Long-time member of Riverdale Co-operative Houses, Brian Burke worked at CHFT for 15 years. He was ahead of many others when he introduced CHFT to the idea that community conflict was better resolved without lawyers and legal processes. He also championed plain language in CHFT’s documents, a principle that runs deep in the sector now. His innovation, the Co-op Housing Bookstore, ensured people got access to information in a form that made sense to them, empowering them to make better decisions about the community.
Burke was ahead of the curve in other ways too. He got home every day to greet his daughter after school, modeling good parenting to other fathers before it was fashionable. When he accepted the CMHC Award for Co-op Housing in 1998, he called on delegates and sector leaders to embrace diversity, a decade before most were using the word. Brian Burke was made a Lifetime Member of CHFT in 2001. He died too soon in 2010, but not before leaving his mark.
