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>




Thursday

Noted Articles and Research about Co-op Housing

cbc.ca [CBC News] Online Edition

September 5, 2023

By Priscilla Ki Sun Hwang, CBC News, Ottawa, ON

"This co-op resident asked for repairs for years. Then mushrooms sprouted in her room Quarry Co-op denies all allegations of negligence with repairs in countersuit"

CLICK HERE to read this article published online 

 

ottawacitizen.com [Ottawa Citizen] Online Edition

November 3, 2023

By Andrew Duffy, Reporter, Ottawa Citizen

"Hard feelings, bitterness remain at Sandy Hill co-op leading up to elections. Elections will be held later this month at Co-op Voisins to replace a city-approved board of directors installed to rescue the Sandy Hill housing community from months of chaos."

CLICK HERE to read this article published online 

 

ottawacitizen.com [Ottawa Citizen] Online Edition

July 26, 2023

By Andrew Duffy, Reporter, Ottawa Citizen

"How one Sandy Hill housing co-op descended into chaos and acrimony"

CLICK HERE to read this article published online 

 

citynews1130.com [CITYNEWS1130] Online Edition

February 13, 2020

By Renee Bernard, Reporter, CityNews1130

 

"Burnaby co-op fell into disrepair as president funneled money into her own bank account"..."Tenants have suffered emotionally and were devastated by the theft. Those statements were submitted by the Halston Hills Housing Co-op, as their former president was sentenced to three years and nine months in jail for stealing from the Burnaby co-op. Lillian Cameron pleaded guilty, and besides jail time, she was ordered to pay back the co-op more than $2 million."

"Cameron was elected president of the co-op in 1999 and held the position until the day she left the co-op in November of 2016."..."It says Cameron abused her position and bullied members. Tenants say she showed favouritism, inviting some of them into her home, and used her "ill-gotten gains to take them on trips, lavishly spending money on them"...

CLICK HERE to read this article published online

CLICK HERE to read "Burnaby co-ops rallying for viable future"

 

 

One Bad Board Away From Bankruptcy: Housing Co-operatives, Self-Management, And The Landlord-Tenant Relationship a thesis submitted to the Dept. of Cultural Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON.

May 2019

By Josh Hawley

CLICK HERE to read this thesis as a 171 page pdf published online

CLICK HERE to read excerpts from this thesis published online

 

globalnews.ca [GLOBAL NEWS] Online Edition

February 25, 2018

By Jon Azpiri, Global News

 

"B.C quadruple amputee says he'll be homeless after co-op withdraws offer"..."John Black was all set to move into a new home at Creekview Co-op housing on Granville Island."...

 

CLICK HERE to read this article published online

CLICK HERE to see this linked article on twitter with comments  

 

 

globalnews.ca [GLOBAL NEWS] Online Edition

February 23, 2018

By Jasmine Pazzano, Global News

 

"EXCLUSIVE: Oshawa woman claims co-op residence 'tore up' her application"..."The 64-year-old Oshawa, Ont., resident said she submitted an application to Harmony-King Co-Op Homes Inc. about seven years ago, but a staff member at the residences told her late last year that they no longer have her application."-"They tore it up," said the single resident. "That's what they told me."...

 

CLICK HERE to read this article published online 

 

 

cbc.ca [CANADIAN BROADCASTINING CORPORATION] Online Edition

September 18, 2017

By Rosa Marchitelli, CBC News

 

"GO PUBLIC/ 'Completely outrageous': Couple say they were denied co-op apartment over sex of baby"..."A Vancouver family believes they were denied a unit in a co-op housing complex because their baby is a girl and not a boy."..."The couple first contacted Go Public in June after they were told by a representative of Marina Housing Co-operative that they were first on the list for a two-bedroom unit but, before their application could proceed, the co-op board needed to know the sex of their unborn baby."...

 

CLICK HERE to read this article published online  

 

 

facebook.com [Dr. Peter Stockdale] Facebook Page Online Video August 2, 2017

"Watch an illegal 'election' at Fairlea Park Co-op in Ottawa - featuring intimidation, election tampering, no secret ballot, abuse and harassment of a member"...

