Latest news with #ManitobaHousing
CBC
5 hours 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
16 hours 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.
Winnipeg Free Press
10-06-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba Housing sues contractor over townhouse rain damage
MANITOBA Housing is suing a contractor it claims allowed a thunderstorm to flood a publicly owned townhouse it was renovating, causing close to $100,000 in damage. The government's lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Court of King's Bench, claims Canotech Consultants was negligent and breached its contract when it was renovating a side-by-side duplex on Martin Avenue in 2023. The June lawsuit is the second filed by Manitoba Housing against Canotech Consultants this year. The earlier lawsuit, also over allegations of poor work at a different Martin Avenue public housing property, remains before the court. The contractor and Manitoba Housing inked a contract in July 2022 to renovate a number of townhouses on Martin Avenue. The new court filing claims the contractor failed to protect the roof it was removing and replacing it with tarps or other coverings when the storm rolled in on June 6, 2023. Rainwater flowed through several rooms, damaging the building and its contents, say the court papers. One of the units in the building had a tenant at the time, according to the lawsuit. Manitoba Housing brought in a property restoration company immediately to assess the situation and take steps to mitigate the damage, the lawsuit says. 'A majority of the building was affected by the rainwater intrusion. (Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation) had to relocate tenants because the units were no longer habitable,' the claim says. The property restoration company removed water and damaged materials, then dried and disinfected the property. Manitoba Housing alleges Canotech breached its contract by failing to properly cover the roof of the building, or was negligent by failing to do so. The court papers say cleanup costs totalled $91,870. The lawsuit is seeking that sum, plus interest and court costs. Canotech has yet to respond to either lawsuit with statements of defence. The allegations haven't been heard in court. Erik Pindera Reporter Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press , mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik. Every piece of reporting Erik 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.
CBC
05-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Contractors accused of rigging Manitoba Housing bids plead guilty, face fines
Social Sharing Five contractors in the Brandon area must pay tens of thousands of dollars in fines after pleading guilty Wednesday to conspiracy offences in a bid-rigging scheme involving Manitoba Housing renovation projects. The men were charged in December 2022 following a Competition Bureau investigation that alleged they manipulated dozens of government contracts from 2011 to 2016. Geoff Gregoire, Guy Pringle, James Kauk, Ryan Lamont and Doug Gunnarson were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud over $5,000 under the Criminal Code and conspiring to allocate contracts under the Competition Act. The fraud charges were stayed on Wednesday and they all pleaded guilty to the Competition Act charges as part of a plea bargain. The defendants agreed to pay fines ranging from $24,000 to $61,000 based on the length of time they were involved in the scheme. "The victim here is Manitoba Housing," said Crown attorney Dan Manning at the Court of King's Bench hearing in Brandon. "Any loss is ultimately borne by the taxpayer." WATCH | Brandon contractors plead guilty following Competition Act investigation: Five contractors accused of rigging Manitoba Housing bids plead guilty 30 minutes ago Duration 1:23 Five contractors accused of rigging bids to inflate the costs of Manitoba Housing renovation projects now face tens of thousands of dollars in fines. The five men entered guilty pleas today to conspiracy offences. Richard Wolson, who represented two of the defendants, told court the plea ends a "very long saga" for his clients and that has "left a lot of scars." The agreed statement of facts filed in court says before the defendants submitted offers for Manitoba Housing contracts, they discussed the bids among themselves. This was discovered through text messages and emails collected by the Competition Bureau, an independent law enforcement agency focused on ensuring market competition, during a 2017 search warrant. The communications showed a similar pattern for each bid, with the defendants deciding who would "win" each bid and circulating the price of the winning bid by text. The "losing" contractor submitted a higher bid to Manitoba Housing, the agreed statement of facts said. The Crown was able to prove that 54 bids were involved in this scheme. The bids were worth about $3.5 million in total, but the Crown couldn't establish how much was an "overcharge," court heard. Josh Weinstein, the lawyer for two of the contractors, told the court their work was of "good value" and the fact they entered a guilty plea saves the courts months of time. The highest fine was given to Gregoire, who "won" 15 bids and was involved from the beginning of the scheme, court documents say. The lowest fine was given to Lamont, who "won" six bids and was involved for the shortest period. He stopped participating in 2014 and began to bid competitively against the agreement once he was out, court documents say. Crown attorney Dan Manning told court there were issues with the case that led to this being a fair and reasonable deal. This included a key witness who entered an immunity agreement with the bureau and who the defence argued was unreliable and self-serving. A motion had been filed to get the charges thrown out because of the delay in charging the contractors, court heard, and there were issues with some of the seized evidence.
