The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Sitting on a well-worn couch in her living room at the Hemlock Drive government apartments, Gloria begins to cry. Her feet rest on a bare plywood floor. Overhead, some ceiling joists and insulation are exposed. On the wall in front of her, only plastic sheets and red tape cover more insulation. 'It's just not fair,' says Gloria, losing her battle to fight back tears. 'It just seems like we're getting nowhere. No matter how many of us call or talk or be nice or make a complaint or what have you, I don't think things are being brought about as they should be.' Gloria, a single mom on social assistance, asks that her real name not be published for fear of upsetting the authorities and losing her apartment. She is among the tenants of 4 Hemlock Drive, next door to the Hemlock seniors' apartments, whose lives have been disrupted by renovations that have no end in sight. Gloria says that about three months ago, contractors hired by Manitoba Housing ripped out the exterior-most walls inside her apartment. Strips of ceiling near the walls were also removed, as were sections of flooring. Things have remained that way ever since. Other suites at both the Hemlock low-income and seniors' apartment buildings underwent the work. The rationale was moisture intrusion and fears that it could lead to mould. Now more composed, Gloria says she knows the work is necessary. She just thinks it should have been better planned and executed. For at least a month, she says, her walls were left bare before insulation was put back in, despite some chilly nights. Her baseboard heaters sit loose when they should be affixed to the studs where her walls once stood. Gloria hopes that's not a fire hazard, just like she hopes the exposed insulation in the ceiling is not a danger to her and her son's air quality. One of her neighbours, Marg Galbraith, remembers coming home about three months ago to discover her belongings had been been moved into the kitchen and covered with plastic. After more than two months, it appeared the contractors had not returned, so Galbraith moved the items back into place the best she could. For several weeks she was unable to live at her apartment because the smell of wet insulation was so strong. Though still paying rent, she opted to stay with family and friends. 'I know that some people have been living there through the whole (construction process) because they had no other place to go,' Galbraith says. 'They've just put up with it because they never told us we had to leave. It just was unbearable for me.' See 'Affect...' on pg. 3 Continued from pg. 1 In a statement to The Reminder, Manitoba Housing says workers have removed affected interior walls and insulation in all 14 suites at 4 Hemlock. Work is also being done at 12 suites at the Hemlock seniors' apartments, creating some disturbances for the elderly tenants. What bothers Gloria as much as anything is the lack of answers. She still does not know when the apartments will be completed and she and her neighbours can go on with life as usual. 'I understand that the places have to be renovated and fixed,' she says. 'However, we should have received fair warning: when exactly, how long exactly it's going to take. And none of that happened.' MLA Clarence Pettersen says he has not been told when the work will be finished, either. 'The hard thing about this is getting contractors that can do the job, and it's a busy time of year (for them),' he says. 'I wish they could work on it 24 hours a day and get it done, but there's restrictions, obviously.' Pettersen says he is well aware of tenants' concerns and has discussed them with Housing Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross. The MLA, whose mother once lived at the Hemlock seniors' apartments, calls the situation 'unfortunate' and 'frustrating.' 'No one deserves to have to put up with that, but in essence there's not much of a choice,' Pettersen says. To ease the stress of the renovations, Manitoba Housing has offered tenants of 4 Hemlock the chance to temporarily relocate to another apartment either within their building or at another government complex in the community. As of the latter half of June, according to the department, one tenant had asked to move out of a suite at 4 Hemlock. No seniors from the other building made such a request. Back at Gloria's apartment, the single mother says she was asked if she wanted to transfer to the Fairview Heights apartments on Channing Drive. Hesitated She has so far hesitated. Not only would there be a financial cost involved, the move would take her eight-year-old son, who has a developmental disorder, further away from his school. Gloria and her son have turned their living room into a makeshift bedroom, sleeping on couches. It's just easier since everything upstairs in the bedrooms had to be moved to accommodate the contractors. Her tone softening, she says she can cope with such bothers just fine. Her true concerns lie with her son, her neighbours' younger children and, across the way, the seniors. 'There's a point where if you come in and do what you have to do, that's fine. I think we can all handle it,' Gloria says. 'But for it to go on for months and months like this, I don't think that's fair for the tenant.' Manitoba Housing says tenants with concerns are always encouraged to contact their property manager, who is based in The Pas. Gloria says she has been in touch with Manitoba Housing but has not received the answers she feels she deserves. 'I don't think they're taking responsibility,' she says.
