Regina refugee facing eviction from public housing unit
A refugee in Regina is caught in a web of government red tape that could leave him homeless. He is facing eviction from a public housing unit because he doesn’t yet qualify for a social insurance number and other documentation.
Mousen is a refugee who worries that a sheriff could come knocking on his door any day now to evict him.
“I’m terrified. I’ve been homeless like maybe four times,” he said.
He arrived in Canada as a student but had to drop out due to health issues. He can’t safely return home where he was twice jailed.
“It’s because being gay where I came from is illegal and I’ve been through many things there that required me to leave there at 17 years old and come to Canada,” he explained.
Mousen’s permanent residency pending, the Ministry of Social Services has placed him in a government housing unit but he says Regina Housing is trying to evict him over paperwork requirements.
“I haven’t heard back from CRA or RCC. My application is being reviewed but Regina Housing will not wait,” he said.
An eviction application and appeals have twice been heard in court. A judge’s decision is pending after the latest hearing this week. If he loses, he’s back on the street.
“The sheriff told me that they will come right away because they marked my eviction as a serious circumstance,” he said.
In a written statement, the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation says, “All tenants are required to provide current income information to the housing authority.”
Mousen says Social Services had done that on his behalf but Regina Housing wants a tax assessment notice which he does not yet qualify to receive.
He doesn’t know what will happen if he is evicted but he says he is glad to be in a city and in a country where he feels safe.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Loblaw leaders push back on 'misguided criticism' of grocer as boycott begins
Loblaw's new chief executive, as well as chairman Galen Weston, pushed back on what they called 'misguided criticism' of the grocer as a push to boycott the company gains steam online.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
There's a limit to how much interest rates in Canada and U.S. can diverge: Macklem
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canadian interest rates don't have to match U.S. or global rates, but there is a limit to how much they can diverge.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.