MOOSE JAW — Frustrated with the reported lack of action on behalf of the Government of Saskatchewan following an earlier request to have a local senior’s and low-income housing unit sprayed for cockroaches last November, a group of High Park Towers residents have decided to reach out for answers.
Their voices were heard by Carla Beck, the leader of the Saskatchewan NDP and official opposition to the ruling Sask. Party government, who — along with two Moose Jaw NDP representatives — visited the High Park Towers on the morning of Aug. 14.
“We’re joined behind us here by some seniors who live in High Park Towers here in Moose Jaw,” Beck announced. She was joined by Melissa Patterson, the Sask. NDP candidate for Moose Jaw Wakamow and Cheantelle Fisher, the NDP nominee for Moose Jaw North.
“These towers, of course, are owned, they’re operated, (and) they’re overseen by the Government of Saskatchewan.”
Beck described the plight of these same residents who travelled to the Saskatchewan Legislature building in Regina to initially report the infestation issue last November. Since then, she said, the cockroach issue has gotten worse.
“It’s so bad in the building behind us that public spaces have been taken over by cockroaches… and in many private apartments, seniors told us they can no longer store food or enjoy a meal without fear of cockroaches being in their meal,” she said.
“These are conditions that are simply unacceptable, especially for seniors,” she then added.
One High Park Towers resident, Patrick Overs, said he’s been living in the building for seven months after moving there from another cockroach infested apartment in Moose Jaw which he was hoping to finally put behind him.
“I know we’re low income… but we still pay our rent, and the rent money is supposed to be going into pest control,” he said. The rental agreement, he explained, clearly includes a clause where renters must agree to allow any pest control measures to take place — and is something they would have all agreed to.
Current pest control measures, Overs and his fellow tenants explained, appears to be focused on band-aid fixes rather than a comprehensive solution. Instead of doing a comprehensive top-to-bottom spray of the entire building, management follows a “zigzagging” strategy that addresses only one location at a time. Later that day, for instance, the plan was to spray only the front entranceway near recycling bins and a limited run to the back entrance.
Many of these calls, Overs said, rely on tenants checking traps and reporting any bugs they find.
“You have elderly people that live here, and they can’t get on their hands and knees to check the traps. How are they supposed to check their traps?
“Get the situation dealt with. That’s all were asking,” Overs said. “We’re not asking you guys to give us the moon. We just want… a safe, pest free area to live.”
Until the situation has been resolved, residents claim to feel trapped in deplorable living conditions with no option but to ride it out.
“As my friend Brent (Patterson) was saying to the cameras… most places won’t take you if they know you have (cockroaches),” Overs said. “You have to be clean of cockroaches for six months before they will even think about taking you so, even if you had an alternative, you’re stuck here for six months.
“If you’re low income, you’re trapped. You have no alternative,” he added. “It’s extremely frustrating.”
Brent Patterson, a senior resident of the High Park Towers who has had cockroaches in his suite since last November, also shares this feeling of frustration. He claims to see around 10 cockroaches on average each day and said he constantly feels exhausted and tired.
“I have four kids and 13 grandchildren,” he said. “My kids don’t come and visit, nor do my grandkids… That’s my home, but yet (I was told to) have my grandkids meet me somewhere else… That plays hell on a person.
“I don’t know what else to do except for sit and wait for these two guys to come and spray my place,” Patterson said.
The Moose Jaw Express has reached out to the office of Moose Jaw North MLA Tim McLeod, the minster for mental health and addictions, seniors and rural and remote health for comments on behalf of the Saskatchewan Party. Due to a medical leave, McLeod was unavailable for comments on short notice but if possible will be included in the next edition of the Moose Jaw Express if a response is received.