CLICK HERE to watch and listen to this 55:34 minute video

 

facebook.com [Mark Bourrie] Facebook Post Online August 20, 2019

 CLICK HERE to read posted messages about Alex Laidlaw Housing Co-op

 

thestar.com [THE TORONTO STAR] Online Edition 

March 9, 2016 

By Jacques Gallant, Staff Reporter 

 

"TENANTS AWARDED $30,000 OVER VULGAR POSTERS, TRIBUNAL RULES The anonymous messages, put up over several months in 2012 in the co-op building, targeted several residents."... 

 

CLICK HERE to read this article published online

 

Ontario Human Rights Tribunal  87 page ruling on March 4, 2016:

CLICK HERE to review Welykyi v. Rouge Valley Co-operative Homes Inc.

 

 

 

wordpress.com [Mind Bending Politics] Online

January 2016

By Jason Koblousky, Political and Policy Blogger

 

"Ontario Ombudsman: A Watchdog That Isn't Watching"..."Every lawyer that I've approached on my specific situation here has told me to basically shut up and not to speak out as a result of legislation being highly lopsided towards co-operative administrators and boards."...

CLICK HERE to read this blog published online 

 

 

 

therecord.com [WATERLOO REGION RECORD] Online Edition

February 19, 2015

By Gordon Paul, Reporter, Waterloo Region Record

 

"Accusations fly as Waterloo housing co-op threatens to evict 79-year-old woman" - "She's 79 years old, stands five-foot-three, weighs 90 pounds and is afflicted by a blood disorder that often leaves her bedridden." - "I live a quiet life," Avril Gaouette said in a interview."

 

"How much trouble can I get in?" Plenty, according to the board of directors at Brighton Yards Housing Co-operative, the non-profit housing complex in Waterloo where Gaouette lives."

 

"The co-op, which promotes itself as "a safe, friendly and diverse housing community," is immersed in a dispute that started with a damaged garden and escalated into calls to the police, allegations of verbal abuse from both sides and the issuing of an eviction notice."...

 

CLICK HERE to read this article published online 

 

Comments: In Ken's view, the board of directors and co-op clique have ganged up and are bullying & harassing Ms. Gaouette, and I find it disgusting and shameful. Some 26 comments below the online article sum-up this horrifying situation with a resounding number of 'thumbs-up' in support of Ms. Gaouettee, and 'thumbs-down' against the co-op board of directors...Brighton Yards is a 45-unit housing co-op located in the province of Ontario, Canada. - CLICK HERE for an update on this article


 

 

this.org [THIS MAGAZINE] Online Edition

January 6, 2015

By Josh Hawley, Freelance Journalist


"Tear the house down"..."A call for co-operative housing reform"


"After spending the first 23 years of my life living in co-operative housing, I worry "co-operative" has become nothing more than a platitude used to paint a picture of true democracy. Even at the most local of levels, a functioning democracy needs supervision."...


CLICK HERE to read this article published online


Some excerpts from the article originally published in This Magazine's November/December 2014 print edition that was not published in their online edition:


..."Jeff Schlemmer, executive director at Neighborhood Legal Services in London, Ont. and an adjunct law professor at Western University, describes how the first time the Court of Appeal of Ontario ruled on co-operative housing, they mistakenly compared them to private "social clubs."...


"There are two fundamental misunderstandings of the co-op sector by politicians and the legal system. First, co-ops aren't necessarily communities of like-minded people"..."Many residents have not made a wilful choice to live the co-operative lifestyle."...


"The second major misunderstanding of housing co-ops pertains to the power afforded to the board of directors, which are treated like governmental statutory authorities. Tribunals and boards established by the government fall under administrative law and they proceed through much the same process as the courts. Hearings are held and both parties are given the chance to defend their case."


"A corporation's board of directors would never be equated to these statutory bodies. But somehow, lawyers representing housing co-ops have been able to play the statutory board card, claiming their board of directors have held fair hearings in coming to their decision to evict somebody, for example. In reality, these decisions occur at meetings where members are often easily silenced, and partiality and nepotism can supplant fairness."


