Why a Kamloops shelter refused evicted tenants of derelict apartment
When Kamloops firefighters were preparing to shutter a local apartment for its dangerous and dilapidated condition, they looked to a local emergency shelter to send the displaced residents.
The shelter operator refused them.
"I would not allow our programs to be used as an affront for illegal activities," Alfred Achoba of Canadian Mental Health Association Kamloops said.
Achoba said the shelters his organization runs aren't meant to be there for victims of "illegal evictions."
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Now, the former tenants are expected to be placed into temporary housing, arranged by the landlord. Illegal tenants wouldn't be included.
"(The landlord) needs to step up and respond to the crisis he's created," Achoba said. "Some service providers have been trying to reach him for months."
The building is owned by a Surrey-based numbered company with several directors named under its ownership, including Daljinder Aujla.
iNFOnews.ca reached out to Aujla once last week and once on Tuesday, but he's so far refused to comment.
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The building at 91 Seymour Street West is riddled with safety hazards, so firefighters ordered it be boarded up until the landlord can have it repaired.
It housed around ten legal tenants, but up to 25 people in total were living throughout the building, with some sleeping in shared bathrooms and others in the mechanical room.
Fire chief Ken Uzeloc said firefighters were aware of the building's issues since May and a fire was later sparked in June, likely due to an exposed and arcing electrical system.
Meanwhile, the owner was trying to evict the tenants for months, one of the residents told iNFOnews.ca. A Residential Tenancy Branch hearing is scheduled for the end of this month, he said.
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Achoba said his organization's mandate is to provide shelter and other services for people with mental health issues and substance abuse issues. Canadian Mental Health Association Kamloops operates the Emerald Centre shelter and the emergency shelter at the former Greyhound bus station, along with several other more permanent housing facilities.
So when firefighters called to find emergency shelter for the displaced tenants, he said they wouldn't fit the program. He sees the tenant displacement into shelters as an evasion of responsibility by a landlord.
"The landlord is just ignoring everything. He knows what he's doing," Achoba said.
Kamloops Fire Rescue expected the landlord to submit a repair plan and timeline on Friday, Oct. 21. Without it, the City threatened to levy fines on the owner.
It's unclear whether that plan has been submitted yet, or if any fines were issued.
Kamloops fire chief Ken Uzeloc was unable to respond in time for publication.
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