Kinew commits to ongoing support for displaced Birchwood Terrace residents

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This article was published 19/06/2024 (448 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Premier Wab Kinew made a commitment Wednesday to continue supporting displaced residents of a crumbling St. James apartment block until they are settled in permanent housing.

The province will cover food and housing costs for 250 Birchwood Terrace residents forced to evacuate last month beyond the current June 30 deadline, Kinew said.

“No one’s going to be put out on to the street, that’s my commitment,” the premier said at an unrelated news conference.

Residents were told late in the evening on May 9 to immediately evacuate the five-storey apartment complex at 2440 Portage Ave. due to the unexpected deterioration of steel support columns in the parkade.

Since then, residents have been living in hotels and scrambling to find permanent housing. Preparations are being made by the province to move them into temporary accommodations while they search for long-term options.

The province began covering the residents’s costs after initial relief from the Red Cross ended on June 1.

Former tenant Carol Lynch has been staying at a Best Western Plus hotel with her dog since leaving her apartment.

Lynch receives $34 in daily meal vouchers and her accommodations at the hotel are paid for, but she said the voucher amount is inadequate.

“It’s hardly enough to get anything to eat,” she told the Free Press Wednesday afternoon.

The former tenant welcomed the prolonged support from the province, but not the short-notice of the news.

“It makes everyone anxious and uptight about where we’re going to go, and then at the last minute (the province) say it’s been extended,” Lynch said. “Lots of extra stress that way.”

Kinew addressed the added pressure the timelines put on residents, but chalked up the short funding windows to legislative bureaucracy.

“It’s just the nature of government,” the premier said. “I recognize that (the deadline) creates some anxiety for folks, because certain deadlines get worked up that aren’t real deadlines… what I’m saying to people is that we will continue to work with you.”

Kinew alluded to future legislation changes that could include provincial inspections to prevent mass evacuations in the future, and said businesses such as Ladco Company, which owns the apartment block’s property manager, Lakewood Agencies, should be footing the bill for displacing residents.

“You have a private company who’s created a situation of stress for so many people, and now it’s up to the taxpayers of Manitoba to step in. Is that fair?” he said.

The city’s building bylaw indicates the property owner is responsible to ensure their building is maintained and kept in a safe condition.

The city does not conduct routine structural inspections of properties, spokesperson Kalen Qually said, adding he didn’t have updates on the status of the building’s repairs Wednesday, saying it is the responsibility of the property owner to stabilize and remediate the building’s issues.

Lakewood Agencies sent a letter to tenants earlier this month saying they could move back in to the building as soon as late August, based on a preliminary, best-case schedule for building stabilization and repairs, but cautioned the dates are subject to change.

Lynch heard a rumour that the new tentative move-in date is Oct. 31.

“I’m getting tired of this,” she said.

Neither Ladco nor Lakewood Agencies could be reached for comment Wednesday.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca