Latest news with #CarolynRyan
CBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Winnipeg's Saigon Centre to remain social housing if province takes ownership: Manitoba Housing
Social Sharing Manitoba Housing says tenants at a Balmoral Street social housing building serving Vietnamese refugees can stay put and rents won't rise as the Crown corporation plans to take ownership of the Saigon Centre at auction later this month. Carolyn Ryan, CEO of Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corp., told CBC News on Thursday that the nearly four-decade old building at 458 Balmoral St. will remain as social housing if the sale — a mandatory part of the foreclosure process — goes through. She said the base bid is set at about $3 million, which is the mortgage arrears. "It's unfortunate that we've gotten to this place, but the priority is to preserve this as a social housing asset," she said, adding title conditions set when the building opened in the late 1980s state it must remain as subsidized housing. "All tenants have right of tenancy and rents will not change. This will just become a part of our larger social housing portfolio," Ryan said, stressing that rents in the 54-unit building will continue to be geared to tenants' income if the sale goes through. The building is set to go to auction at 10 a.m. on Aug. 26. Ryan said she doesn't expect many other prospective owners to bid, as the building cannot be turned into for-profit housing. However, there are no prohibitions on who can buy it. Saigon Centre is owned by the Vietnamese Non-Profit Housing Corporation.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Housing project built for Vietnamese refugees for sale
Nearly four decades after a social housing project for Vietnamese boat people opened its doors, the downtown apartment building is up for sale and likely to become part of Manitoba Housing. Carolyn Ryan, CEO of Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corp., said while the building is more than $3 million in arrears on its mortgage, the current tenants of Saigon Centre at 458 Balmoral St., have no need to worry about the building that's been managed for decades by the Vietnamese Non-Profit Housing Corporation. 'Our goal is to retain it as social housing,' Ryan said. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS A multi-unit downtown apartment building created almost four decades ago to house Vietnamese boat people (and owned and managed by them), is up for sale. 'That's first and foremost. The foreclosure process at this point is the only option remaining for us to meet that goal. 'We would be happy to negotiate a voluntary transfer and we are still open to those kinds of negotiations with the board of directors. The sale option is just a required part of the foreclosure process.' The reserve bid for the building is $3.095 million, which Ryan said is the mortgage arrears. She said the tenants are protected by a caveat put in place when the 54-unit building officially opened on May 6, 1989. 'When the building was first built in 1987, with government funding, we put a caveat on the title that it had to maintain its social housing forever and ever,' Ryan said. 'Theoretically, another organization, private or non-profit, could step in, but because of the caveat our expectation is it would again have to approach the province for the funding needed to keep it as social housing. 'One way or the other, it has to stay in social housing… our strong expectation is this will be owned by (Manitoba Housing).' Tenants who spoke to a reporter, but did not want to be identified, said they were concerned about what is happening to the building, a place some of them have lived since it opened. Vincent Bueti, longtime lawyer for the Vietnamese Non-Profit Housing Corporation, said he had no comment to make at this time. When the building opened, the $4.4-million capital cost for the housing was borne by the provincial government while the three levels of government, through the Winnipeg Core Area Initiative, contributed $60,000 for the main floor cultural centre. The province gave an additional $80,000. The project consisted of 20 two-bedroom apartments, 20 three-bedroom units, three four-bedroom units and 11 single bedroom ones for seniors. The building has since housed both the Free Vietnamese Association of Manitoba and the Vietnamese Cultural Centre. Asked about the sale of another non-profit housing block sold a few years ago to a private corporation, Ryan said there was one key difference between Lions Place and the Balmoral property. 'The building MainStream Equities bought didn't have that caveat. There was no requirement to keep it as social housing.' The province is paying $3.3 million over three years to subsidize tenants in that Portage Avenue building. 'Given the caveat, that it operate as social housing, and the extensive repairs needed… our expectation will be that there is unlikely to be any other bids,' Ryan said. 'All tenants (at 458 Balmoral) have right of tenancy, so there should be no impact with the foreclosure on tenants. No impact to their rent — it's all rent geared (to income).' Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. Shauna MacKinnon, of the Right to Housing Coalition, said she is pleased the Balmoral block residents don't have to worry. 'That's the lesson — it really is important to have that caveat built into the agreement,' MacKinnon said. 'That's what is leading to what looks like a positive outcome — as long as it gets the necessary repairs.' Ryan said she believes the process of foreclosure and transfer to the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation will be completed by Oct. 1. — with files from Malak Abas Kevin RollasonReporter Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press's city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin. Every piece of reporting Kevin 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.
