Former co-op board member fights eviction at troubled Co-op Voisins

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An Ottawa woman is being evicted from her home of 16 years in part because she allegedly spoke to this newspaper about the bitter governance dispute that afflicted Co-op Voisins last year.

In early May, the co-op prepared a “documentation of incident reports” that it used as the basis to cancel the rental agreement that allowed Angela Mertes to live in the co-op.

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Mertes is a client of Upstream Ottawa, a charity that offers community-based mental health services, and her rental agreement is between the agency and the co-op. It means Mertes is not an official co-op member and has limited protection against eviction.

She has been given two months to leave the co-op.

As part of its list of incidents involving Mertes, the co-op alleges that in July 2023 “Ms. Mertes engaged in interviews with the Ottawa Citizen, disseminating misinformation that resulted in detriment to the reputation of the co-operative.”

Mertes, a former co-op board member, did not speak to this newspaper in July 2023.

The story in question quoted from Mertes’ sworn affidavit — drawn from a file at the Ottawa courthouse — that offered her version of events leading to the governance crisis that beset Co-op Voisins.

Mertes contends the incident is one of many allegations that have been invented or exaggerated to force her out of her longtime home.

Co-op coordinator Tanya-Ann Rocheleau prepared a chronological list of incidents involving Mertes that was sent to Upstream Ottawa in early May. The list, used as the basis for the eviction, alleges that between October 2022 and March 2024 Mertes engaged in verbal abuse against several co-op members, levelled false criminal allegations against another, and in another confrontation, repeatedly used vulgar language “and made offensive gestures such as the middle finger towards a tenant in the co-op’s backyard.”

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The co-ordinator also accuses Mertes of failing to exercise reasonable control over her dog, with the animal twice barking, growling and scaring co-op members.

Mertes has owned her dog, Rosie, for five years; she’s a chihuahua mix.

“She has a loud bark, but she has never bitten anybody in her life,” Mertes said, adding. “All of a sudden, apparently, my dog has become vicious.”

Mertes, a former member of the co-op’s board of directors, is convinced she’s being evicted because of her opinions about the co-op’s governance.

Mertes was part of a co-op board ousted from power in November 2022 after members voted to dissolve the board and hold new elections. The ousted board said the move was illegal and offended the Co-operative Corporations Act.

After a new board was elected, the two boards competed for control of the co-op and its bank accounts. To settle the dispute, the City of Ottawa appointed an interim board to take over management of the community — a move that Mertes and other former board members challenged unsuccessfully in court.

Mertes says she suffers from fibromyalgia and depression, and relies on a disability income.

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“If I get evicted, I’ll be homeless with two animals,” said Mertes, who also owns a cat, Zoe. “This has been my life for 16 years.”

Several co-op residents have come to Mertes’ defence and are raising money to help her fight the eviction.

Emeline Thermidor, a former board member, called Mertes a “model resident.”

“Angela has been extremely dedicated and engaged as a co-op member,” Thermidor said. “She organized social events and gatherings on holidays and birthdays. Anyone would love to have her as a neighbour.”

Said André Cusson, another co-op resident: “It is no secret that Co-op Voisin has been undergoing serious, dysfunctional management issues for the past three years … Angela has been a victim of harassment for at least three years’ time through no fault of her own.”

Hildegard Henderson, a former board member, said Mertes was being targeted for her politics. “The stuff in (the eviction notice) is so ridiculous about her dog attacking people and people being afraid of her,” she said. “They’re really going for this fear thing, but there’s never been a problem for all these years until she was on the board.”

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Incorporated in 1991, Co-op Voisins has 76 units and operates on a non-profit basis.

Officials from the co-op and Upstream Ottawa said they could not speak to the eviction case because of legal and privacy concerns.

Mertes has applied to make her eviction an issue in a complaint she has filed against the co-op with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

Andrew Duffy is a National Newspaper Award-winning reporter and long-form feature writer based in Ottawa. To support his work, including exclusive content for subscribers only, sign up here: ottawacitizen.com/subscribe

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