MONTREAL -- Tenants in some of Montreal's co-ops say they've noticed a concerted effort by their board of directors to bar certain types of people from moving into their buildings.

"In the past, they've rejected single mums and I freaked out," said Sascha Astles, who has lived at the Coopérative d'habitation Milton Parc since 2009, adding she's been on the co-op's selection committee three times. "One year, I said, 'what are you doing? You can't do that, that's discrimination. They said, 'no, we want a nuclear family.'"

Astles recalls recommending an apartment be given to a young Moroccan family with twins that applied for a home a few years ago.

"I said, 'what about that family?' 'Oh no, no, no, no, no. Do you see the kids bouncing off the walls?' I said, 'that's what kids do,'" she told CTV News.

Astles says she's never seen a non-Caucasian family make it to the second round of interviews.

'I'm just really disgusted at everything," she sighed, noting of the building's 32 units, there are five families that identify as people of colour.

One mother, who asked to keep her name anonymous for the privacy of her daughters, claims not only was she rejected for an apartment with Milton Parc, she was expressly told she did not fit the ideal criteria.

"They told me, 'we want a family with a father, a mother and young children,'" she told CTV News, adding that she has teenage daughters, one of whom lives with a disability.

She says when the home she applied for was given to a "traditional" family with a young child, she filed an official complaint.

In its investigation, the Human Rights Commission revealed there indeed was evidence of discrimination in the handling of her application, but it refused to provide free legal representation.

Now, the mother says she's getting ready to plead her own case in front of the Human Rights Tribunal.

AN ONGOING PROBLEM

Center for Research Action on Race Relations (CRARR) Executive Director Fo Niemi notes he is aware of several examples of discrimination in co-ops.

"Old and disabled people's civil rights violations are also our concern when there are systemic dimensions involved," he said.

He notes he has seen individuals refused homes because they are people of colour, single parents, older, a person with disabilities, English-speakers or have older children.

Sherma, who sat on the board of directors of the Co-opérative des Moissons in Montreal's Sud-Ouest until she was voted off in December 2020, claims numerous people have been turned away, or not considered at all, for apartments in her building because they are either English-speaking or people of colour.

"They are supposed to call everybody, but they do not. To be honest with you, they discriminate a lot against minorities and play favouritism," she told CTV News. "I know this for a fact. The majority of the apartments are rented out to the board of directors' friends or family."

Sherma says she has recommended several people of colour be approved for apartments in the co-op.

"One selection committee member said when she receives English letters, she says 'why would we take them? They won't speak with anyone,'” she claims. "I know two Black people that have applied, one of whom I personally sent the application for in 2017-2018, and neither person was ever contacted."

She alleges that when a young Haitian woman with an infant petitioned for a home in the co-op, the selection committee quickly nixed her application.

"They said, 'why would we give her an apartment? She has no furniture,'" Sherma states.

One member on the board of directors of the Coopérative d'habitation Tiohtiake in Griffintown notes she has also noticed a subtle effort to curb certain kinds of people from moving into that building.

"They've been refusing a lot of demands," she said, asking for anonymity to avoid backlash from members. "Some of them are immigrants, some of them are old."

DIFFICULT TO PROVE

Co-ops are supposed to have bylaws and policies in place to govern their day-to-day management, including "equitable and consistent household selection procedures that are in compliance with applicable legislative and human rights requirements," explains Audrey-Anne Coulombe, senior media relations officer for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

If these standards are not upheld, the only recourse for someone who believes they may have been discriminated against in the co-op application process is to file an official complaint.

"If a person is not chosen for a co-op because of a forbidden ground of discrimination, they could then file a complaint with the CDPDJ," said Human Rights Commission Communications Officer Meissoon Azzaria.

"They will have to demonstrate that the ground of discrimination, for example sex, presence of kids, ethnic origin, etc., has contributed to the decision of excluding that person."

However, these cases can be very difficult to establish, she notes, and even if there is enough evidence to prove discrimination, that does not mean the Human Rights Commission will offer its free legal services to an individual appearing before the Human Rights Tribunal.

Azzaria states for the Commission to represent someone, the case must adhere to these six criteria:

  • The situation is one of systemic discrimination;
  • It is a recurring situation or part of a larger dispute requiring remedy in the public interest;
  • It raises a complex issue of fact;
  • It raises a complex or novel issue of law that would require the specialized services of the Commission;
  • The victim does not have legal capacity or proper representation;
  • There is an imbalance of power between the parties with respect to their legal representation.

Without adequate documentation and proof, Azzaria adds it is unlikely that a person's case could proceed.