Freeze on non-urgent evictions ends in August

Tenants with a plan to pay their rent should feel safe despite the Saskatchewan government’s plan to lift the ban on non-urgent evictions next month, the Saskatchewan Landlord Association says.

The provincial government announced Monday that landlords can forward eviction applications to the Office of Residential Tenancies starting Aug. 4. Eviction applications have been suspended since March 26 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our landlords will not be mass-evicting tenants just because the eviction ban has been lifted,” the association’s executive officer Cameron Choquette said in an interview Monday.

Choquette said the association’s membership is pleased the government has set a date for removing the moratorium, but would have preferred an earlier removal.

“Our members were looking for an earlier lifting of the ban,” Choquette said. “It’s pretty dire. We have lots of landlords that are really struggling with the (rent) arrears.”

An estimated $35 million in deferred rent is owed, Choquette said, which is really affecting small and medium-sized landlords. One Regina landlord Choquette spoke to Monday is owed $6,000, he said.

Only tenants that have deliberately withheld rent will be evicted, Choquette explained. Choquette could not provide an estimate on how many tenants might face eviction.

Justice Minister Don Morgan said in a news release that the removal of the eviction moratorium was appropriate, given that it was imposed to prevent the spread of COVID -19.

Saskatchewan’s success in halting the spread of the virus makes it time to lift the eviction ban, Morgan added.

The NDP Opposition responded with a statement from justice critic Nicole Saraurer saying the province needs a plan to ensure families that have acted in good faith do not wind up getting evicted.

Monday also marked another milestone in the province’s reopening plan with indoor pools and rinks, other indoor sports and performing arts venues allowed to resume operations. Casinos and bingo halls can reopen Thursday with new operating guidelines.

The Saskatchewan government reported nine new COVID -19 cases Monday since the last update on Friday as the province has now eliminated case updates on weekends and holidays.

The new cases increased the total provincial count to 805, although active cases dropped to 59 from 71 on Friday.

Three of the nine new cases are located in the far north region, two in the Saskatoon region and two in the south region. One new case was located in the north region and the other was reported in the central region, which has only seen 13 total cases and no new cases in two months.

The Regina region has not recorded a new case since May 31 and has not had an active case since June 16.

Four people were reported in hospital in Saskatchewan Monday, including one in intensive care in Saskatoon.

Active cases dropped to 35 in the far north region, which has registered the most cases at 338

of any of the six regions despite the smallest population.

Active cases in the south region, where an outbreak at two Hutterite colonies in the Rural Municipality of Maple Creek sparked a COVID-19 spike, dropped to 11 from a peak of 38 on June 26.

Eight active cases are located in the north region and four are located in the Saskatoon region.

Nearly 70,000 people have been tested for COVID -19 in Saskatchewan with 23,851 tests performed in the Saskatoon region, followed by 14,888 tests in the Regina region. Saskatchewan continues to trail the national per capita testing rate in Canada.

The province also announced Monday that it is increasing the commission paid to bars and restaurants that host VLT terminals. The ban on recreational activities in bars and restaurants, ranging from pool tables to VLTS, was lifted Monday as part of the government’s reopening plan.

The commission will rise from to 25 per cent from 15 per cent until Jan. 3, 2021.

The province’s VLT network was shut down on March 20 by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Commission as part of restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Businesses are paid the commission for providing space for the machines, as well as maintaining and cleaning them. As part of the reopening plan, operators must increase cleaning and maintain two metres of distance for those using VLTS.

SLGA contracts the Western Canada Lottery Corporation to operate the VLT network. There are about 4,200 VLTS in the province in 288 communities. VLTS generated $155.3 million in revenue in 2019-20 and revenues for site contractors were $32.5 million.