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The state of the Angus Apartments prior to the December fire
was no stranger to government or the courts |
The paper trail of actions taken towards the ownership of the Angus Apartment building would seemingly be a fairly comprehensive one, already noted for a string of violations with the Residential Tenancy Branch, the property owners were as things appear also somewhat familiar in a court of law.
A walk down memory lane of the British Columbia court systems indicates that the controversial apartment building, which was consumed by fire in December and now has been deemed uninhabitable was the focus of a March 2021 Court Case
One which had the City of Prince Rupert seeking action against the property owners.
Though as that trial would evolve, the city's efforts on enforcement came up a little short, that owing mostly to the language related to the bylaw offence it appears and the Municipal ticket that was issued.
The core elements of the case, as noted below, made for the judgement in favour of the property owners, in the court of he Honourable Judge D. Patterson on March 25th, 2021
Being a strict liability offence, if the City of Prince Rupert had proven beyond a reasonable doubt the two elements of the offence set out above, the onus would have then shifted to the Angus Apartments on a balance of probabilities to prove that it had a recognized defence at law, such as due diligence; mistaken set of facts; officially induced error; or necessity.
The difficulty I have from the admissible evidence at trial is that I do not know with certainty where the City of Prince Rupert real property line ends and where the real property at 1127 West 2nd Avenue, begins.
Based on the evidence given by the bylaw officer, including the tendered photographs, it appears as though the unsightly and overfilled commercial type garbage bin and the majority of the garbage, or perhaps all of the garbage, which I agree is unsightly, is actually in the back alley on City of Prince Rupert property.
There was no admissible evidence led as to whom owned, rented or controlled the unsightly garbage bin. It may have been rented and placed on the City of Prince Rupert property in the back alley by the Angus Apartments or some other entity, I do not know.
Therefore, while the cause of the unsightly mess may be the overfilled garbage bin, by its own Bylaw, it appears as though the City of Prince Rupert is responsible for making sure the back alley area is not unsightly.
Perhaps the City of Prince Rupert should have cleaned up the mess and sent the Angus Apartments the bill for the clean up. Alternatively, perhaps the City of Prince Rupert should have charged the Angus Apartment under a different bylaw. I do not know. That is not what I am here to decide.
Going forward, the overfilled garbage bin and the unsightly mess around it may continue to be a regular pain in the side of the bureaucrats at City Hall to deal with it, but for the reasons set out, I have acquitted the Angus Apartments on this particular Municipal Ticket Information. So it is dismissed.
The full ruling for the case can be reviewed from the Court Archives here.
The court case from 2021 perhaps offering some guidance for the city for future bylaw infraction action and one which foresaw the ongoing frustration that the property had delivered for many over the last year or so.
That would not be the only engagement between the property owners and the city, as indicated from some news coverage from the Aboriginal People's Television Network last month, which highlights the trail of Residential Tenancy actions that had been taken on the structure.
Bylaw or Tenancy issues however were not the main focus for the APTN piece from January 26th, but rather the fate of the residents of the December fire and that account indicates that things have not improved in the quest for alternative housing for the displaced residents.
The Indigenous Television Network coming to town to take note of the fire, along with the lack of certainty for the now former residents, as well as to document some of the ongoing challenges in finding affordable accommodation in Prince Rupert.
Included in their review, was the sad note of passing of one of the former tenants at the Angus Apartments, elder Irma Bolton, who passed away in late January.
Of interest from their report is that the temporary housing that had been arranged for the residents of the Angus was to come to an end on January 28th, one suggestion being that one of the few options left for for the residents was a provincial program which would provide funding to relocate them to another community.
Also significant from their reports, a lack of reply from municipal or provincial officials towards APTN's enquiries to the topic for the January 26th report.
"APTN contacted the City of Prince Rupert about the displaced residents, but they did not respond to our emails.
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice’s office did not provide a statement before this story was published."
The news story one providing for a glimpse towards how bureaucracy at a number of levels seemingly is an impediment more than anything else to constructive action on housing concerns.
The entire report from APTN can be reviewed here.
The City has not made much mention of the status for the residents since the night of the Fire when the public were advised that the City's Emergency Services Program had been activated.
The topic of the Angus Apartments did come up in passing at the January 10th council Session, that related more towards an inquiry related to the progress for the City's Renoviction Bylaw more than anything else.
Likewise, the accounts of the December fire and the road ahead for those dislocated have faded from the political Social media pages at both the municipal and provincial level.
To this point, there's also still no clear indication as to what recourse the former residents may have at the moment to find alternative accommodations, or what if any other programs may be available to assist them.
We'll keep an eye out should the storyline change and update as required.
More notes on housing in Prince Rupert can be explored here.
