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.
A small rent increase is drawing big opposition from many area seniors. Next year, rent at government-owned seniors housing facilities in Creighton, Denare Beach and the rest of Saskatchewan will rise slightly. 'We're going to again bring this issue forward, asking the (housing) minister to reconsider,' MLA Doyle Vermette, joined by opposition housing critic David Forbes, told seniors gathered at the Creighton Heritage Manor last week. The pending rent hike was a major concern as Vermette and Forbes hosted about 25 seniors at a town hall-style meeting on May 17. Saskatchewan seniors who live in government housing currently pay 27-29 per cent of their household income as rent. Next year, that number will rise to a uniform 30 per cent of income across the province, with the change taking effect in Creighton and Denare Beach on Feb. 1, 2014. Province-wide, seniors housing rents will be capped at $960 a month for a one-bedroom suite and $1,360 for a two-bedroom suite. The rent increase had Vermette and his elderly guests crying foul and accusing the Wall government of unfairly targeting seniors. See 'What' on pg. Continued from pg. 'This is what the issue (that) has been raised here (is), saying, 'If you raise our rents to 30 per cent, that's what we're paying now to survive here, it's too much on us,'' Vermette told the crowd. But Dianne Baird, executive director of the provincial government's Housing Network, said the increase will be minimal. She said 91 per cent of senior tenants in Creighton, Denare Beach, La Ronge and Air Ronge will pay less than $25 a month in additional rent. Baird said the figure of 30 per cent lines up with the national standard on housing affordability, and that the old system of different percentages caused confusion. She said seniors who receive a low-income subsidy from the province will not have those earnings count toward their rent total. In terms of overall rent, Baird said only five seniors in Creighton and the three other aforementioned northern communities pay more than $900 a month. For Vermette, there is no legitimate rationale for the rent increase. 'Whatever reason they're justifying it, we're just saying to them (rents) shouldn't be placed at 30 per cent, they should be left where they were or even lowered' because of other rising costs, he said. Seniors have already been hit with higher fees under the Wall government, said Vermette, mentioning a $5 increase in the Seniors' Drug Plan and an ambulance fee hike of $25. 'Individuals and families are contacting us and saying they're not happy with the way their grandparents or parents are being treated as seniors,' he said. 'The frustration is, people out there are suffering.' A different concern raised at last week's meeting came from Doug Gibson, who said Creighton needs a long-term care facility like Flin Flon's Personal Care Home. 'When you look at the census returns, the greatest increase in population is in the 50-plus age group,' he said. Another senior concurred, saying Creighton makes sense as a location for a regional care home that could draw tenants from places like Pelican Narrows. Other concerns raised included the impact on elderly couples when one must move to Flin Flon for long-term care, and the issue of smoking being allowed in certain areas of seniors homes. Vermette pledged to also bring those concerns to the provincial government. Rents for non-seniors living in government housing are also rising to 30 per cent across Saskatchewan. Creighton, Denare Beach, La Ronge and Air Ronge together have about 150 government housing units for seniors and non-seniors.
