Saving the co-op

Ralph Blaine

Coop Voisins is a well-maintained Sandy Hill apartment building with a beautiful back yard, located on Chapel Avenue, south of Mann Avenue.The residents of Coop Voisins are not just tenants but membersÑmembers, that is, of the co-op which has owned and maintained their building since 1995. The members set the rents and elect a board of fellow members to help manage the affairs of the co-op. Other members sit on various committees – social functions, by-laws etc. Since there is no private owner, all the members share the responsibility of ensuring that the building is well run; in return, they enjoy very reasonable rents and the pleasure of working together in a co-operative spirit.

And for over 20 years Coop Voisins had a reputation as one of the best run co-operative housing projects in Ottawa. But in the closing months of the pandemic signs of discord began to show. One by one, members of the board began to resign and eventually, I was told, the board lost its quorum. Some members report that board minutes were not being circulated and budget information was not available. In June 2023, one member wrote to IMAGE claiming that some members were experiencing verbal abuse, harassment and bullying from other members. This reporter met recently with several members of the co-op who also expressed concern about unpleasant encounters with other members. One of them was so disheartened that moving out seemed to be the best option.

After some controversy within the membership, the governing situation in the co-op descended into chaos. Two groups of members each claimed to be the legitimate board. The co-op’s bank, not in a position to resolve this matter, froze the assets of the co-op and they were not able to pay their bills. The City of Ottawa then stepped in and appointed an interim board.

The group of members I spoke to had lived in Coop Voisins from 6 to 20 years. They were shocked that their previously well-run co-op descended so quickly into chaos and that the dysfunction was allowed to persist. However, they agreed that the interim board had skillfully stabilized the financial affairs of the co-op. That board also organized an education session for members on co-op management, which led to informal discussions among members about how to avoid the problems that had arisen in the past few months.

I found this group willing to analyze the problems that bedeviled their co-op and eager to discuss changes that could help forestall future conflicts. They say that the board elected to take the reins from the interim board is communicating well and has explicitly stated that they want to put the recent conflicts behind them.

Although the people I spoke to say they still feel some interpersonal tensions within their community, they see that members are starting to use the public spaces in the building and to volunteer for committees once again. They have hope because, for more than two decades, their housing co-op was one of the best in the City of Ottawa. If the goodwill of the people I spoke to is any indication, the odds are high that the cooperative spirit within Coop Voisins will emerge stronger than ever.

Editor’s Note: IMAGE was not able to reach the current board of the co-op to obtain comment on this story. The author consulted the articles of Andrew Duffy in the Ottawa Citizen while preparing this story.