"As far back as 1976, it was known that co-op residents were at risk of eviction "on trivial grounds" simply by achieving a majority of votes. Unpopular members, obnoxious or rabble-rousing in the eyes of the few in power, are at the mercy of the co-op's in-group."...


Comment: In Ken's view, Mr. Hawley's article, is the most significant article about co-op housing in Canada published on mainstream and social media since the Toronto Star published Kevin Donovan's article, "Housing millions down drain" back on May 20, 1995. 




maisonneuve.org [Maisonneuve Magazine] Online Edition

June 5, 2012

By Andrea Bennett, Writer of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry


"In the House of the Lord"


An investigative report: fear and manipulation at "The Jackson Avenue Housing Co-operative and the religious battle raging in one of Canada's poorest neighborhoods."...

 

"Under the BC Cooperative Association Act, the majority of people living in a co-op should be members of the co-operative, which grants them voting rights and a say in how it is run. But according to current and former tenants, co-op membership is not extended to most residents"...

 

"There's a real difference between being in the outer circle and inner circle of their coop,"..."Veldman describes the core group members' living quarters as renovated and well-equipped, in contrast to the sparse, tiny suites the JAHC affords to low-income DTES residents. "I realized there was a pecking order" she explains. 

 

"I started to feel like they used religion as a tool to oppress people and motivate them through fear, guilt and shame."...


CLICK HERE to read this article published online




intelligencer.ca [Intelligencer Opinion Column] Online

December 6, 2012

By Chris Malette, For the Intelligencer

 

"MALETTE AT LARGE: Co-op shame"...


..."vandalism is taking place."..."it's all taking place and explain the added shame of it - it's in the co-operative housing complex"..."There's been drug busts here, trash tossed about, fires lit, fireworks blasted off at all hours of the night, mindless acts of spray-painting everything from doors to walls, tire-slashings, you name it."...

 

CLICK HERE to read this opinion column published online

 

Comment: If Ken didn't know Chris was referring to the housing co-op at Bleecker and Emily Street's, Ken would have thought he was referring to a housing co-op located in Whitby, Ontario.

 


digitaljournal.com [Digital Journal] Online

September 26, 2010

By KJ Mullins, Digital Journalist


"The Truth behind co-op housing"


"Toronto - In Toronto there are plenty of co-ops but non-residents are not always sure what they are. Many think of co-ops as city housing for low income residents. They would be wrong."...


CLICK HERE to read this article published online




wordpress.com [Kerry Hall Site] Online

May 20, 2009

By Kerry Hall, Writer and Editor


"Co-operative Woes"


"With rising rents and tenant evictions in Vancouver, some local residents are considering turning to co-op housing as a solution."...


CLICK HERE to read this article published online 

CLICK HERE to read some 200 additional news articles published online 

 

 




cmhc-schl.gc.ca [Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation] Online

April 2003 and Revised: 2006


"Crisis Situations in Cooperatives: Better Interventions Hinge on a Better Understanding"..."THE SURVEY OF HOUSING COOPERATIVES"...




The Evolution  of Member Conflict in Housing Cooperatives is a CMHC sponsored Report released in March 1993: CLICK EMBEDDED LINK BELOW to review this 97 page Report published as a PDF online

 


 

newmangoodmoon.blogspot.ca [Ken's Site] Online

 

Excerpts from a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Investigation into Fraud Allegations during a Client Visit at a Federal Program Housing Co-operative in 2004.

 

CLICK HERE to read Ken's blog published online   

 

 

cooperativeone.blogspot.ca [Co-op Housing Information Exchange] Online

 

Excerpts from a Toronto Star article by Kevin Donovan.


thestar.com

May 20, 1995

By Kevin Donovan, Toronto Star, Investigative Journalist


"Housing millions down drain"


"First in a series A Toronto Star team is probing abuses in non-profit housing, a program that will cost Ontario taxpayers $1 billion a year. Future stories will look at the players, the problems, and solutions."...


CLICK HERE to read CHIE blog published online




Information may be revised without prior notification




Ken Hummel, Administrator, CHIE










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