Winnipeg tenants want property owner shuttered until other assets investigated, assessed

Some tenants who have had their lives destroyed by the forced evacuation of this Portage Avenue apartment building say they want to see the company that owns it shuttered until a complete assessment of all its buildings and properties is completed.

Judi Stanley feels Ladco Company Ltd. lied to tenants the property was secure, but in the past few days her motorcycle was stolen from the lot. But she says the bike- is only the tip of the iceberg.

“If it wasn’t for the Red Cross, we’d be on the street right now,” said Stanley. “I wouldn’t trust them with my dog.” 

She claims the building was falling into disrepair, stressing to make sure this never happens again, the city has to shutter Ladco Company Ltd. — even temporarily — to ensure other buildings it operates are safe.

“The rot on those pillars did not happen overnight.”

With tears in her eyes, her message to elected officials is a simple one, “Don’t let them get away with it. They’re lucky we got out alive.”

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City records indicate over the last 20 years there has been no structural permits pulled for the building, and while CityNews has tried to get questions answered, Ladco has not responded.  

“There’s really no law to protect tenants living in these apartments,” said Verla Umpherville, another tenant.

Umpherville says Ladco has forced her into a situation she never wanted to be in: one where she is asking for help, instead of offering it.

“It’s been really hard for me.” 

Now living in a hotel with her family, she too says the company should be closed, but says the fact this happened at all is a systematic failure at the municipal level. And one that needs to be addressed, saying inspections of these buildings should be mandatory. 

“What always baffles me with city officials, or anyone in a position of power, is they do all the talking, but there’s no deadlines,” said Umpherville. 

A City of Winnipeg spokesperson confirmed Thursday, that while it will continue to support displaced residents and has issued compliance orders to the property owner in Ladco, it will not be asking for mandatory inspections of its other buildings, despite the fact Birchwood Terrace was called a “potential disaster” by emergency management officials with the city.