Board of Directors

Lisa Berting has been involved in the co-op sector in a multitude of ways for the last 24 years.

She first heard about housing co-ops in 1991, and her family moved into Burnaby’s Misty Ridge Co-op in 1992.

Lisa enjoyed being involved in her co-op, and this led to her seeking employment in the sector. For the past 18 years, she has been overseeing the financial services department in a co-op management company. For each client, she produces an annual operating budget, monthly financial reports, and a review of the annual audit. She is very familiar with the end of operating agreement issues that co-op’s potentially face, and is firmly committed to ensuring that each co-op has the tools needed to get through this change.

For six years, Lisa served on the CHF BC board of directors, four of those years in the role of treasurer. During this time, she was also on the founding board of directors of both Athletes Village and Fraserview co-ops.

For the last two years, she has served on the CHF BC Finance Committee as well as the CHF Canada Finance and Audit Committee.

Lisa’s objective is to assist BC/Yukon co-ops by bringing their voices to the national table. She feels her experience will enable her to assist co-ops at this critical time, as many end their operating agreements and move into a new phase.

Lisa believes that co-op housing is the way to go in these unaffordable times and that we need to do everything we can as a sector to ensure that existing co-ops not only thrive, but expand. She would love to see more one-bedroom units built and more co-ops built in general, with those members already in co-ops supported as their needs change.

In BC, Lisa is watching closely the issue of co-op stock on leased land – this describes about a third of the co-op stock in the province. With leases set to expire within the next few years and some already requiring renewal as a condition for lending, this issue could impact a very large portion of the stock in BC and many members.

In a career spanning over 40 years, Tom has always believed in the power of co-ops to create a better world.

Tom moved into Grace MacInnis Co-operative in downtown Toronto in 1978. In 1979, he became the manager of the Alexandra Park Co-operative. He joined the staff of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto (CHFT) in 1981 as the Member Services Co-ordinator. At that time, the federation had 35 member co-ops – it now has over 180 housing co-ops. In 1994, Tom became CHFT Executive Director.

At CHFT, Tom has been involved in the administration of the over 4,300 co-operative homes that are part of a land trust portfolio. He also played a critical role in converting 770 units contained in three buildings beside Maple Leaf Gardens, which became City Park Co-operative. This co-op is part of the land trust.

Tom played a key role in the first public housing conversion in Canada, when Alexandra Park became the Atkinson Co-operative in 1994. Atkinson Co-op provides homes for over 400 families. The co-op is currently undergoing a large-scale revitalization.

In 2004, CHFT founded the CHFT Diversity Scholarship Program. In the Toronto area, the scholarship program has awarded over 300 scholarships valued at $1.6 million. Tom has worked with CHF Canada and the regional federations to offer the scholarship program in nine regions in four provinces.

Tom was elected the first president of the Co-operative Housing Association of Ontario (CHAO), and was involved in the successful merger between CHF Canada and CHAO. He later served several terms on the Ontario Council of CHF Canada. .

Tom was active in discussions that created the provincial housing programs that provide affordable housing to thousands of people in Ontario. He was also part of the work involving CMHC, the provinces and the co-operative housing movement that created the Agency for Co-operative Housing.

Tom has been a leader of the national housing co-op movement.  He has served on CHF Canada’s Education Committee, the Risk Underwriting Fund and the Federal Co-operative Stabilization Fund. He also chairs the Executive Directors’ Roundtable.

Barbara’s involvement with housing co-ops began 22 years ago, as one of the founding members of the Westridge Estates Co-operative Ltd. which she currently serves as treasurer on the board and as chair of the Membership Committee.

“I feel very fortunate and grateful to be part of the housing co-operative! I am also very proud to call Westridge Estates Co-op my home, a true community within a Community,” says Barbara. “I have always been an active member and watched my community grow stronger as we have become more knowledgeable about co-operative principles and values.”

Barbara would like to help ensure that the co-op housing movement remains viable and strong well into the future by continuing to strengthen networks between PEI housing co-operatives, by helping co-ops in her province learn more about the 2020 Vision project, and by supporting initiatives that will ensure government subsidies remain in place after housing agreements end.

In 2002, James Gilliard moved to Saskatoon. There he married a wonderful lady with two children – an instant family which is still very important to him – who were already living at Rainbow Housing Co-op.  He immediately got involved on the maintenance committee and shortly become the chair. Within two years he was on the board of directors where he has served on many different committees, as a board liaison or committee member.

James previously served on the Co-operative Housing Association of Saskatchewan (CHAS) board of directors, while also sitting on the CHF Canada board from 2005 to 2011. He also served on the board for the Saskatoon Community Clinic, where he sat on the governance, values and facilities committees. He was a delegate for both The Co-operators regional committee and the Saskatchewan Co-operative Association. Over the years James has conversed with co-op-friendly MPs and MLAs making sure that all Saskatchewan housing co-ops’ concerns were tabled and heard.

