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Awards at CHF Canada’s 2008 annual meeting
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Bleecker Street Co-operative Homes gets Jim MacDonald Award
Toronto’s Bleecker Street Co-operative Homes was awarded the 2008 Jim MacDonald Award for Social Change. The award is CHF Canada’s highest honour and recognizes housing co-ops for special work in health and social services, the environment, human rights and civil liberties, or housing and co-operation.
Bleecker Street, a 254-unit co-op in downtown Toronto, received the award in recognition of their community Rwanda Project. This initiative aims to raise public awareness and donations for the Ineza Women’ Co-operative in Rwanda. The Ineza co-op supports HIV-positive women and children many of whom are survivors of genocidal rape and sexual violence. The co-op helps them with housing, healthcare, food, job-skills, therapy and social support. The Bleecker/Ineza partnership was spearheaded by Bleecker board member Brian Finch – a long-time HIV/AIDS activist.
Bleecker Street held workshops that included slide-show presentations with testimonials from the women themselves. They raised $5,100 through raffles, member and corporate donations, a bake sale and car wash. The goal is not only to raise money to support Ineza’s programs, but to form a meaningful and mutually beneficial partnership.
Bleecker Street’s Brian Finch is presented with the Jim MacDonald Award by CHF Canada Board member Ivy Tait.
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Alexandra Wilson named honorary lifetime associate
In 1974, when Alexandra Wilson was still a teenager, she led her fellow tenants in a fight to protect their heritage apartment complex in the Riverdale neighbourhood of Toronto. The tenants stopped the Bain Apartments from being redeveloped by buying the complex and converting it to a non-profit housing co-operative that is still providing affordable rental housing today.
That accomplishment and the many that followed are the reason Alexandra Wilson was named Honorary Life Associate by the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada
Alexandra helped foster the growth of the co-operative movement through her time spent as a volunteer on CHF Canada’s Development Committee. She was part of a team that proposed the new ILM co-operative housing program 1986. Alexandra also spearheaded CHF Canada’s lobby to stop the devolution of co-operative housing programs to the provinces and to set up a new agency to administer federal co-op programs.
Today, Alexandra is Chief Executive Officer of the Agency for Co-operative Housing. The Agency started in 2006 and administers federal co-operative housing programs in BC, Alberta, Ontario and PEI.
Alexandra has been an active housing co-op member in both Toronto and Ottawa. She has served as CHF Canada’s representative to the International Co-operative Alliance’s Housing Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of The Co-operators.
CHF Canada’s Dale Reagan names Alexandra Wilson an honorary life associate of CHF Canada.
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Paul Hastie awarded CMHC award for outstanding contribution to co-operative housing
Paul Hastie, Managing Director of Homestarts, has been awarded the 2008 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation award for outstanding contribution to co-operative housing.
Homestarts is a community-based non-profit organization that provides management, maintenance, capital repair and consulting services to housing co-operatives and co-op sector organizations in southern Ontario. This year, Homestarts celebrates 30 years of service to the co-operative movement.
Paul began work with Homestarts in 1988 as a Management and Development Consultant. He co-ordinated the development and construction of 15 housing co-ops – roughly 1,000 units. Paul focused on infill sites with opportunity for intensification, and access to transportation, schools and other amenities. All of his projects incorporated measures to conserve gas, electricity and water, and reduce landfill.
For Paul, perhaps the most satisfying of these was the development of a unique 68-unit townhome and apartment building in a downtown neighbourhood of Orangeville, Ontario. Lavender Lane became the first housing co-op in the province certified as built to the super energy-efficiency standards of the federal government’s R-2000 construction program. This project was the proud recipients of awards from both the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada.
Paul currently supervises the delivery of services to 40 housing co-op clients. He continues to take a keen interest in energy and water retrofits, not only to save co-op members’ money but to reduce the greenhouse gasses that threaten our future and that of our children. Finally, he plays a key role organizing and supervising capital repair projects.
Paul Hastie
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Member Recognition Awards
At each annual meeting, CHF Canada recognizes co-ops and other members that have supported the co-op housing sector through long-time membership in CHF Canada. This is the list of members who received recognition at this year’s meeting:
20-year member awards
Aaron Webster
Applegarth
Arbour Village
Arland Mews
Banbury Cross
Barbour Manors
Better Living
Black Creek
Cardinus
Charles Darrow
Charlie Brooks
Chignecto
China Creek
Cumberland
Dereham Forge
Drumlin
Dufferin Gardens
Duffin's Creek
Eastwood
Ellen McGreal
Frank G. McLoughlin
Gateway (ON-North Bay)
Jackson's Point
John Fitzpatrick
Keegano
La Chaumière
Longhouse
Los Andes (ON)
McIntosh Run
Mimico
Moonstone
Neighbours'
Orchard Park
Oshawa Creek
Sitka
Spirit of 1919
Tamil
Valley Village
Villa Bonheur
Whitehorse
Wilcox Creek
Willowside
Winkleigh
Women's Community
Woodrose
Organizational members
Co-operative Housing Federation of Newsfoundland and Labrador (CHANAL)
Canadian Labour Congress
Lakeridge Co-operative Housing Federation
30-year member awards
Chadwick Towers
East Whitby
Thurlestone Co-op
Westboine Park Co-op
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Sarcee Meadows receives new Rooftops Award
Rooftops Canada – Abri International introduced a new award this year to recognize the contribution of housing co-ops to international development. Sarcee Meadows Housing Co-op in Calgary is the first recipient. The award was presented during the Rooftops Canada reception at CHF Canada’s annual meeting.
Sarcee Meadows was recognized for its important contribution to international development and for actively and consistently supporting the work of Rooftops Canada– Abri International.
Sarcee Meadows, in partnership with Rooftops Canada, assisted Kataayi Multi-Purpose Co-operative in Uganda built countless brick houses and a vocational school. The co-op has also started income generation, and sustainable agricultural projects. They help families take care of and educate AIDS orphans in the community. The co-op has become a model of integrated development. Numerous guests from Uganda and abroad have benefited from visits to Kataayi. Sarcee Meadows has also provided a soft loan to NACHU in Kenya to help housing co-op access the micro finance loans to acquire land on which to build homes. They have consistently made donation to Rooftops Canada for the past 20 years.
Calgary’s Sarcee Meadows Housing Co-operative is recognized for its contribution to international development through Rooftops Canada.
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