Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Vancouver woman links eviction to being transsexual

By Charlie Smith, September 15, 2010

http://www.straight.com/article-346630/vancouver/woman-links-eviction-being-transsexual (http://www.straight.com/article-346630/vancouver/woman-links-eviction-being-transsexual)

A Vancouver transsexual has filed a human-rights complaint, alleging discrimination on the basis of sex, age, and disability after she was evicted from a downtown social-housing complex. In an interview with the Georgia Straight, Pamela Burge said she was thrown out of the Wellspring, which is at 415 Nelson Street, at the end of June. This came after the society that manages the complex claimed that she owed $1,355 in outstanding rent.

Burge, once a well-known broadcasting executive who went by the name of Tim Burge, has alleged that the real reason she was evicted was that the building administrator, Joanne Graham, did not like her because she is transsexual. Burge, 65, claimed that she did not owe any back rent, and that the society refused to acknowledge receiving her documentation of her income from social assistance and the Canada Pension Plan.

Without wanting to exactly call the woman a liar I think there has to be some question over this story.

I am a private landlord myself with over 15 years experience of the rentals game. At the height of our game, about 10 years back, Alison and I owned a portfolio of about 8 properties in the southwest.

In our experience tenants who owe rent will often claim all sorts of untrue things about the reason for their eviction. We've even been accused of evicting someone because of prejudice against their lifestyle - which we found rather amusing, given that the tenant in question clearly didn't know our own histories as they never dealt with us directly, but instead dealt with our employed manager.

By the same token I'm sure there are some discriminatory Landlords out there.

So I personally would caution against being too quick to takes sides on this one. The story MAY be true, but then again it may well not, and based on my own experience I would it say is just as likely not.

Not knowing the entire story it is hard to tell, if she has a case or not.  But proving discrimination is very hard without proof, in the form of documentation.

Quote from: Zythyra on September 16, 2010, 07:38:02 AM
Vancouver woman links eviction to being transsexual

By Charlie Smith, September 15, 2010

http://www.straight.com/article-346630/vancouver/woman-links-eviction-being-transsexual (http://www.straight.com/article-346630/vancouver/woman-links-eviction-being-transsexual)

A Vancouver transsexual has filed a human-rights complaint, alleging discrimination on the basis of sex, age, and disability after she was evicted from a downtown social-housing complex. In an interview with the Georgia Straight, Pamela Burge said she was thrown out of the Wellspring, which is at 415 Nelson Street, at the end of June. This came after the society that manages the complex claimed that she owed $1,355 in outstanding rent.

Burge, once a well-known broadcasting executive who went by the name of Tim Burge, has alleged that the real reason she was evicted was that the building administrator, Joanne Graham, did not like her because she is transsexual. Burge, 65, claimed that she did not owe any back rent, and that the society refused to acknowledge receiving her documentation of her income from social assistance and the Canada Pension Plan.

To me this is kind of an open and shut case, find out who was at fault dealing with the rent, did she follow all procedures and was the rent sent and just not accepted, or were the documents not correct or did the administration fail in following up with the rent issue?  It could be a case of someone dropping some paperwork turned into discrimination, however in the later part, calling someone MR, when they say they are MRS is rude and insulting and not respectful of a decent human being, if you were to do that with a GG woman she would slap you or stair at you angrily for a long period of time making you feel uncomfortable enough to finally say the proper thing, so that does show bias.