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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Tenants involved a nearly year-long legal dispute with their Union of Northern Workers landlord possibly face another daunting task - paying the union's legal bills.

Tenants and a passerby with the gate through the Union of Northern Workers fence earlier this year. Effie Clark, left, was recruited off the street to test the padlock on the gate. With her are tenants Annemieke Mulders, Michele LeTourneau, and Kathryn Carriere – all three of whom are locked into a court appeal of the NWT rental officer's order to provide access through the fence. - NNSL file photo

On Monday, NWT Supreme Court Justice Louise Charbonneau concluded the hearing into the UNW's appeal of a pair decisions by NWT rental officer Hal Logsdon by directing the tenants and the union, if they wish, to seek costs after her decision on the appeal is made.

The UNW is appealing the rental officer's orders to provide street-side access to apartment units in the 52 Street union headquarters, either through the building's main entrance or through a parking lot fence on the west side of the building. Logsdon ordered the union to provide access after receiving complaints from three tenants, Michele LeTourneau, Kathryn Carriere, and Annemieke Mulders, after a fuel spill on the neighbouring property in March 2011 caused a sidewalk from the street to apartment entrances at the back to be blocked off.

The union eventually complied with the rental officer's orders by erecting a gate through the parking lot fence but appealed the rulings in Supreme Court, arguing the rental officer lacked jurisdiction to order the union to provide access. Charbonneau hasn't issued a decision yet but the implication that tenants may have to pay legal bills piled up by the union should the judge award costs doesn't sit well with at least one tenant.

"First of all, we didn't bring an action against the union. We had to defend the rental officer's decision so it would be ludicrous for us to pay costs for an action they brought forward," said Carriere, who has raised $5,050 from donations to fight the appeal.

"As for our costs, the lawyer will be going for costs set up through a process formula - personal costs and preparation costs - and we'll have to meet with each other. I'm not sure about the legal process for that and how its done. Annemieke, Michele, and I will discuss that and figure out what our options are from there."

Carriere couldn't speak to how much she has already paid in legal fees as her lawyer has yet to submit a final bill.

"Most of time landlords have deeper pockets than tenants and this wasn't right and it boiled down to the rental officer's jurisdiction and it wasn't our fight," said Carriere, who has been living at the UNW building for 11 years.

"I'm just really grateful that it's almost over. I hope we can go back to living and working in the same building without hostilities."

Union lawyer Austin Marshall said it was too early to talk about awarding costs.

"Costs will get dealt with after the court delivers their judgment so at this point there isn't anything we can say about costs," said Marshall, who noted it was up to the union to decide if it wants to pursue them.

Marshall wouldn't say how much the union will ask for should it wish to pursue a motion for costs.

"It's in the judge's hands now so we're looking forward to how the judge deals with it," he said.

Barbara Wyness, a public relations and research officer for the UNW, said the union had no comment to make regarding the case when contacted by Yellowknifer.

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