Concerned citizens gather outside Saskatoon Accommodation Right office Thursday to pay attention to the living conditions and management style being provided.
“This is pure neglect. People cannot be treated like this,” said Dominika Kosowska, who lives in the SHA-managed building.
Kosowska, who shared her story with Global News in November, is dealing with a rodent infestation.
“SHA hasn’t come to see the apartment yet,” Kosowska said.
Kosowska traveled from Saskatoon to Regina in late 2022 to speak with the Minister of Social Services about the state of her apartment. He said that no step has been taken towards finding a solution.
“I never got any response, I never got any offer from them, nothing. It’s all just words, copy and paste, send the same email over and over again. No action is being taken,” Kosowska said.
“It is not just about the mismanagement and the dismissive, unprofessional attitude of the SHA managers and management, as regards the tenants and their substandard living conditions, but about the breadth and scope of the problem, which has been widely shared on various social media Looking at the posted responses, Saskatoon resident Paul Miazga said, “The sites of local media outlets are definitely in the public interest.”
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Protesters said the housing authority was subjecting immigrants, refugees and new Canadians to substandard living conditions.
However, living conditions seem to vary between buildings, as some long-term residents say they have had no problems with management or living conditions.
“I’ve never had a complaint,” said Donald Church, a four-year resident of the Saskatoon Housing Authority building.
“Whenever I had a problem, I would talk to him and he was very quick, very nice, very caring about getting it done.”
In addition to living conditions, the protesters also called for the units currently lying vacant near the SHA to be filled.
“We have homeless people sleeping on the streets, dying of the cold, when Sask. Housing has hundreds of vacant apartments and vacant houses and they’re not putting people in those houses,” Kosowska said.
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She said that after her story was heard in the legislature and spread on social media, she received thousands of comments from other residents saying they were experiencing the same thing.
“People need to be seen and heard,” Kosowska said. “I can be a voice for those who cannot.”
Kosowska said that the goal of the protest was to be heard by the SHA and for them to acknowledge the issue.
Global News has reached out to the Saskatchewan Housing Authority and is still awaiting a response.
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