Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 6, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba MONDAY JANUARY 6, 2025 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM SECTION B CONNECT WITH WINNIPEG’S NO. 1 NEWS SOURCE ▼ CITY ● BUSINESS Company says Manitoba First Nation wrongfully barred it from finishing housing project Construction firm asks court to dismiss lawsuit A construction company being sued by a Manitoba First Nation over an uncom- pleted housing project has accused the community of wrongfully barring it from finishing the work. Winnipeg lawyers Faron Trippier and Tracy McMahon filed the statement of claim on behalf of Dakota Tipi First Na- tion against Bison Modular Homes and several associated companies in Court of King’s bench in September. The First Nation hired the Indigen- ous-owned company to build 20 hous- ing units in 12 housing complexes, but alleged in its court filings the company “abandoned” the project before it was completed and prolonged the reserve’s housing crisis. The homes, which Dakota Tipi claims were to be constructed using steel ship- ping containers, were to add “desper- ately needed” housing to the reserve, the claim said. Bison says the complex- es were actually to be constructed with insulated metal panels. In a December 2021 agreement, Bison agreed to build an assortment of single-family units, duplexes and tri- plexes in 2022, but Dakota Tipi alleged it built only four usable units. In a statement of defence and counterclaim filed on Bison’s behalf by lawyer Meghan Ross in late December, the company claims it was, in fact, the community that reneged on the con- tracts and project, not the other way around. The defence filings claim Dakota Tipi instructed Bison to vacate the com- munity in February 2023, wrongfully removing it from the project and either breaching or repudiating the contract. “(Bison) remained willing and pre- pared to fulfil its obligations under the contract until such time as the plaintiff improperly repudiated the contract, or in the alternative, wrongfully termin- ated the contract,” Bison’s court papers say. Bison has asked the court to dismiss the community’s suit, and in its counter- claim seeks damages from Dakota Tipi for alleged breach of contract and fail- ures to pay what’s owed. Bison’s contract was to be paid with monthly bills as the construction pro- gressed. The company alleges it was paid about $4.2 million with a deposit and via three of four monthly bills. The company alleges Dakota Tipi has yet to pay the third of the four bills it issued, with approximately $500,000 outstand- ing. The project was to be funded via fed- eral housing money and contributions from Dakota Tipi. The First Nation alleged it began to have concerns about the “quality of modular housing units being provided and the delay in completing the con- struction” around the time the third instalment was to be paid in June 2022. Bison alleges that third payment was never made, as claimed by Dakota Tipi, though the fourth and final bill was eventually paid. The community alleged it is still owed two, single-bedroom duplexes. It also claims the modular housing com- plexes installed by Bison have “defects and deficiencies,” including: improper- ly constructed concrete slabs; deficient plumbing, electrical and HVAC sys- tems; damaged windows and doors; and other issues. The company has denied those allegations in its court filings. As a result, the units are “uninhabit- able” and “pose a real and substantial danger” to the community, Dakota Tipi claimed. Dakota Tipi said it has been ineligible to apply for further funding initiatives due to the unfinished project. But Bison claims it conducted a “thor- ough walk-through and inspection” of the units in January 2023 with a Dakota Tipi band councillor, with no major problems found. “During this walk-through, a 30-point completion inspection was performed and no substantial issues were noted on the quality of the modular housing complexes,” reads Bison’s statement of defence. “Any minor issues identified during the walk-through and inspection were promptly addressed by Bison.” Then, Bison alleges, Dakota Tipi instructed the company to leave the community in February 2023, as it was still finishing the work. The company claims that if any work is incomplete or deficient, it’s the fault of Dakota Tipi for breaching the con- tract. erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca ERIK PINDERA Neighbour’s battle against oversized garage tossed A provincial judge has dismissed a man’s bid for a judicial review into the City of Winnipeg, after an appeals committee allowed his neighbour’s unpermitted and oversized garage to stand. The ruling ends a more than yearlong battle by Charleswood resident Darren Van Wynsberghe to see a two-storey, 4,900-square-foot garage removed from the property of Tylan Unruh. Van Wynsberghe argued the building — five-and-a-half times over the allow- able limit under city bylaws, accord- ing to court documents — should have never been granted a zoning variance after it was initially rejected by the public service. Judicial review is a process by which courts make sure that the decisions of administrative bodies are fair, reason- able and lawful. “The applicant says that the decision is unreasonable, and it is unjustifiable after being reached by an unreason- able chain of analysis,” Court of King’s Bench Judge Gerald Chartier said in a written decision released Dec. 18. “It is true that the garage structure is very large, however, the basis for the city’s decision to grant the variance and allow the structure to remain in place is discernible and reasonable.” The decision document said Unruh constructed the building on Liberty Street without taking out the appropri- ate permits. The street is located in the Wilkes South neighbourhood, a semi-rural area