Bob Wiseman rejoins CoAction Board

Reflections from Bob Wiseman

I am happy to re-join the CoAction Board of Directors after an absence of a couple of years. At the same time, I have been chosen as the Staff Association director for the CHFT Board of Directors. I have been a member of CoAction since I became a Co-ordinator at Main-Gerrard Housing Co-op in February of 1989. During the last 23 years, being a member of CoAction has given me a better understanding of the job that I aspire to do and the profession that I attached myself to when I became a co-op manager.

"I achieve that better understanding through my interactions with my colleagues in CoAction at meetings and social gatherings. I also have acquired a better understanding of the work, its challenges and rewards, through the various training opportunities that CoAction organizes."

Most recently, a workshop held at Main-Gerrard Co-op on mental health issues presented both a legal and health practitioner perspective.

Alice Heap

by Mary Jankulak

Alice Heap was an early member of CoAction. She passed away this spring.

Alice and Dan Heap (1993)

I met Alice and Don Heap in the 1980s, while I was volunteering at the El Salvador Information Office, in a church basement at Bloor and Bathurst, and at various Latin American solidarity events. In 1991, I was hired as a constituency assistant in Don's office on Euclid St, which Alice managed – thus was I immediately immersed in a workplace environment where priorities were set according to a decidedly social justice perspective, and where the easiest path was not the one automatically chosen.

Bill Clinton had said in his 1992 presidential campaign that in electing him, the nation would also benefit from Hillary's expertise and "get two for the price of one". I think this was absolutely the case where Alice and Don were concerned.

Co-operative Staff Profile - Brian Burch

Brian Burch  - Our Executive Director 

I moved into Don Area Co‑operative Homes in downtown Toronto in the latter part of last century. Since moving into my co‑op I have done everything from delivering newsletters to serving as president, giving back to a community that has always been there when I needed it. My desire to serve on the CHFC board arises from the same spirit---I have safe, secure and affordable housing because generations of activists worked hard to build the co‑operative housing movement and I have a strong desire to use my skills and experience to help ensure our movement continues to be there for those seeking to be a part of a unique experiment in permanently affordable resident controlled housing.