Asbestos concerns stop emergency demolition Mayor calls for city-province co-operation By: Tyler Searle Posted: 6:38 PM CDT Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024 Last Modified: 8:49 PM CDT Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024 Updates

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The demolition of an inner-city warehouse at risk of collapse has ground to a halt — the latest in a string of derelict properties left to rot as the province overrules orders issued by the city.

The Manitoba government issued a stop-work order at 579 McDermot Ave. after inspectors identified the possible presence of asbestos.

The situation prompted Mayor Scott Gillingham to call for co-operation from the provincial government.

Gillingham told the Free Press Thursday governments must work together to develop new approaches to asbestos remediation and removal.

The alternative is watching the blight of vacant and derelict buildings continue to grow, he said.

“We do need to find solutions because it’s area residents who are impacted and who are rightfully frustrated,” he said. “I’m hopeful the province can work with us to find alternative approaches to address the safety hazards so we can reduce these delays.”

The city and province have not yet had a formal discussion about the issue, but the presence of asbestos has stalled the demolition of buildings throughout the city, making them magnets for criminal activity, fires and safety hazards, Gillingham said.

City officials ordered the emergency demolition of the McDermot Avenue warehouse last month after municipal inspectors concluded it was at risk of collapse.

Demolition began July 18, but was quickly halted by provincial inspectors who “noted suspect asbestos containing material on the structure,” a provincial spokesperson said in an email.

“The company responsible for demolition must provide a plan to ensure measures will be taken to prevent any materials with the potential to release asbestos into the atmosphere are removed in a manner that does not create a risk to the safety and health of any persons.”

As of Thursday afternoon, roughly one-third of the building had been destroyed, leaving a large section of its interior exposed to the elements and piles of rubble at the structure’s base.

No further work will be done until the issues noted in the stop-work order are resolved.

“We do need to find solutions because it’s area residents who are impacted and who are rightfully frustrated.”–Mayor Scott Gillingham

Meanwhile, residents of a neighbouring four-suite building have been unable to return to their homes since July 5, when city bylaw officers ordered them to evacuate.

“I’ve had to come to the realization that I’m going to have to find another place to live,” said one man who has been staying in hotel rooms. “It’s a long-running, not funny joke.”

The man, who did not want to be identified, said his landlord is subsidizing his lodgings at $40 per day, but he is left to pay the remaining expense out of pocket.

He has been unable to return to his home to retrieve his belongings, and is suffering with significant mental anguish as a result of being displaced, he said.

“It feels like I am super isolated for reasons that are not my fault,” he said. “There needs to be some clarity, some long-term vision about what (evacuees) are supposed to do.”

Gillingham said long-term aid for displaced residents falls under the purview of the province, pointing to the Residential Tenancies Branch as a possible avenue for support.

Sheldon Blank, the owner of Winnipeg’s former Vulcan Iron Works site in Point Douglas, said he spent thousands of dollars fighting to demolish the property after it burned in several fires over the last year.

The city ordered him to complete an emergency demolition, but work was halted for several months after the province identified asbestos.

“The city said do it, the province said don’t. That’s the quandary I was in,” he said. “I was subject to fines, I was subject to ridicule and everything under the sun….What (the governments) did was inappropriate. There should be a proper, reasonable policy to deal with it.”

Blank suggested the province explore the possibility of tax incentives, grants or support programs for property owners to support the removal of asbestos-containing materials.

Inspectors should also consider the amount of asbestos that is present in a building before it halts demolition efforts, he said, describing the approach as heavy-handed.

“There’s a thing called reasonableness, and if that was applied, none of these sites would be a problem.”

“It feels like I am super isolated for reasons that are not my fault. There needs to be some clarity, some long-term vision about what (evacuees) are supposed to do.”–Evacuated neighbour

Many building materials used prior to 1990 contain asbestos, including pipe wrap, insulation, tiles, drywall compound, ceiling tiles and window sealant.

The microscopic fibres in asbestos, if inhaled, can remain embedded in lungs for years. Over time, inflammation and scarring can lead to cancer.

“As such, Manitoba laws assume suspect materials as containing asbestos unless proven otherwise and implements measures to prevent exposures,” the spokesperson said.

“Enforcement officers consider the date of construction and any subsequent renovations when determining whether there are suspect materials in a structure, an approach consistent with other Canadian jurisdictions.”

The spokesperson noted that identifying asbestos becomes increasingly difficult post-demolition because it is difficult to test and isolate contaminated materials.

City communications officer Kalen Qually said municipal staff will continue to work with the contractor at the McDermot site and with the province to resolve the stop-work order.

“We do expect there will be schedule delays as a result, but the city intends to continue with demolition and cleanup of the site as soon as possible,” he said, adding evacuated residents will be permitted to return to their homes as soon as possible.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca