WELCOME TO THE CO-OP HOUSING INFORMATION EXCHANGE ("CHIE")

YOU CAN SCROLL DOWN AND FIND BLOGS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN PROVIDED IN A LINK FOR YOU ON TWITTER...OR BY E-MAIL. IN THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN OF EACH PAGE YOU CAN TRANSLATE A PAGE INTO A LANGUAGE THAT YOU PREFER BY CLICKING THE TRANSLATE BUTTON AND ALSO VIEW A PAGE MENU FOR THIS SITE.

WELCOME TO THE NEW CO-OP HOUSING INFORMATION EXCHANGE THAT HAS A MANDATE TO SHARE FREE INFORMATION ABOUT CO-OPS, SOCIAL/COMMUNITY HOUSING, AND RESOURCES IN CANADA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, UNITED KINGDOM, AND OTHER COUNTRIES.

WHAT MUST BE REQUIRED IS PRINCIPLED LEADERSHIP, GOOD GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT THAT INCLUDE ACCOUNTABILITY AT ALL NON-PROFIT HOUSING CO-OPERATIVES ACROSS CANADA, AROUND THE WORLD, AND ANYTHING LESS THAN THAT SHOULD NOT BE ACCEPTABLE.

CO-OPERATION CAN LEAD TO SUCCESS THROUGH SHARING FREE KNOWLEDGE, LEARNING AND THEN UNDERSTANDING!

CHIE HELPS PUT TOGETHER ALL THE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE ABOUT NON-PROFIT CO-OP HOUSING IN CANADA, SO YOU CAN GAIN A BETTER PERSPECTIVE.
THE CULTURE OF SILENCE AT MEMBER CO-OPS NEEDS TO END THAT SURROUND THE PRACTICE OF POOR OR BAD GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT.

FOLLOW YOUR CHIE, NOT A FAILED STATUS QUO WITH SELF-SERVING CO-OP HOUSING STAKEHOLDERS.

CHIE IS A SELF-HELP SITE THAT IS YOURS TO DISCOVER. LEARN ABOUT AND ADOPT PRINCIPLED LEARDERSHIP, GOOD GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. REVIEW INTERNAL CONTROLS, FRAUD DETECTION AND PREVENTION. LEARN ABOUT CO-OP STAKEHOLDERS, GOVERNING LAWS, AND NEWS MEDIA.

YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO EXPLORE MULTIBLE LINKS AREA AND ITEMS OF LEGISLATION THAT OFFER RESOURCES THAT MAY PROVIDE SOME SOLUTIONS FOR CANADIAN NON-PROFIT HOUSING CO-OPS AND NON-PROFIT HOUSING OUTSIDE CANADA IN DIFFICULTY OR CRISIS.

YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO RESEARCH CO-OP STAKEHOLDERS, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, AND LEGISLATION THAT RELATE TO CO-OP'S IN YOUR PROVENCE OR STATE, AND COUNTRY. CHECK FOR INFORMATION UPDATES IN THE LINKS AREA AND OTHER LOCATIONS ON THE CHIE SITE.

IF YOU CAN'T FIND THE INFORMATION YOU ARE RESEARCHING ON CHIE OR KEN'S SITE, TRY SOME OF THE MANY LINKS AVAILABLE, EXAMPLE: CHF CANADA...

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A MEMBER TO FOLLOW YOUR CHIE!... BUT REGISTERED USERS THAT INCLUDE OPEN ID CAN POST COMMENTS ON CHIE.
**AS AT MARCH 2, 2014 YOU CAN NOW REGISTER AND JOIN THE CHIE SITE**

CHIE HAS A POLICY TO REVIEW AND DELETE MATERIAL OR COMMENTS THAT ARE DEEMED INAPPROPRIATE OR OFFENSIVE AT THE DISCRETION OF THE SITE ADMINISTRATOR. THE CHIE ADMINISTRATOR WILL NOT BE RESPONDING TO YOUR QUESTIONS OR ENQUIRES...

CO-OP AND SOCIAL HOUSING RESIDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO START THEIR OWN SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE, AND COMMUNICATE INFORMATION TO YOUR FELLOW RESIDENTS ABOUT CONCERNS WITH GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT OR NOT DEMOCRATICALLY RUN WHERE RESIDENT VIEWS AND OPINIONS ARE SILENCED. EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL NETWORK SITES INCLUDE BLOGGER, TWITTER, WORDPRESS, AND FACEBOOK, ETC...REMEMBER, FOLLOW YOUR CHIE!

SHARE YOUR STORIES WITH CHIE ABOUT CO-OP HOUSING BY USING THE CONTACT INFORMATION BELOW, AND IT MAY BE PUBLISHED ON THE CHIE SITE.

NOTICE ABOUT CHIE CONTENT AS AT JULY 16, 2017
SOME INFORMATION HAS BEEN TAKEN OUT OF VIEW FOR FURTHER REVIEW AND MAY BE RE-PUBLISHED A LATER POINT IN-TIME AFTER THE REVIEW HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND APPROVED


Ken Hummel, Administrator, Co-op Housing Information Exchange


Contact information, e-mail: <kenhummel@msn.com>




Wednesday

TORONTO STAR

Joe Fiorito, City Columnist, is a great observer of the minutiae of the city's underbelly. Joe is a masterful story teller. Mr. Fiorito has written numerous stories about people in Co-op Housing and/or Social Housing.


Click link below to access some of Joe's archived articles:

http://tinyurl.com/bw697q3


The Toronto Star Archive 1/1/1985-Present: search for "co-op housing". Click link below to access:

http://tinyurl.com/4n8rdjq


December 14, 2012

By Donovan Vincent, Staff Reporter

"Downtown Toronto condo building set to include affordable rental units"

http://tinyurl.com/crdjnu7


August 20, 2012

By Stephanie Findlay, Staff Reporter

"Toronto social housing wait lists grows"

http://tinyurl.com/8zfr4fz


July 6, 2012

By Donovan Vincent, Staff Reporter

"Toronto Community Housing Corp.'s new CEO charts new course for troubled agancy"

http://tinyurl.com/6mxlgch


June 21, 2012

By Rick Salutin, Columnist

"The mysteries of community"

http://tinyurl.com/7ybgwrx


May 22, 2012

By Emily Mathieu, Staff Reporter

"Tenant launches appeal to stop eviction notice"---"A tenant from hell with a track record of bounced cheques and eviction notices has done it again - staved off eviction with an appeal to Divisional Court."

http://tinyurl.com/chznowo


March 7, 2012

By Joe Fiorito, City Columnist

"Fiorito: TCHC chief declines interview"

http://tinyurl.com/77fl9da


February 24, 2012

By Joe Fiorito, City Columnist

"Fiorito: At Toronto Community Housing, it's business as usual"

http://tinyurl.com/7x9wd5w


January 30, 2012

By Daniel Dale, Urban Affairs Reporter

"Del Grande says he made a 'mischievous' proposal to rile Toronto council's left wing"

http://tinyurl.com/73py66s


December 27, 2011

By Joe Fiorito, City Columnist

"Fiorito: An insider's Complaint About Public Housing"

http://tinyurl.com/8969mt5


December 27, 2011

Special to the Star:

By David Hayes

"Lifetime Renter"---"Community building more than buying property"

http://tinyurl.com/bmdr8w7


September 26, 2011

By Paul Moloney, Urban Affairs Reporter

"TCHC scraps housing project"

http://tinyurl.com/5uukn2p


August 23, 2011

By Laurie Monsebraaten, Social Justice Reporter

"Homelessness activist Bill Bosworth championed "housing first""

http://tinyurl.com/3w6svon


August 19, 2011

Special to the Star:

By David Hayes

"Lifelong Renter"---"Cooperating on the best housing choices"

http://tinyurl.com/3zzwyvc


July 29, 2011

By Valerie Hauch, Staff Reporter

"Young activist carries on 'Atkinson revolution'"

http://tinyurl.com/3p4wlyv


June 18, 2011

By Joe Fiorito, City Columnist

"Fiorito: An open letter to the TCHC's new board members"

http://tinyurl.com/3ash2t8


June 18, 2011

"The TCHC could learn few things from how public housing works in Europe"

http://tinyurl.com/66xyrje


June 1, 2011

By Joe Fiorito, City Columnist

"Fiorito: TCHC tenant election does not restore confidence"

http://tinyurl.com/44hzo38


April 29, 2011

By Christopher Hume

"Co-op housing has never been more at home in the city"

http://tinyurl.com/62k7utc


April 28, 2011

By Robert Benzie, Queen's Park Bureau Chief

"Layton second coming of Bob Rae, warns Harper"

http://tinyurl.com/5r57d5c


April 25, 2011

By Joe Fiorito, City Columnist

"Fiorito: Front-door security disappears at 200 Wellesley"

http://tinyurl.com/5s2fqvr


April 12, 2011

By Nick Falvo

"Ford's housing cure is ill-advised"

http://tinyurl.com/3ufs4p9


March 26, 2011

By Alan Redway

"Wanted: Fresh thinking on housing"

http://tinyurl.com/6kz9o5a


March 14, 2011

By Joe Fiorito, City Columnist

"Fiorito: Fords' cloak of indignation hides real problems with TCHC"

http://tinyurl.com/5v8dtoo


March 4, 2011

Hot Topics: News about Toronto Community Housing Corporation. 

http://tinyurl.com/4svpemw


March 2, 2011

By Joe Fiorito, City Columnist

"Fiorito: An 8-point plan to clean up TCHC"

http://tinyurl.com/6fukltd


March 1, 2011

By Joe Fiorito, City Columnist

"Fiorito: Heads should be rolling at TCHC"

http://tinyurl.com/5u9b9w6


September 9, 2010

By Laurie Monsebraaten, Social Justice Reporter

"Embattled housing co-op seeks Supreme Court hearing"

http://tinyurl.com/4jvzb8y


July 30, 2010

Special to the Star:

By David Hayes

"Life long Renter Living at 60 Richmond: 'I love this place'"

http://tinyurl.com/6hl7zwn


June 2, 2010

By Laurie Monsebraaten, Social Justice Reporter

"Court confirms Thornhill co-op sale. York Region to turn co-operative into public housing"

http://tinyurl.com/6z8afdm


April 11, 2010

By Kenneth Kid, Feature Writer

"The rethinking of 'Alex Park' public housing complex"

http://tinyurl.com/6ed8ulx


January 14, 2010

By Laurie Monsebraaten, Social Justice Reporter

"Co-op takeover battle leaves residents with backs to wall"

http://tinyurl.com/4g3pvpk


August 23, 2007

By Laurie Monsebraaten, Social Justice Reporter

"Housing official fired amidst bribery probe"

http://tinyurl.com/6hyynpj


May 20, 1995

By Kevin Donovan

"Housing millions down drain"


Please review some excerpts noted by Ken from the article below:

"Let's look at the numbers for the whole program from 1986 to 1995. It cost $8.95 billion to build 86,354 units. Roll those numbers around in your mouth. As a taxpayer, you will want to know if you got good value for your money."


"At the lucrative trough of non-profit housing, many have come to feast."---"Along the way, millions of dollars have been misspent, overspent or waisted down the giant money pit."


"Consultants accounted for about $300 million in fees over the ten years."

"Architects racked up about 550 million in fees. Sometimes there were design flaws."

"Lawyers accounted for about $50 million in fees, using a conservative ministry of housing estimate."


"No single story tells the entire tale of waste and malfeasance."---"Listen to what some people connected to non-profit housing have to say."---Richard Allen, the most recent NDP housing minister is running a tighter ship than the last government: The board of directors of a group - often people who had never balanced a cheque book or built a garden shed - are suddenly thrust into having to organize the building of, for example, a $25 million, 200 unit building."---"Donna Hamilton, a consultant who worked on many non-profit projects in Barrie and Toronto: People have gotten away with financial murder...they have waisted millions and millions and millions of dollars."---


"Keith Ward, a senior housing bureaucrat in Peel Region, in a letter last year to Ontario's housing ministry warning that unscrupulous people would make a killing at taxpayers' expense: We have already begun to hear news of wheeling and dealing...bribe offers...requests for kick-backs."


"A ministry of housing official: There isn't a police force in the world big enough to investigate all the rot in non-profit housing."---"Andrew Ross, founding president of the Lakeshore Village Artist Co-op, who believes the good of non-profit housing will be destroyed by the waste in the system."


"Bill Morris, president of the Co-op Housing Association of Ontario."---"Co-ops have the highest average unit price. Co-op association leader Morris says that's because they build more family units than regular non-profits."---"Co-ops have another built-in cost. Morris' group receives 1 per cent of the total capital cost of each project. Since 1986, that amounts to about $22.5 million, used for developing more co-ops, educational programs, bailing out co-ops in financial trouble and association salaries."---"In Niagra Falls, where you can purchase a 10-year old, three-bedroom townhouse for $40,000, and a new one for $80,000, the Skyline Co-op built 60 townhouses for $106,094 a unit."


"At the Marigold co-op in Whitby, substandard elevators and smoke detectors were installed. It cost thousands of dollars more to do the job right."---"At the union-built Harmony-King Co-op in Oshawa, $28,000 has disappeared and the ministry is investigating a "double billing" situation involving the former board president who hired his brother as property manager."


"Across the province, co-op and non-profit boards are screaming for more money. Many are increasing the size of their mortgages, which will translate into higher taxpayer-funded subsidies."---The government's theory is falling apart. They are becoming more expensive to run, says housing consultant Donna Hamilton."


"In Oshawa, the Consideration Co-Op is close to bankruptcy and has sued the ministry of housing over reductions of about half a million dollars in its annual subsidy. The ministry is threatening an audit. Co-op members are taking turns sleeping on a mattress in the boardroom, standing guard over the books."---"The original mortgage was 12.5 million for this 99-unit building. A second mortgage of $425,000 was later tacked on to cover expenses, including $40,000 more consultant, Lantana. Until recently, the co-op had $750,000 in the bank. But the ministry has told them an administrative error caused a $543,809 overpayment in subsidies. The ministry started taking it back. But a good chunk had been spent on board approved "wish list" including window coverings for solarium's, a chain-link fence, a security camera at the front entrance feeding into members' cable systems, and $5,350 worth of audio/visual equipment for members' use, including a big screen TV and CD player. Other money went to hire a director's spouse as a part-time cleaner. She became the highest paid employee."


Click link below to buy a copy of the complete article:

http://tinyurl.com/47g7kx6




Information noted above may be revised and/or deleted without prior notification.




Ken Hummel, Administrator, CHIE

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