minister Adrien Sala asked auditor general Tyson Shtykalo to investigate what went wrong with Manitoba Public Insurance's Project Nova technology project. MPI abandoned the program two months ago after a review estimated that total project costs had soared from $107 million to $435 million. The project was initially justified as an upgrade of MPI's digital capabilities, which would enable Manitobans to renew or amend their auto insurance and driver's licences online. It would also provide 'seamless connectivity' between MPI and repair shops. That was the hope back in 2020. Five years later, however, MPI Minister Matt Wiebe describes the program as a 'waste of taxpayers' money.' Where did all that money go, and why did MPI keep spending it? In April, the Kinew government asked Shtykalo to investigate an (almost) $100-million taxpayer-funded contract to build daycare facilities throughout the province. It alleges that the project, in which the province partnered with a company named JohnQ Public Inc., 'may not have followed normal provincial or municipal procurement practices.' Specifically, the government claims the contract enabled the previous government to funnel $2.8 million to Boom Done Next, a company owned by Marni Larkin. Larkin was the campaign manager for the Tories' 2023 doomed re-election campaign. How does a company earn almost $3 million on such a project? Two weeks ago, a CBC report revealed that the previous government gave an $18 million grant to JohnQ Public days before the 2023 provincial election was called. There was no public announcement of the funding, which was reportedly for a large land purchase in the RM of Ritchot to develop a proposed 'Winnipeg regional rail port.' Why the secrecy and rushed timing of the grant? In February, at a debate between PC Party leadership candidates Obby Khan and Wally Daudrich, Kahn alleged that Daudrich was the party's top donor for 12 years and accused him of receiving 'licensing permits up north under the table' from the previous government. Daudrich's company, Lazy Bear Lodge and Expeditions, first received approvals to operate off-road vehicle tours near Churchill in 2004. The total number of permits for all tour operators in the coastal plain of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area was limited to 18 between 1984 and 2020. Five years ago, however, the former Tory government reportedly approved two additional permits, both of which were awarded to Lazy Bear. Did Khan have inside knowledge that permits were improperly issued to Daudrich's company, or was his accusation simply bluster in the heat of the moment? There is no evidence that anybody acted improperly in these instances, let alone illegally, but there are many questions and few answers. Weekday Evenings Today's must-read stories and a roundup of the day's headlines, delivered every evening. The Kinew government and many Manitobans are counting on the auditor general to expose and explain the questionable conduct of the previous government, but their hopes may be overly optimistic. That's because Shtykalo has significant discretion as to which matters he chooses to investigate, and his office has limited resources. Even if he decides to review the issues referred to him, more than a year could pass before any reports are issued. That's neither good enough nor fast enough. The better, more efficient course of action is for the government to appoint an independent commissioner to investigate the many unresolved issues, and to give that commissioner the power to compel testimony and gather evidence if necessary. Manitobans deserve to know the truth. An independent commission is the best path to those answers. Deveryn Ross is a political commentator living in Brandon. deverynrossletters@ X: @deverynross
Winnipeg Free Press
13 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Premier blasted for changing stance on pipelines
PREMIER Wab Kinew is defending his government's support of a proposed pipeline to Hudson Bay amid a wildfires crisis, arguing a trade war with the U.S. has changed the province's economic course. Chris Wiebe, former vice-president of the Manitoba NDP who ran unsuccessfully in the 2023 provincial election, said Kinew's message during the run-up to the campaign was clear — pipelines were not an option for the government. 'There was no discussion of pipelines other than Wab Kinew stating at an all-candidates' meeting in 2022 that that's where his line in the sand was: no new pipelines,' Wiebe said in an interview Monday. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES Premier Wab Kinew is defending the NDP's decision to support a proposed pipeline to Hudson Bay, arguing a trade war with the U.S. has changed the province's economic course. 'Other than that, then there was no discussion.' Wiebe lost to Progressive Conservative incumbent Bob Lagasse in Dawson Trail by about 500 votes, but the NDP went on to form a majority government. 'The province is burning and we're talking about building pipelines up north, and I just don't see how a New Democratic Party can be discussing that,' said Wiebe, who resigned from the executive and the party earlier this year. 'All Manitoba NDP candidates in the 2023 provincial campaign were told that we cannot be pro-pipelines and run for the party … But with the province burning, here we are,' Wiebe wrote on social media Saturday. The post came after the premier told reporters a day earlier that his government would consider a pipeline to carry oil or gas to Hudson Bay. The province has been battling a wildfires crisis for weeks, with more than 20 communities evacuated amid a provincial state of emergency. Kinew didn't deny changing course on pipelines and paraphrased an English economist whose ideas influenced governments during the Great Depression of the 1930s. 'I'm a big fan of John Maynard Keynes and his famous quote, 'When the facts change, you know, you change your opinion on something.' Right now we're in an economic war that's been provoked by the Trump administration and it demands that we work together to build Canada,' he said after an unrelated news conference Monday. Last week, Kinew met with Prime Minister Mark Carney and his fellow premiers and territorial leaders in Saskatoon to discuss nation-building projects, including how to get natural resources to tidewater to ship overseas, rather than relying on the U.S. as a trading partner. 'In our goal to create a 'have Manitoba' instead of our traditional 'have-not' status, I think it's time that we entertain serious investments in northern infrastructure investments in the port. I think there's a way that we can do that while maintaining our leading status as being a climate-friendly jurisdiction,' Kinew said Monday. Wiebe, a University of Winnipeg chemistry professor, said he's remained a 'social democrat' but said his principles no longer align with the Manitoba NDP. The Canadian Press Files Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, left, talks with Prime Minister Mark Carney during the First Minister's Meeting in Saskatoon last Monday. 'They run a very progressive platform with few details, but they govern more as conservatives — where we're seeing that is they kept the Tory tax cuts, health care is in a shambles, our education system isn't doing great and we're talking about building pipelines. So I have issues with that,' said Wiebe. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. Wiebe said the party doesn't have much input in policy change. 'It's all coming from the premier's office and we're informed which policies are being accepted. I think that most Manitoba NDP members would not be for pipelines, for example.' Kinew and the NDP continue to be popular with Manitobans. The most recent Free Press-Probe Research poll in March found the NDP has the support of 64 per cent of voters. The non-profit Angus Reid Institute's quarterly approval ratings released March 25 had Kinew in second place among Canada's premiers, next to Newfoundland's Andrew Furey. Carol SandersLegislature reporter Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol. Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
