January 17, 2021

Winnipeg
-8° C, Light freezing drizzle

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Canstar Community News
    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • Sponsored
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Flyers
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photostore
  • More

©2021 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Flyers
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photostore
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Day Pass
    • Read Now Pay later
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
Winnipeg Free Press

ABOVE THE FOLD

Subscribe
Articles Read Your Balance +tax

Derelict-buildings proposal has merit

By: Editorial | Posted: 05/20/2020 7:00 PM

Scroll
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email

Editorial

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/5/2020 (241 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The city is often urged to clamp down on vacant buildings that are linked to the scourges of methamphetamine and crime. That is easier said than done.

Even though some derelict properties are known to be dens of illegal activity and the frequent source of fires, the administrative measures required to seize the properties can be a marathon of notices, fines and appeals that stretch on interminably. But a report delivered to a city committee last Thursday proposes a creative way to deal with owners of such properties, particularly those plagued by people who trespass with criminal intentions in mind.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES</p><p>City of Winnipeg chief corporate services officer Michael Jack</p>

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

City of Winnipeg chief corporate services officer Michael Jack

The city could order the owners of boarded-up buildings to add security cameras, extra lighting and/or security guards at their own expense, said the report by Michael Jack, Winnipeg’s chief corporate services officer. If the owners didn’t comply, the cost could be added to their property tax bills.

Mr. Jack submitted the report in response to a request from the property and development committee for recommendations on how to clamp down on meth houses, other than by having the city purchase the vacant buildings. His suggestions are not yet scheduled for a full-council vote on the matter, but they should be given due consideration.

Perhaps the councillor best suited to push the matter to a vote is the committee chair Coun. Brian Mayes, who spoke for many Winnipeggers when he said meth use in the city has reached a crisis level.

Stay informed

The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19.

Subscribe to COVID-19 Briefing
Sign Up

The Addictions Foundation of Manitoba says that since 2014, meth use has soared by more than 100 per cent in adults and nearly 50 per cent in youth. Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth has said much of the city’s crime — there were 44 homicides in Winnipeg in 2019, double the number in 2014 — is tied to the soaring rate of meth use. The violent and unpredictable behaviour of meth users is also straining the city’s paramedics and hospital emergency departments.

Although the owners of many of the 600 or so vacant buildings in Winnipeg follow the rules and are not a public concern, a number of vacant buildings — mostly located in economically challenged neighbourhoods — are occupied by squatters who disregard such routine obligations as paying rent and adhering to a landlord’s rules.

Among those urging the city to take action are neighbours concerned about property values and their personal safety, and also firefighters who know from too much experience that those who occupy vacant buildings will sometimes make unwise choices in an effort to stay warm, which can result in fires that spread and become well involved before first responders are alerted. Such an example was a derelict apartment building on Maryland Street, which suffered three fires in the past year.

The city has tried to reduce the number of vacant buildings, through a 2011 bylaw that lets inspectors fine owners of boarded-up buildings and levy an annual empty-building fee that bills owners one per cent of the property’s most recently assessed value.

That bylaw is apt, but obviously inadequate. The number of troublesome vacant buildings in Winnipeg indicates the current penalties are not enough to persuade heedless owners to act with responsibility that is expected of all Winnipeg property owners.

With fines that increase until co-operation is secured, owners of derelict properties should be forced into one of two choices: maintain their properties, or sell them. Ongoing negligence shouldn’t be an option.

Editorials are the consensus view of the Winnipeg Free Press’ editorial board.

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Top