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Dear Colleagues,
I’d like to draw your attention to an issue which has implications for me personally but, more importantly, for equitable housing generally.
I have lived in a co-op almost since my arrival at SFU. This co-op, 115 Place, has been in the news lately because the building and land on which it resides is being sold by its owner, the Pension Fund of the International Union of Operating
Engineers, Local 115.
https://globalnews.ca/news/8244924/coope-housing-group-worried-about-burnaby-sale/
There are 244 units in this co-op and most are occupied by Seniors or low-income/fixed-income residents. This co-op has provided them with the opportunity to age in place and live their lives with dignity. One of my neighbors is 102 years old and, until he was in his mid- 90s, managed the gardens here. The demise of this co-op will affect my neighbors more than it will affect me. I have no idea where these people will go. They are frightened and demoralized.
There is an ongoing effort by the Co-operative Housing Federation of British Columbia to save Place 115 (named for the Union of Operating Engineers). https://www.chf.bc.ca/115-place-help/ Offers to purchase were made to the Pension Plan but were rejected. It’s unclear whether or not the Union of Operating Engineers knows what is happening to this co-op.
I recall that SFUFA members voted to divest the (former) pension fund of fossil fuels for the greater good. I see this as the same—asking a Pension Plan to consider the greater good.
On behalf of my co-op, and its most vulnerable residents, I ask you to take a few moments and reach out to the following people and groups—to ask them to reconsider the sale of this co-op.
Please call or email the 115 Union of Operating Engineers Pension Plan administrators at:
Brian Cochrane Business Manager / Lee Riggs Pension Administrator: 604-291-8831 OR 1-888-486-3115 Or email them at these addresses:
You can also contact your local MLA and Housing Minister David Eby (AG.Minister@gov.bc.ca or (250) 387-1866) and let them know you support the province’s efforts to secure this property and protect 244 co-op homes. Thank you for considering.
Carla Graebner
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Carla Graebner (she/her/hers) Librarian for Research Data Services and Government Information W.A.C. Bennett Library, Simon Fraser University 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6 Canada Unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations
Email: cgraebne@sfu.ca Tel: 778.782.6881 https://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/publish/research-data-management |