James believes that scale in the sector is an important trend that requires more discussion in Saskatchewan. There are some Saskatchewan co-ops that are next door neighbours; this is an opportunity to ensure that these co-ops can thrive, while maintaining their own ideals. The savings that co-ops could accrue and use elsewhere in their budgets can only help in the long run.

James is serving on Rainbow Housing’s board in his fifth term as president; he is looking forward to handing over the reins to the next generation of co-op leaders. He is currently quite involved in setting up education for new members and directors, and he is ensuring the Building Condition Assessment (BCA) is being used well by board and staff to organize much needed renovations.

James is a very busy guy with family, work and co-op life, with the hopes of one day slowing down and enjoying some of the simpler things in life. Before moving into Rainbow Housing, James can remember volunteering for only one event, and now he seems to be all over the place.

Tina Stevens has dedicated her life to Aboriginal leadership, both in and out of the co-op housing context. Her contribution includes advocacy for an Aboriginal seat on the CHF Canada board while living at Native Inter-Tribal Housing Co-operative, tenure as first Aboriginal community director for CHF Canada and work as second director appointed to the Ontario Council. Throughout her roles, Tina has maintained a belief that housing co-ops provide a safe family environment for members to connect with their culture and community, maintain self-respect and respect for Mother Earth, find employment, access higher education and nurture the seeds for future generations.

Tina is an Algonquin-Ojibwe woman from Kitigan Zibi, Kettle and Stoney Point, who has lived in London, Ontario her whole life. She has three strong sons and attributes her energy to having been raised by a strong mother¾a great elder in her own community.

Tina moved into her first co-op with her mother around the age of 12. As a young adult she moved into Native Inter-Tribal Co-op and worked with the co-op to secure a seat for the Aboriginal community on the CHF Canada Board of Directors. In 1996, she became the first Aboriginal community director. As the second director appointed to the Ontario Council, Tina did “double duty”.  Tina then took on the role of fighting the Harris government cuts on behalf of the Ontario members including Indigenous co-op communities as the Ontario Council President. In one example of her advocacy work, she met with the provincial MPPs to stop housing cuts and the download of housing from the province to the federal government.  In recent years, Tina took her advocacy role to the City of London to fight on behalf of her own housing co-operative.

Tina began to see how Aboriginal communities living on reserve could benefit from the co-op model. She created alliances between the Ontario Non-profit Housing Association (ONPHA) and Aboriginal communities for the purpose of networking for the larger housing sector.

Fast-track to the present, and as a result of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee recommendations, there must be a priority in creating an alliance between ONPHA and CHF Canada to address the crisis of Indigenous housing through the creation of more Aboriginal housing co-ops.

Tina credits former CHF Canada Aboriginal Director Linda Campbell with bringing more education and awareness of Indigenous issues and assisting housing co-ops to reduce barriers to accepting Indigenous members. Indigenous people find it “hugely challenging” to secure affordable housing in BC due to the discrimination of public landlords.

As a CHF Canada Board Director, “my priority is to be able to continue that education that (outgoing Aboriginal Director) Linda Campbell started and keep acknowledging our Seven Grandfather Teachings and how CHF Canada can incorporate the connection between these teachings and the Seven Co-op Principles.” Tina says she will also continue Linda’s work in educating the community about true Indigenous history.

When considering the need for more co-op housing for Indigenous people, Tina notes the movement toward urban centres for Indigenous people seeking better housing conditions including clean water, education and employment.  In the matter of the murdered and missing women of BC and across Canada, it is imperative to create more affordable housing which would further address our much needed protection. She cites the issue of homelessness and personal power as key points to be addressed.

Her biggest wish is that all levels of government unite to create a strategy to maintain subsidies for Aboriginal co-op housing rather than terminate that housing with the end of operating agreements. Currently, CMHC funding contracts do not allow Aboriginal co-ops to retain any surplus from year to year, unlike the initial federal operating agreements when co-operative housing was created.

Tina brings to the board the strength of her advocacy and a commitment to communicate to CHF Canada on behalf of members of Aboriginal housing co-ops. “It’s a priority for me to keep building bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people within the housing co-op movement.”

She is also as a member of the CHF Canada Diversity Committee and Governance Committee.

Tina works for the Ministry of the Attorney General, where she addresses issues such as the high number of Indigenous people in prisons and within the child welfare system. As part of the OPSEU Indigenous Circle, she is focussed on bringing education and awareness to the union about Indigenous members.

