What? You want me to kick someone out of their house?

There has been some uproar in the Canadian media over the last month about the Lebanese-Canadians who have not lived in Canada for years being rescued from Lebanon and brought here. What happens then? Suddenly, people feel, we are responsible for people who are only "convenient" Canadians and they are saying it isn't fair. I suppose that in theory I feel that a Canadian is a Canadian no matter what, and that it is the job of our government to help them out. But what sort of help are they giving these people? Is it "Here's a list of rental properties...have at it. You're on your own now." ? Because after today that's what I'm thinking might be going on.

The two weans and I were having a lie down on the sofa. Not very comfortable but you take what you can get when you have a week old baby. My doorbell rang, totally startling me. Had my door been shut I wouldn't have bothered answering, but when I looked up there was a man staring at me.

Brief explanation of my housing complex here. I am not quite in renters hell, it's sort of different. I don't want to say what it is called as I don't want someone googling places to live and ending up at my blog and knowing what I think of my neighbours (crazy, but that's another post entirely.) Anyway, there's a few of us around. Easy enough to figure out I suppose. It start with a co- and ends with a variant of operate. Used to be very popular amongst the rich in New York. You apply to get in, go through an interview process and are suppose to actually do a wee bit of work around the place to keep rents low. Which is all fine and dandy. About 40% of our units are subsidized, meaning a Canadian government agency pays part of their rent. I'd hate to call it low income housing, it's too nice a neighbourhood for that, but I guess it is for some people. Anyhoo, I'm guessing that Social Services has our name on a housing list, because as head of the membership committee all sorts of people phone me looking for a place...cheap and NOW!

Unfortunately, cheap and now do not come up often. Really, if you could pay $120 or even $400 for a very nice 3 or 4 bedroom home with a garage, would you be in a rush to move? Not likely. And even our full rent is extremely reasonable in today's market, so turnover isn't going on every month or every other month.

The other week some woman shows up at my door saying that her house has flooded and is now being condemned and she just talked to someone in the neighbourhood who told her we could help out people in emergency situations and could I get her a place like now? Like tonight? Ummm, well no. We have no vacancy, and although units are coming up over the next few months, we have an application process and a waiting list. She went on and on. I told her to come to a group interview on either Wednesday or Sunday and to fill out an application then and there. She shows up on the Wednesday, takes an application and leaves. She does not bring it back until Monday. Interviews are done and over, my credit checks are done, I am meeting with the board on Tuesday to finalize the waiting list. If she wants a place so badly why did not stay on the Wednesday? Feckin' eejit. And then she phones me this past Wednesday and says that she understands she is on the waiting list and her situation has become more dire. Well, no, you stupid twat, you weren't interviewed. Not my fault you lived in crappy housing with a crappy landlord. And here's a question for bloggers out there with more royal knowledge than myself..do Middle Eastern royalty use HRH? Because on her application her husband is called (HRH) blah blah some hyphenated last name. Like he's an exiled Saudi prince or something. Very weird.

So back to the man who showed up at my door. I do tend to wander, don't I? The first thing he says is "I am from Lebanon, my house was bombed, we are Canadian citizens, can you help me?"
Me: I'm sorry but we have nothing available.
Him: There is nothing at the end of the month? I was just talking to *someone who said there was, and you could help. (*This is probably the same woman who sent the crazy lady with the Saudi prince husband to my house.)
Me: No, I'm sorry, we just filled that unit.
Him: Can't you call them?
Me: (thinking "what the fuck?") No, I can't. They've already paid their deposit.
Him: My children have to go to school.
Me: I understand that, but I can't take their house back from them.
Him: Do you know of any other places? With subsidy?

I am at this moment wondering what this woman has told him, she knows way more than she should, there are certain people within this complex who can't shut up (not like myself, who just tells anyone with internet access.) I tell him about a neighbourhood up the road, but say I don't know what they have available.

Him: What will they be paying, these people?
Me: They aren't on subsidy, they will pay full rent which is $725 (Told you, pretty reasonable.)
Him: And you can't help me?
Me: No, I'm very sorry.

And I am, in a way, once I'm not pissed off about people showing up at my door during nap time. But it annoys me greatly that some people just expect to be helped out without question. We've plenty of them here, and I talk to tons of them on my phone. There are days that I want to say "Hey look I'm sorry you got knocked up and the father walked out and you couldn't be arsed to work but that's really not my fault." There are some people who just expect everything handed to them. I am not saying these two people who have come to my door recently would be like that, and as I look over this post I realize I totally went off on a tangent and didn't even talk about what the government should or could be doing for people coming over from Lebanon who may not have family to stay with. I can't even begin to imagine how they are even attempting it, considering that welfare is a provincial program, as is health care for the most part and that the majority of low income housing would be the responsibility of the municipal government. I can't see how they could all come together to make it as fair as possible in every city, in each province. How do you find them all housing and help them out with furnishings and expenses until they are able to work? It seems extremely difficult to me and we should all be very grateful that I am not the Canadian government otherwise we would be in a crazy mess.