By Adonis Huggins
(Adonis is a staff journalist with the Focus Media Arts Centre)

On November 18, 2021, RPNA held a community meeting over Zoom, to discuss issues related to phase 4 & 5 of the Regent Park Revitalization and Community Benefits Coalition.

Tridel Builders, the development partner with TCHC, has pledged 36.8 million in community benefits for phase 4& 5 of the Regent Park Redevelopment.  TCHC has been working with RPNA Community Benefits Coalition to co-develop terms of reference for a community benefits working group that would oversee how the 26.8 million would be spent.  

According to Ismail Afrah, last week TCHC senior manager, Peter Zimmerman, met with RPNA co-chairs Marlene DeGenova and Ismail Afrah, to inform them that going forward TCHC will no longer continue discussions about the terms of reference for the Community Benefits Working Group and that TCHC would unilaterally deciding the terms of reference.

At the meeting it was explained that the signed community benefits agreement that the is under the governance of the Social Development Plan and that TCHC does not have the authority to unilaterally create a community benefits working group.  

TCHC has been working with RPNA Community Benefits Coalition for the past six months and their decision to unilaterally decide the terms of reference according to RPNA is largely based on the coalition insistence on a trilateral decision-making process.  

In attempting to create a terms of reference for an oversite group whose membership will be TCHC tenants, TCHC is arguing that RPNA Community Benefits Coalition does not speak for public housing tenants. RPNA disputes this claim by demonstrating the large numbers of tenants that attended the meeting and arguing that this is just a TCHC strategy to prevent them from been accountable to the community.

RPNA ended the meeting by encouraging everyone to get involved with the neighbourhood association.