Bob Wiseman first learned of housing co-ops when he and his wife were living in Vancouver in the late 70s. Some of his grad student friends at Simon Fraser University were part of a group that seized a vacant building, the Manhattan, one of the oldest buildings in downtown Vancouver. Dating back to 1908, the occupiers saved this gem from demolition. Wiseman got lured in by the seemingly romantic idea of occupying a building for the greater good and so when the Manhattan became a co-op in 1982, he made sure he and his wife were on the list of prospective members.
While that first pitch at co-op living was unsuccessful, when they returned east a few years later, they moved into Wood Tree Co-op, a scattered co-op in Toronto’s northwest. Although there only four years in the late 80s, Wiseman immersed himself in co-op life including joining the Wood Tree board where he ended up president. It was in that role that he first met Tom Clement at CHFT. He recalls making the faux pas of suggesting if the co-op’s insurer, The Co-operators, wasn’t going to adequately look after one of their injured staff, they should look around for another insurance provider! He didn’t understand the long-standing connection between housing co-ops and the Co-operators, an example of Co-op Principle 6 in action – co-ops co-operating with other co-ops. Once he understood the positive role they play to support staff and housing co-ops, he became a vocal supporter.
His wife attended the CHF Canada AGM in Vancouver and the stories she told Bob made him want to attend himself. He got to the first of 26 AGMs he’s attended in Newfoundland and the experience of spending concentrated time learning and networking with others enthusiastic about co-operative living really cemented his interest in the housing co-op movement. In the early 1990s, the Wisemans moved to Windward Co-op at Bathurst Quay. It was from that location Bob was first elected to the Board of CHFT. Bob’s proud that this was the exciting period when CHFT established the CHFT Charitable Fund an organization which devoted itself to run the Diversity Scholarship Program which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2024. He remembers it was also during that time that the Co-operative Housing Association of Ontario (CHAO) merged with CHF Canada, and the CHFT board grappled with its position on the merger.
During that period, Bob was simultaneously on the Windward Board and was its CHFT Delegate! Windward was the second of three co-ops he lived in – later in the 90s, the family moved to the eastern border of Scarborough to a co-op called West Rouge, where, you guessed it, Bob was active on the Board, ultimately becoming its president.
At the same time as the Wiseman household was building close ties with co-op communities in Toronto, Bob was making his mark on co-op management as the senior staff person at Main Gerrard Co-op in Toronto’s Upper Beach. He started this position in 1989 and stayed a remarkable 26 years! He began during a time when the staffing model most co-ops chose was to have directly hired employees like him. To get much-needed support from others in the same role, Bob became active in CoAction, a non-profit co-operative that provides representation and support to Toronto’s co-op housing staff with a goal to strengthen co-operative housing. Wiseman credits CoAction with being his sounding board for problem solving and – in his words – “chillin’ me out when I was over the top.” It was in his CoAction capacity that he became part of the CHFT Board for the 2nd time.
The Wisemans now live in a condo, where Bob’s learned not all self-governance models of housing are made equally. He credits the co-operative principles with producing the more open style of governance and co-operation he experienced as both a co-op member and a co-op staffer. For him, co-operation means not putting yourself first, but instead, it’s about thinking about the good ideas others have, working out differences, and achieving stronger, more resilient results.
His favourite co-op principle? Well, although he embraces the principles as a package, the ones that speak to him most are: co-operation among co-ops and autonomy and independence. In particular, he is hopeful for a way to strengthen the co-op sector without the need for too much government intervention.
Although the co-op sector sustained him professionally for decades and housed him for some of those years too, Bob Wiseman regrets not immersing himself sooner, back when he was a student. That said, he’s contributed lots despite what he believes was a late start and for that, he was made an Honorary Lifetime Director of CHFT in 2017. Congratulations!