Tenant with disability files human rights complaint against Winnipeg public housing project

A Manitoba Housing apartment complex designed to accommodate people with disabilities is the subject of a human rights complaint by a tenant who says she's being discriminated against based on her disability.

When it opened in 2012, the 37-unit rental property was heralded as a place designed to be barrier-free with enhanced accessibility that would improve housing conditions for people with disabilities. 

But it was built with only eight indoor underground parking spaces, while the remainder — about 40 spots — are outdoors.

Tenant Sandi Reimer moved into Place La Charrette on Pembina Highway in St. Norbert, just past Winnipeg's south Perimeter Highway, in December 2020.

Since then, she said she has documented numerous falls on snow and ice in the winter while using an outdoor parking space for her vehicle.

Reimer has a leg amputated above the knee because of gangrene after complications at birth, so she uses crutches for mobility most of the time. 

She filed a complaint with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission in January 2022, arguing she has been discriminated against because she has not been given one of the eight indoor parking spots.

Using an outdoor parking spot in the winter has led to problems. 

"I've had more than 100 falls. I've had more than 50 injuries. I've had more than 50 medical and treatment appointments. I've had to miss more than three weeks of work because of all the injuries and treatment appointments and time off for that," Reimer said in an interview.

"The impact of the injuries has meant a lot of lost time off work, which really bugs me because as an employee with a disability, I want to be dependable. I want to show up. I want to be fine. I want to be there when the important meetings happen."

While the property with 31 suites and six bungalows is owned by Manitoba Housing, it's managed by the not-for-profit Ten Ten Sinclair Housing Inc., which is the respondent named in the human rights complaint. 

Ten Ten Sinclair said Reimer is next on the list to get an indoor parking spot.

"I think that's not good enough," Reimer said, adding she just wants to be safe. "That's not accommodating. Nobody else is falling and getting injured."

Place La Charrette was funded by all three levels of government and opened as housing for low- to medium-income tenants that is accessible for people with disabilities.