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.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
'What have we done?' Lawyer describes shock at possible role in Trump's 2016 victory
A lawyer who negotiated a pair of hush money deals at the centre of Donald Trump's criminal trial recalled Thursday his "gallows humor" reaction to Trump's 2016 election victory and the realization that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to the win.
Conservative MP says Chinese hacking attack targeted his personal email
A Conservative MP is challenging claims by House of Commons administration that a China-backed hacking attempt did not impact any members of Parliament, because the attack was on his personal email.
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.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
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.
'Giant-killer' Kazushi Kimura to race in Kentucky Derby this weekend: 'I'm representing Canada and Japan'
Six years ago, at age 18, Kazushi Kimura left his home and family behind in Hokkaido, Japan to chase a dream. This weekend, he'll ride in the Kentucky Derby.
President Joe Biden calls Japan and India 'xenophobic' nations that do not welcome immigrants
President Joe Biden has called Japan and India “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, lumping the two with adversaries China and Russia as he tried to explain their economic circumstances and contrasted the four with the U.S. on immigration.