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Barbs exchanged at rental board hearing

At a rental board hearing this week, the Yellowknife Housing Authority sought to claw back $42,000 in rent from a woman they say owned an Ontario home and was therefore ineligible for public housing.

Over three hours of hearings, the board heard a tense back and forth between previous tenant Judith Shoniwa and Yellowknife Housing Authority program officer Aya Burshan, about whether cosigning her sister's house constituted ownership.

Judith Shoniwa and her daughter Lindsay at Lahm Ridge tower on Feb. 28, defending an allegation that Judith Shoniwa misled the Yellowknife Housing Authority on an public housing application form.   Avery Zingel/NNSL photo

Judith was joined by her daughter Lindsay Shoniwa, her daughter Lindsay and community advocate Gail Cyr, all donning bright pink clothing and earrings for Pink Shirt Day — dedicated to anti-bullying.

At times the proceedings became chaotic with both Judith and Burshan exchanging jabs across the floor.

"We gave her a unit she wasn't entitled to," said Burshan.

The housing corporation's program tenant relations manual stipulates that, "any applicant who currently owns a house within the NWT or outside the NWT is not eligible for public subsidized housing."

Failure to disclose the existence of her Ontario home was a misrepresentation of the facts, Burshan told the board.

"We believe that she accessed public housing under false pretenses. If we would have known that she owned a home, she would not have been eligible for public housing," said Yellowknife Housing Authority CEO Bob Bies.

"We just want to make sure the general public understands that public housing is for those who need it. We want to serve those who really generally need our help," he continued.

Judith said she received a spot on the public housing list because she was fleeing physical assaults and death threats, even going so far as to obtain a restraining order against her abuser.

"He had threatened me 30 times, he wanted to kill me," she said. "I was transferred to a women's shelter.”

Because she was fleeing domestic violence, she rose to the top of the wait list based on the board's point system, Judith told the Yellowknifer.

Burshan argued this did not entitle her to public housing.

"Just because there was a domestic violence occurrence, which is unfortunate, is not grounds for housing," she said.

In an e-mail exchange between Judith and the housing authority, she wrote that she felt, "harassed and traumatized," the board heard.

Precious said she needed a cosigner to beef-up her credit and qualify for her Ontario home mortgage.

“I was the primary owner and Judith was the cosigner. Judith was just a name to help me get a mortgage," Precious told the board.

A decision is yet to come down from the rental board.