As requested, the original letter that promted the reply above, from a resident of the PMQ patch in Gagetown.
With the PMQs at CFB Gagetown being in the news a lot lately, I would like to share my experiences, as I have lived in military housing for 18 years. I also grew up in them.
They have gone downhill since they became the responsibility of the Canadian Forces Housing Agency.
When the military gave the houses over to CFHA, things slowly fell apart. I remember living in a house that was full of mould. It was growing everywhere - even inside cupboards, among other places. We were told to wash it and forget about it. Finally we had to get my husband's work involved to get us out of there.
The comment about the mould testing being time-consuming and not practical don't fly. I talked to some people who said they wouldn't mind the cost coming out of the PMQ fund. But the problem is, we have no say in what we want and don't want.
Mould is just one part of this whole disturbing trend. For those who don't know, CFHA has implemented a new "three-strikes and you're out" policy. Strikes include being close to disconnection on power, water or Enbridge Gas; not taking your outdoor car shelter down by summer; and parking on the lawn. If you get three of these, you will be thrown out of the PMQ. It's a military dwelling made for military personnel to live in. Yet they can throw us out.
My friend who is in Afghanistan right now received a letter over there this week saying if he didn't take his car shelter down, they would evict them. His wife had talked to CFHA weeks ago and they said because he was deployed, the rule could be bent until he returned. But this week his wife got a call from her husband saying they are being evicted because of the car shelter.
Once upon a time, living here was a dream. Your house was always looked after, no matter how small or big the project. These homes were affordable. The advent of the CFHA changed all that.
Now the CFHA is involved in monitoring whether we pay our bills on time. Have you ever heard of a landlord who is involved in every aspect of your life like that? CFHA is allowed to call the utilities to find out if you're behind in your payments. And if you are behind in paying, it's a strike against you.
Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous? Welcome to our world!
PMQs are suppose to be affordable living space for us, but they no longer are. Strikes here, strikes there. Driving by, you would think they are in good shape esthetically, but inside it's another story.
I have cupboards in my kitchen that I can't reach without a ladder and the paint used to come off on my dishes. I asked CFHA to redo my cupboards and was told I couldn't live here while it's being done. But I found out that some people have had new cupboards put in.
They sent someone to repaint my cupboards but they just painted over it and now the dishes stick to the cupboard.
I know these houses were built in the 1960s, but it's time to do the upgrading inside and stop with the upgrades outside.
People have actually started buying houses as it's just as cheap to buy as it is to rent a PMQ. Rent goes up every year and sometimes twice a year. CFHA keeps saying that it's comparable to housing in Fredericton. I assure you, the houses in Fredericton don't look like ours on the inside.
To letter writer John Wells: I don't know if you are or were military or not, but you don't know what you're talking about.
Mould is just scratching the surface. I could fill a whole newspaper on what happens around here. And yes, military people are still too nervous to ask for help from the media.
Courtney Wall lives in Oromocto. Send comments to
[email protected].
