Angela Wilson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 31/02) - Friday afternoon Kathy Rene was silently protesting, sitting at her kitchen table, watching the clock and waiting to find out if she and her four children would be out on the streets.

She has been refusing to move out of the Aurora College dormitory because she has no where else to go.

Rene says she's tried to find other accommodations, but the lack of available housing in Yellowknife has made it nearly impossible.

Rene's decision not to move out of her campus apartment comes after a push by Aurora College representatives to evict her because, according to the college, she is no longer a student.

Rene, who moved to Yellowknife from Hay River to attend the nursing program through Aurora College, says she was served with a notice of eviction about two weeks before July 26. However, having no where to go, Rene decided she would remain in her apartment for as long as she could. At approximately 4:20 p.m. Friday, two representatives from Aurora College arrived at Rene's fourth floor apartment and served her with an application to the rental officer, which means her complaint with the college will now go into arbitration.

The saga began when Rene finished her second year of a nursing program offered through Aurora College.

The next step in Rene's education is to complete a preceptorship (a type of internship) before she can write her nurse's exam. Rene wanted to do her preceptorship at Stanton Territorial Hospital but was told there weren't enough positions available. She said she was told she would have to move back to Hay River and then come back to Yellowknife in January.

Rene said she moved back to Hay River last summer and the costs to move herself and her four children back again this year are prohibitive.

Can't affort to move

She said she tried to tell college representatives that she has no family back in Hay River and no vehicle and the costs to move were too much for her but said the college wasn't willing to listen.

"Where should I move me and my four kids?" she asked. "If I go back to my community I don't qualify for income support. I have no where to go. I don't have family here."

Sophie Dennis, a support worker with the Yellowknife Women's Centre, said the situation with Rene isn't one that's uncommon.

"This situation's not a new one," she said. "A lot of families have not succeeded due to a lack of support and planning by the college. There's an unwillingness to accommodate the needs of Northerners and their families. This isn't new. It keeps happening. There's no support system to help them get through."

Dennis said everything has been dropped in Rene's lap.

"Basically, she has three options: go to Inuvik to do her preceptorship there, go back to Hay River and do it there, or go to Hay River until January and then return to do her preceptorship. It's all left to her to find a place to live and seek out the resources she needs. The letter (from the college) says they've done as much for her as they can yet she's still without a place to live."

All calls to Aurora College were directed to Tim Gauthier, manager of public and corporate affairs, in Fort Smith. Gauthier said he couldn't comment on the situation because rental agreements are covered under privacy legislation. When asked if he was aware of Rene's allegations, he said he couldn't comment one way or the other.

"I could not comment on whether (her allegation) was true or not. Should this wind up in court, we wouldn't have wanted to commented specifically on this woman's case," he said.