‘Deplorable’ conditions at Regina’s Coachman Inn highlighted by social services client

WATCH: Advocates are voicing their concerns over the conditions at a Regina motel being used to house social services clients. Angela Stewart has more.

Sonya Scales has been without permanent housing for weeks. She and her 13-year-old daughter have been homeless in Regina since June and are currently relying on social services for housing.

Scales says she was put into a room at the Coachman Inn through social services. However, her suite came with a few surprises. None of them were good.

“The conditions were deplorable. Before I even walked in, there was people asking us to buy crystal meth. We opened the door and the smell was so sickening,” she explained.

Scales claims she and her daughter noticed cockroaches and bed bugs throughout the room.

“As soon as I entered the room, the cockroaches are visible and they’re climbing on the furniture. The mattress is so black. Cockroach and bedbug feces,” she said.

Ivy Kennedy serves as a councillor on George Gordon First Nation. She describes herself as an advocate for social services clients. She is also Scales’ mother.

She told CTV News she’s only begun hearing these types of concerns within the last decade.

“In 1985 or [19]82, when I first started in community, we didn’t have the cockroaches or the fentanyl issue at the time,” she said.

Kennedy and other advocates would either like to see the hotel be shut down permanently or taken off the list of accommodations for clients.

“They got to do something. This government has to take this off that list no more, and that’s what we want,” she added.

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts sent to your device

When asked about Scales’ claims during an event in Regina on Wednesday, Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck expressed worries that the hotel was still being used to house social services clients.

“I thought that the Coachman was closed,” she said. “Honestly, it’s my first response. All people in this province deserve dignity and deserve respect. I think this is the baseline.”

In a statement to CTV News, the ministry of social services said it implemented a process last March to obtain quotes from at least three hotels when securing accommodations in Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw.

“Rooms have been booked at the Coachman Inn and Suites through this process when appropriate. The ministry balances cost effectiveness, safety and availability, and expects service providers to meet health and safety requirements,” the statement read.

“If a client has a health or safety concern regarding the room, we will look to secure alternate, available accommodations as we work with the hotel to address those concerns.”

CTV News reached out to the Coachman Motor Inn for an interview. However, the hotel’s owners declined to comment.

A request for comment was also submitted to the provincial health inspector.

In a statement to CTV News, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said inspections were completed at the motel on Aug. 18 and Aug. 26.

“Recommendations were provided to the building’s owner. The SHA is currently working with owner to comply with The Public Accommodation Regulations and The Public Health Act, 1994.”