Winnipeg apartment complex seniors sweltering with no air conditioning

Seniors at a Winnipeg high-rise say the property management company refuses to tun on air conditioning amid a heat wave. Joseph Bernacki reports.

Seniors at two apartment complexes in Winnipeg are sweltering in the high temperatures and they say their property management company is not providing any relief soon.

The heat wave has been very difficult for 89-year-old resident Richard Dorge and his 82-year-old wife, Laurence.

“Now I know what hell is, that was hell,” Dorge said.

The Dorges live at a St. Boniface apartment complex called Chateau Guay. With temperatures rising to the mid-thirties over the past week, it’s been a test to stay cool with no access to air conditioning.

“The doctor told me not even to go outside,” Dorge said.

“(My doctor said), if it’s over 25, because my heart won’t be able to pump enough oxygen. It was 40 in here.”

Dorge has a serious heart condition, and his wife recently had a stroke. Mobility concerns make it hard for them to pick up and leave. On Tuesday it was more than 30 degrees inside their apartment.

Their grandson Christian Boisjoli checked in on them this week.

“They don’t have options to, let’s say, go to a neighbour’s house or go to a different home because the mobility is not there,” Boisjoli said.

“They can’t drive, and they’re literally just stuck here with no options.”

Dorge complained to Edison Properties but was told he and other tenants would have to wait until June 1. They are not the only Winnipeg seniors living in the heat.

Over on Pembina Highway, Adele Asplund has lived on the 12th floor at Adamar Manor for the past three years.

She is currently waiting for her second hip replacement and that limits her. She said management at Edison Properties told her the air conditioning will not be turned on just yet.

“My apartment is 95 degrees (Fahrenheit) inside,” Asplund said.

“We get no air conditioning, and it’s so hot it makes you ill to your stomach.”

A provincial spokesperson referred CTV News Winnipeg to the Residential Tenancies Act which says in part,

“Air conditioning units or forced air is not required in rental units.”

“There is no specification for cooling and the temperature settings for heating do not apply when the heating system is shut down.”

The province said tenants can reach out to the residential tenancies board with complaints. In the meantime, these seniors are stewing.

“I would’ve never thought they could do this,” Asplund said.

“They call us their valued tenants. They don’t value us.”

CTV News Winnipeg reached out to Edison Properties for a response to the concerns raised by tenants over the extreme heat. We have not yet heard back at the time of this report.