Homicide at social housing building in Thunder Bay, Ont., sparks calls for more security measures
Death at McIvor Court remains under investigation with no arrests made, police say
When Tracey MacKinnon moved into McIvor Court in Thunder Bay, Ont., last spring, she was given a few house rules by one of the tenants in the apartment building.
"I was told, 'Don't go out after nine, don't come in after nine. Never take the stairwells, always take the elevator by yourself,' " she recalled. "Well, that's what I can't do. Tell me what I can do, other than live in fear and live in my little box."
McIvor Court, located on Lincoln Street on the city's south side, is owned and operated by the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board (TBDSSAB). The property includes 121 units for people 50 and older.
Earlier this month, the building saw the city's first homicide of the year. A spokesperson for the Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) confirmed on Tuesday that no arrests have been made, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Tenants at McIvor Court told CBC News the incident speaks to ongoing safety issues there, and that it shouldn't have taken a homicide to put a spotlight on the problem.
Last June, a 40-year-old woman was charged with arson following a structural fire at the building.
"We're 50 plus. We deserve our peace and calm and sanity and safety and security at this time in our lives," said MacKinnon.
McIvor Court is not the only TBDSSAB building where residents have shared safety concerns. A daylight shooting at Spence Court in spring 2023 prompted a community safety meeting over guns and gangs. Last winter, residents held a rally at Paterson Court following an incident involving a weapon.
While TBDSSAB says it has a number of safety measures at its buildings, McIvor Court residents are calling for more security and stricter measures to prevent drug trafficking and home takeovers.
Illegal drug use, unwanted entries
MacKinnon, an outspoken advocate with Poverty Free Thunder Bay, arranged a meeting with CBC News and half a dozen other tenants at McIvor Court.
They expressed concerns about non-tenants entering the building — either by being buzzed in or entering as the doors open for others — as well as illegal drug use in the stairwells and outside the elevators, and non-tenants using the common areas as a washroom.
CBC News observed a syringe cap outside one of the elevators, along with several discarded cigarettes and an odour of urine.
MacKinnon says tenants usually do laundry during the day to avoid encounters with non-tenants at night.
TBDSSAB has 12-hour overnight security at McIvor Court, but the the board says guards cannot physically intervene in situations; their main task is ushering unwanted guests out of the building. Residents told CBC News their calls to TBPS often go unanswered.
While some tenants say anyone involved in illegal activities should be evicted immediately, MacKinnon said she recognizes the compounding challenges at play.
"We know social assistance rates are extremely low, which puts people in poverty, which other people have to have, I'll call it a side business or a side hustle to survive or to make ends meet," MacKinnon said.
The cost of living has taken a big toll on people's mental health, she notes, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, which long-time residents say is around the time issues at McIvor Court became worse.
Most tenants just want to live in peace: TBDSSAB
Ken Ranta, CEO of TBDSSAB, said there are a number of safety measures at its buildings, including:
- Live feed security cameras.
- Electronic entry doors that require key cards.
- Security personnel and roaming patrols at several buildings.
- Design features, such as lighting and landscaping.
- Partnership with the TBPS core team.
- Custodial and repair staff on site.
While security guards resolve most situations, Ranta said, police are called in for higher-risk issues.
TBDSSAB's tenant support workers play a role in preventing home takeovers, but TBPS takes the lead in removing unwanted individuals, he said.
Matt Vis, a spokesperson for TBPS, told CBC News in an email that senior police leaders met with TBDSSAB last week and had "a positive discussion about potential solutions and opportunities to continue working together."
He said addressing drug trafficking and violent crimes remain key priorities for the service, and that it's working to support those who are at risk and victimized by crime.
He added that the service received provincial funding last year for an effort called Project House Cleaning, which has helped it expand its partnership with TBDSSAB through anti-gang outreach efforts, enforcement, victim support and youth engagement and education.
Ranta said it's important for the community not to stereotype those who live in social housing as criminals, since most tenants just want to live in peace.
Sense of community, safety closely linked
While TBDSSAB does have tenant support workers, Brian Hamilton, chair of TBDSSAB, said he wants to see additional funding in Thunder Bay for more supportive housing with direct on-site services, particularly for those most at risk of exploitation.
"You could have a resident that could move in, everything could be good, and because they lack, sometimes, very basic agency to protect themselves and live independently, they become easily exploited and victimized by other people," Hamilton said.
Christine Sheppard is a researcher with the Wellesley Institute in Toronto, a non-profit that focuses on health equity in the GTA. She helped lead a 2022 study on how safety issues in social housing impact older adults.
Sheppard says they're often easier targets for home takeovers because "a lot of them live with very complex physical and mental health challenges."
Through conversations with tenants in Toronto, she found that when they felt unsafe it "really impacted their sense of well-being, their psychological and their emotional well-being, their sense of home."
There were many similarities between the experiences shared by tenants in Toronto and those at McIvor Court. Sheppard's main takeaway was the connection between people's sense of community and safety, and what happens when tenants stop socializing.
"It becomes a self-fulfilling loop where anti-social behaviours drive out the community that you're trying to build, and because there's no sense of community, there's more anti-social behaviours that happen," she said.
It's important for landlords, police and other community partners to build trust with tenants, Sheppard says, so individuals feel comfortable sharing their concerns. Community organizing, like rallies and town halls, is also a way tenants can make their voices heard.
Tenant associations provide safety in numbers
Linda Gambee leads the tenant association at Paterson Court. Since their rally last winter, she says security guards started coming to the building twice a day. However, non-tenants have come to know their schedules, which means they're still getting into the building.
Another strategy non-tenants are using is calling elderly tenants and saying they're bringing in deliveries in order to gain access to the building, she said.
"We're trying to be creative and work with [TBDSSAB] to come up with ways that we could manage the building better," said Gambee.
MacKinnon says tenants at McIvor Court are considering forming a tenant association or holding a demonstration to push for change, something Gambee encourages them to do.
"Many heads are better than just one trying to figure out how to do it," she said. "You always have the safety in numbers as well."
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