City makes progress on clearing rubble-filled sites

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This article was published 10/02/2025 (208 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg has made great progress in tackling rubble-filled sites, which are a blight on the landscape and pose a danger to neighbourhoods.

The number of sites filled with the remains of buildings, often destroyed by fire, has grown in recent years, along with complaints about debris that’s left behind for months, or even years.

A presentation at council’s property and development committee meeting on Thursday last week noted the number of the unsightly lots referred to the city for cleanup has dropped.

“Right now, I’m estimating there’s about 40 (rubble sites) that we’re dealing with, which is down from about 80 (or) 90… a year or 18 months ago. We’ve made some significant strides in getting a number of properties cleaned up,” said Kelly Happychuk, the property and development department’s chief of enforcement and investigations.

Happychuk said his team is currently handling 117 properties that were hit by fire. That includes properties left fully or partly standing and the 40 lots filled with rubble, which are referred to the city’s municipal accommodations department when owners fail to clean them up.

The chief of enforcement said progress may slow down in the immediate future, since materials that contain asbestos require a wet demolition process that can’t be done in the winter.

Happychuk linked the improvement to the city’s increased focus on cleaning up the properties, including an unsafe conditions response team that began its work in November. He said that team is so far meeting its goal to start responses to unsafe property complaints within two business days instead of as many as 20.

Data on that pilot project is expected in March.

The William Whyte Neighbourhood Association has long tracked the number of rubble sites in its community. In October, it reported nine out of 11 such properties had been recently cleaned up.

On Friday, the association’s president said progress is still being made but more fires added to the problem in recent weeks.

“It is still improving but we’ve had some big fires since then, like at the Sutherland Hotel (on Main Street), so every time it decreases it seems to increase back up again… Nine of the properties were cleaned up. Now we’ve acquired another four or five that are piles of rubble,” said Darrell Warren.

Warren said he believes the city is still working hard to combat the blight.

“They’re doing good work addressing it but… it seems like we’re going back. I’m not faulting the city for that because they can’t control the fires,” he said.

Warren said he would like to see additional pressure on property owners to clean up sites.

Coun. Evan Duncan, chairman of the property and development committee, said he’s glad to see the tougher approach linked to some progress.

“The city has stepped up and come with a lot firmer approach to this and the threat of potentially seizing properties through taxation is clearly hitting home,” said Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood).

Provincial legislation has long allowed the city to seize homes for reasons that include long-delinquent tax bills, but the process can take years to complete. Mayor Scott Gillingham and several councillors have called for ways to speed that up, which Duncan said helps send a message to property owners.

“It has always been an option but to enforce it is another thing and… we’ll go even harder if we have to,” he said.

The councillor said he could support an expandsion of enforcement efforts.

“When we provide the public service with the ability to dig in and get results, it appears as though it’s working… If our numbers are cut in half at these sites that are rubble piles, that’s a good thing,” said Duncan.

Over the past few years, city council approved several changes aimed at cracking down on vacant buildings, partly to prevent their destruction. The changes included increased security standards for buildings that had been repeatedly set on fire or used by squatters, as well as requirements for stronger boarding materials.

The city has also increased some inspection fees, added bylaw enforcement officers and started billing some owners of vacant buildings for firefighting responses at their properties.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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