Demolition of a crumbling warehouse in Winnipeg’s West Alexander neighbourhood has been halted over concerns about asbestos.
The demolition of the five-storey building on McDermot Avenue is the latest example of a cleanup project, ordered by the City of Winnipeg, to be stalled due to a provincial workplace health and safety order.
Marie Berger has a clear view of the rubble from her backyard.
She’s lived in her house for 50 years, and says the building on McDermot Avenue has been a source of problems for some time.
“It’s not even just looking at it,” she said. “Sure, it’s an eyesore, but I mean, part of the back lane is blocked off, so we only have one egress out of the back lane. So that’s a concern.”
The city ordered the crumbling warehouse demolished last month, after nearby residents noticed bricks falling from the side of the building.
Crews began tearing down the structure, but provincial workplace health and safety staff ordered a stop to the work after finding materials suspected of containing asbestos.
That’s left residents like Berger feeling frustrated.
“Really, in the long run, it’s a simple answer — work together and get it done,” she said.
A spokesperson for the province said many building materials used before 1990 contain asbestos, including pipe wrap, insulation, tiles, drywall compound, ceiling tiles, mastic, window sealant, and other materials. The fibres can become embedded lung tissue, and can lead to cancer over time.
“As such, Manitoba laws assume suspect materials as containing asbestos unless proven otherwise and implements measures to prevent exposures,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
“The company responsible for demolition must provide a plan to ensure measures will be taken to prevent any materials with the potential to release asbestos into the atmosphere are removed in a manner that does not create a risk to the safety and health of any persons.”
‘A better way’
Partially demolished buildings have become a familiar sight in many Winnipeg neighbourhoods, and this isn’t the first time a city demolition order has been held up by provincial workplace health and safety officials worried about asbestos.
Mayor Scott Gillingham says the city and the province need to find a way to work together.
“We have to find a better way to get sites cleaned up faster, while still making sure that it’s a safe process,” Gillingham said.
“The area residents deserve it, the city at large deserves it, and property owners would appreciate the relief as well.”
Demolitions at other properties have taken months or even years.
The former Vulcan Iron Works warehouse burned in a massive fire in July last year, but cleanup work did not begin until May, while the property owner argued with workplace health and safety officials, who ordered a wet demolition, a process that involves soaking the debris in order to prevent the spread of asbestos, at a significant additional cost.
A dispute between the province and the owner of the former Surplus Direct store on Main Street has stalled cleanup at that site, which was destroyed by a fire in February 2023. Provincial health officials say tests showed the presence of asbestos, but the owner says multiple tests have not found any.
Over on Sherbrook Street, a former apartment building is getting cleaned up more than two years after it burned. The City of Winnipeg announced it would take on the work after disputes between the financial institution that holds the mortgage and an insurance company over the cost of the cleanup dragged on.
Spence neighbourhood resident Cheryl Martens says the city should be prepared to take on the costs of cleaning up buildings suspected of containing asbestos, which was only restricted in recent decades after concerns about its health effects became known.
“These are things that we do for one another as citizens, and this is the heart of Winnipeg, right?” Martens said. “This is where you show how you do things properly, so the city should pay for this [cleanup].”
Gillingham says he has had past discussions with Municipal Affairs Minister Malaya Marcellino, and he hopes to have more formal discussions about how the city and province can work together.
A provincial ministerial spokesperson said in an email that Manitoba created a working group earlier this year to tackle the challenges surrounding asbestos removal and demolition.
The working group, consisting of representatives from the departments of Environment and Climate Change, Municipal Relations and Labour and Immigration, has met twice so far, and discussed issues including the challenges with rubble, demolition and asbestos, the spokesperson said.