CBC
6 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
P.E.I. Supreme Court won't let Murray Harbour councillor seek judicial review of sanctions
Carolyn Ryan Coun. John Robertson wanted to argue his right to freedom of expression was violated Caption: Murray Harbour Coun. John Robertson appeared in P.E.I. Supreme Court on Feb. 6, 2025, as his legal team argued for an extension of the typical 30 days someone has to seek a judicial review. (Steve Bruce/CBC) Prince Edward Island's Supreme Court has ruled against a bid by a Murray Harbour councillor to keep legal action against the rural municipality alive. John Robertson was asking the court to retroactively allow him more time to have requested a judicial review of disciplinary actions Murray Harbour's council took against him back in November 2023. That was after he erected a sign on his property in September of the same year that some saw as an attack on Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Considering this a breach of the council's code of conduct, his fellow councillors voted to temporarily suspend and fine him, and ordered him to apologize in writing. Robertson has argued that the council's actions violated his right to freedom of expression, and that the code of conduct did not apply because putting up the sign was not part of his council duties. He had 30 days to file an application for judicial review, under the province's Judicial Review Act. However, he did not do so until Feb. 16, 2024 — 90 days after his fellow councillors made their decision. "Despite the able submissions made by counsel on behalf of Robertson, the motion for an extension of time to seek judicial review of the decision made by Council on Nov. 18, 2023, is dismissed," Supreme Court Justice Jonathan M. Coady wrote in a ruling dated Aug. 6. "Admittedly, relevant considerations pulled the court in different directions. However, after weighing all of them, the balance ultimately tipped in favour of not extending the general time period for seeking judicial review in this particular case." 3rd-party investigation on sign questioning suspected unmarked Indigenous graves set to go ahead In particular, the ruling said Robertson had not given a satisfactory reason for his failure to apply for a judicial review before the 30-day time limit expired. Among other reasons, he cited: "Bafflement at the decision by council." Completing a building project and settling an insurance claim. Coping with the health-care needs of three cats. Winterizing a recreational vehicle. A trip and fall while boarding a ship in New York City. Crossing the Atlantic by that same ship to England for a holiday. The Christmas vacation. Attempts to consult with a P.E.I. lawyer. A severe winter storm in February. Confusion arising from the actions taken by the provincial municipalities minister after the Murray Harbour council's ruling. The court was also not convinced that Robertson would indeed go ahead with his application even if he were given more time. "For the court to now allow that decision to be challenged and potentially set aside would displace two recognized ingredients for good public administration: certainty and finality," Coady wrote. "Such an outcome would negatively impact effective public decision-making in the Rural Municipality of Murray Harbour. In light of the discretionary finding on the motion, the application for judicial review filed by Robertson, as amended, is also dismissed. — Supreme Court of P.E.I. "In this case, council was entitled to proceed on the basis that the decision made on Nov. 18, 2023 — and not challenged in a timely way by Robertson filing an application for judicial review — was final." The court's decision to not grant a retroactive extension to the filing time effectively means Robertson's quest for a judicial review is over, unless he seeks leave to appeal the latest ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada. "In light of the discretionary finding on the motion, the application for judicial review filed by Robertson, as amended, is also dismissed," the ruling said.
