Coun. Erin Stewart has her wish. The rookie councillor, who surprised many in coasting to an easy victory last Dec. 9 in a five-way race byelection race to fill Cory Young's vacant seat, came to public attention as a result of a letter to the editor over housing issues last October. Now, she's joining Mayor Tim Johnston as one of two external council appointments to the fledgling Thompson Housing Authority.
Stewart, who was raised in Thompson and holds a political science degree, came out on top of the other four candidates decisively with a total of 218 votes. Runner-up Robinson had 157 votes, while third place finisher Allan garnered 150.
After she attended a council-sponsored community neighbourhood consultation meeting at Wapanohk Community School, billed as a sort of a folksy back-and-forth with the mayor and council, on housing issues, Stewart wrote a passionate critique in a letter to the editor.
"Unfortunately, despite the promising crowd," Stewart wrote, "I feel as though we were short-changed from having a productive community discussion on affordable housing in Thompson.
"The fact that the discussion devolved into a one-issue debate over the relocation of ball diamonds and potential disturbance to animal housing at the Thompson Zoo is not the most pressing issue.
"Rather, it is distressing that the city and council brought forward an affordable housing report on needs and wishful thinking, with no action to show for it. What we need to do and where we need to go is very different from: This is how we're getting there. With no action, or plans for action, brought forward by the city and the noticeable absence of any representative from Manitoba Housing or UCN to contribute, my fellow concerned citizens and I were left to debate the pros and cons of the only shovel hovering over the ground, that of the UCN student housing development.
"In light of this misdirected discussion it seems the real issue was lost. The fact remains that affordable housing is a need in Thompson now."
She went onto conclude, "We should be holding our city accountable, and expect them to do more than wait for UCN and Manitoba Housing to build. Many municipalities across Canada are struggling with the lack of affordable housing. While comparative studies are useful for shining light on the issue, the City of Thompson must do more than talk. The need is here now. All there is left to do is build."
City council voted unanimously last Nov. 16 to establish the Thompson Housing Authority, signaling it intends to get directly involved officially for the first time on an ongoing basis in affordable housing issues municipally.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC defines affordable housing as that which consumes less than 30 per cent of before-tax household income (rent or principal, interest and taxes).
The distinction between social housing and affordable housing, although the two terms are often conflated and used interchangeably, is that social housing is not self-sustaining economically and can't be supplied by the private sector with a reasonable expectation of return on investment.
Without ongoing public sector support social housing is not sustainable. Another distinction between social housing and affordable housing is that social housing has entry qualifications restricting access, while affordable housing is open to all residents and is considered economically sustainable and can be supplied by the private sector either in partnership with the public sector or independently.
Aside from housing, Stewart will be facing more hot-button issues as she joins deputy mayor Harold Smith on the board of the Thompson Recycling Centre. Stewart has also been appointed to the board of directors of the Thompson Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation (TNRC) where fellow councillor Charlene Lafreniere works on staff as executive director. Stewart replaces Coun. Brian Wilson as the city's representative on the TNRC board.
Coun. Oswald Sawh likely has his work cut of for him two in terms of hot-button issues, as he remains on the boards of both the Thompson Zoological Society, which runs the Thompson Zoo, and Northern Detox Programs Inc.
The zoo has come under increasing scrutiny recently because of its proximity to proposed University College of the North (UCN) student housing nearby for the new Thompson campus, while Minister of Housing and Community Development Kerri Irvin-Ross, until last Nov. 3 minister responsible for healthy living, turned thumbs down last July on the non-profit Northern Detox Programs Inc. plan to establish a non-medical detox at an estimated cost of $2.6 million to $4.3 million in the old Addictions Foundation of Manitoba (AFM) Polaris Building B facility at 23 Nickel Rd. Instead, she put the three-storey 6,993-square foot building on the market at an asking price of $849,000.
Other external organizations council board of directors appointments approved Jan. 4 for councillors to represent the City of Thompson include:
Coun. Judy Kolada: Community Futures North Central Development; Thompson Library Board; Thompson Downtown Revitalization Committee; and Spirit Way Inc. Committee board of directors;
Coun. Charlene Lafreniere: Thompson Unlimited; Thompson Urban Aboriginal Strategy; UCN Capital Campaign Committee; and Aboriginal Arts Centre board of directors;
Coun. Stella Locker: Burntwood Regional Health Authority (BRHA) liaison;
Mayor Tim Johnston: UCN Advisory Committee and Thompson Housing Authority board of directors.