“I will keep walking in Linda Campbell’s footsteps and continuing the journey that she started. I’m quite the humble person, being re-elected. I come with a lot of humility, working with vulnerable people and placing the importance on their survival.”

Frank Wheeler’s first introduction to co-op housing came in 2008 when he moved into Winnipeg’s Village Canadien Co-op one month before the birth of his first child. As a full-time engineering student with a 20-hour-a-week job, life was rather busy. “The co-op surprised me with the offer of a subsidy I didn’t even realize was available, and that really got me through those years.”

Wheeler took on a deep appreciation for the co-op model, as a cost-sharing mechanism and as a means to have a say in the running of one’s community and being a voice for that community. He began to take roles on the board—serving as secretary for a number of years, vice-president thereafter, and currently as president.

Right from the start, former CHF Canada director Linda Ferguson encouraged Frank’s participation in governance. Being a delegate at the St. John’s AGM was “an eye-opener to the sector,” he recalls. “I could see the bigger picture and felt that I could move on to help at a different level.”

As Manitoba director, with the support and guidance of CHF Canada directors and staff, Frank says he can focus locally on approaching government on issues such as the loss of subsidies with the end of operating agreements, crippling refinancing pre-payment penalties, and expansion opportunities and then share his experiences and lessons learned.

As an example, Village Canadien was approved for refinancing last year after the federal government waived their CMHC pre-payment penalty. As a result, the co-op is currently renovating 150 townhouses. “Our operating agreement with the province of Manitoba is terminating as a result of the refinancing agreement. Since there is no subsidy program past the end of operating agreements in Manitoba, we are currently calculating the limits within which we can afford to self-subsidize until the government pulls through with new programs,” he explains. Village Canadien is also in the process of planning a new apartment complex for aging members (age 55 plus).

“Serving on the board is another learning experience for me, a chance to expand my horizons and give something back along the way. It’s a combination of learning and contributing, a good way for me to gain skills and at the same time expand my network¾my relationships.”

Wheeler is Lead Engineer of biomaterials processing and testing at the Composites Innovation Centre, a not-for-profit engineering consulting firm. He loves music, drumming, and wilderness excursions such as canoe and fishing trips. Most of all he’s busy with his family. “I’ve got a son who’s nine, a daughter who’s five, and now a puppy, and every day with them is hilarious,” he says. “Everything revolves around them.”

Scott Stager Piatkowski has been deeply involved in the co-operative housing movement for over 27 years: as an active co-op member, as staff person in five different co-ops (in Ottawa, Guelph, Kitchener and Waterloo), and as an elected sector representative at several levels.

This has included serving as president of the Ontario Council for CHF Canada’s Ontario Region, president of the Co-operative Staff Association of Central Ontario, chair of the Federations Committee, treasurer for the Staff Education Forum and CHF Canada delegate to The Co-operators. He also served as a government relations consultant with the Ontario Co-operative Association.

Scott has been involved in the Central Ontario Co-operative Housing Federation (COCHF) since its inception, as an education program planner, workshop leader and neutral chairperson. He trains volunteer boards in governance issues, leads strategic planning sessions and chairs meetings for a range of co-op and non-profit organizations. COCHF recently presented Scott with its Co-op Service Award for his contributions.

Scott has a long and varied history of community involvement. He just finished a two-year term as chair of the City of Waterloo’s Environmental Advisory Committee and currently serves on the advisory panel, developing a new Neighbourhood Strategy for the City. He is also a long-time volunteer with Male Allies Against Sexual Violence and recently helped to found the local chapter of 100 Men Who Give a Damn.  He has served as chair of the Waterloo Region Cycling Advisory Committee and as a member of both the Community Grants Review Committee and Local Environmental Action Fund (LEAF) for the City of Kitchener. He was a member of the Steering Committee for his neighbourhood association for three years, including one year as its principal contact person. Scott is a former president of the AIDS Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Area and former chair of the board of the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union.

As a volunteer facilitator with the Co-operative Young Leaders program (CYL), Scott was the 2010 recipient of the Youth Mentorship Award from On Co-op.

For 13 years, Scott wrote a weekly column for several community newspapers. He has had articles published by other local and national publications and websites, and he has appeared frequently as a commentator on television and radio.

This community involvement and media experience has given Scott a strong understanding of how government functions at all levels, a tremendous benefit he brings to his role on CHF Canada’s Board.

Scott is determined to press all levels of government to find a permanent
solution to the expiry of federal rent-geared-to-income subsidies and to ensure that the long-awaited National Housing Strategy builds communities instead of just units. He recognizes that the co-op housing movement is currently undergoing a change in the leadership and looks forward to playing a role in mentoring the next generation of co-op activists.