Dozens of seniors left in lurch when motel where they live is forced to close
CBC
The back veranda at the Airport Inn on the outskirts of Fredericton is strewn with digital lights and lanterns, coolers and gas-powered grills.
Mae Wyile has lived at the motel for 17 years and said it doesn't normally look like this, but right now, it's the only way they can manage.
The electricity was disconnected for the 25 units at the motel on Friday, with well water cut off too. On Saturday, the building's owner, Yingchun Su, began distributing letters asking residents "to find alternative accommodations as soon as possible."
After days in the dark, Wyile said, the conditions are getting desperate.
"Now we're sitting here, with no power, no water, trying to flush our toilets," she said.
"Some of them have diabetes, some of them have walking problems, some of them have circular problems. Some of them are still in the hospital and don't even know about this."
She said people are trying to keep their spirits up, cooking together with propane barbecues, but there are safety risks too.
"People that are on diabetes have got to take shots, [which] have to be be cold. It's not cold, it's warm. They'll take shots that are warm. It's a devastating thing for all of us."
Wyile and her neighbours at the motel, who are mostly seniors, are now in search of a new place to live.
But finding comparable rents like the Airport Inn — rents start at $530 a month and no damage deposit is required — will be difficult, if not impossible.
Wyile said the residents can't afford the prices that are out there now.
"We don't have it. We don't have that kind of money. We're pensioners."
An inspection by the Department of Justice and Public Safety identified "significant safety concerns" at the Airport Inn earlier in this month.
In a statement, the department said the property owner was issued orders to comply regarding the building's electrical system, but "since the necessary corrective actions were not taken by the specified deadline, power services to the property were disconnected."
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