in southwest Winnipeg made up of agri- cultural and light industrial land along with large-lot residential properties. Van Wynsberghe complained about the structure in 2023, prompting the city to issue a violation notice requiring Unruh to obtain the appropriate per- mits and a zoning variance. The property owner applied, but was rejected. He then fought the ruling with city council’s appeals committee. After two hours of debate, council- lors Brian Mayes, Cindy Gilroy and Vivian Santos voted to allow the appeal, on the condition Unruh plant trees on the northern side of the structure to provide visual screening. Coun. Shawn Dobson, who represents the ward in which the property is locat- ed, voted against the appeal. The appeals committee based its de- cision on the fact construction on the building was already completed, and denying the appeal would force Unruh to either remove or significantly re- duce it. The committee considered previous precedents where they had allowed structures and houses that had already been built to remain in place, Chartier said. “The appeal committee accepted that… a structure of that size was re- quired for storing large trailers, a motorhome, ATVs and other vehicles and equipment,” he said. “Ultimately, the reasons provided are that the garage is compatible because of the size of the lots and the nature of the area.” After reviewing the appeal, Charti- er determined the committee followed proper process while coming to the de- cision, providing justification that was “both transparent and intelligible.” “Furthermore, the decision is reason- able considering the factual and legal constraints that bear on it,” he said. Van Wynsberghe’s application was dismissed by Chartier without costs. tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca TYLER SEARLE City looking to other jurisdictions for rules governing active transportation routes Motorized bike, scooter speed limits? T HE City of Winnipeg says it is looking to other jurisdictions to study speed limits for motorized bicycles and scooters on active trans- portation paths. Spokesperson David Driedger said Friday the public service is research- ing how other Canadian jurisdictions are handling speed limits and how they can be enforced within the Winnipeg. Tom Milne, an electric bicycle user, says he would support a speed limit on the multi-use paths. “People who use two-wheeled vehi- cles, we expect a certain level of cour- tesy and consideration from those folks operating for real vehicles,” he said. “I also think that people who use e-bikes need to extend that same courtesy con- sideration to people on regular bicycles, and particularly pedestrians on those shared trails and active transportation routes.” Milne, 62, bought an e-bike two summers ago to stay active using a lower-impact bicycle. He clocks about 1,000 kilometres on his motorized bike every season and frequently uses ac- tive transportation paths. The Old St. Vital resident said he would support a speed limit, but wor- ries how well it would be enforced. “I know it would be very costly for the city to put cadets or police officers or set up cameras, but I also thought about if they were to go with a limit of, say, 25 km/h and they posted those speed limits signs, that would make a difference,” he said. Mark Cohoe, executive director of Bike Winnipeg, sits on the city’s active transportation committee which meets to discuss committee-related issues in- cluding speed limits. Cohoe says the committee has dis- cussed what provinces like Quebec have done to regulate speeds on active transportation paths and the public service will be researching what that province’s laws are. According to the Quebec provincial website, to be able to travel on public pathways, an e-bike can’t travel any faster than 32 km/h. For motorized per- sonal mobility devices, which includes electric scooters and unicycles, the de- vices can travel a maximum speed of 25 km/h. Cohoe applauded the city for being proactive in its approach to regulating speeds on pathways, but said it needs to be a multi-level approach. “We know it’s going to be a challenge to regulate. There’s no question about that. I think part of this is the province and feds dealing with what comes in and what’s sold,” he said. “But then, you know, how do we enforce it will be an issue too.” Most e-bikes can reach speeds of between 32 and 48 km/h depending on their make and model. The active transportation advocate says the study will need to focus on regulating what can and can’t be on pathways, speed limits, the design of pathways and their widths to see what would be allowed on active transporta- tion routes. “Electric bikes are becoming more prevalent, and they vary a lot. They can be basically something where we’re powering a bike to something that’s approaching to what could count as a moped, “I think we recognize that with elec- tric bikes coming in that it’s an issue that does pop up. But I think we want to make sure we’re not over-regulating at some level and that we are maintaining safety out there as well,” Cohoe said. Driedger couldn’t provide a timeline on when the forthcoming report, to be presented to the city’s Public Works de- partment, will be available. Milne believes the vast majority of e-bike and scooter users are respon- sible and share the road, but if they are over-regulated or forced off the paths and on to the roads, he would give his up. “Exploring the city on those trails has really opened up my view of Win- nipeg, you don’t only have to travel on the road and it feels safer,” he said. “If I’m forced off the path I would no long- er have a use for it.” nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca NICOLE BUFFIE CHRIS YOUNG / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Most e-bikes can reach speeds of between 32 and 48 km/h depending on their make and model. ;