Adamina Partridge has been living in a Kativik Ilisarniliriniq-provided apartment in Dorval since October. She said the apartment was “unliveable.” (Photo courtesy of Adamina Partridge)
‘Such a mess’: Botched school transfer leaves Inuk student without home or school
Adamina Partridge faces eviction from illegal basement dwelling Kativik Ilisarniliriniq found for her
A Nunavik beneficiary student living in Montreal is facing homelessness and has been un-enrolled from her studies because, she says, Kativik Ilisarniliriniq mishandled her file.
“It has been such a mess, so disorganized,” Adamina Partridge said of the school board’s post-secondary sponsorship program that should be paying for her tuition and housing.
“Everything has been done on a whim on [KI’s] part, and it really just messed up everything in my life.”
Partridge moved into her student housing — an apartment in Dorval — in October 2024 when she started a business program at West Island Career Centre.
Within the first few weeks of living there, Partridge realized the unit was “basically unliveable,” she said in an interview.
The apartment was infested with mice, there were problems with mould, and at one point her bathroom flooded with sewage.
“I threw a load of laundry and I guess that was the last straw for the whole plumbing system,” she said.
A picture taken in March shows mice droppings in Adamina Partridge’s apartment. (Photo courtesy of Adamina Partridge)
While the landlord worked to mitigate the problems, Partridge inadvertently found herself entrenched in a much bigger situation when trying to access her mail.
Upon investigation, she learned her apartment was not registered with the City of Dorval and was, in fact, an illegal rental unit.
Partridge’s apartment, a basement unit in a townhouse duplex, goes against the city’s zoning bylaws that do not allow dwellings in a cellar or basement. Once the city was made aware of the problem, it sent an eviction notice to Partridge’s landlords.
The notice, dated Feb. 24, was passed along to Partridge on March 10. Now, she has until March 26 to vacate her unit.
“I am very curious to know exactly how and when that [lease] agreement was made,” Partridge said.
Under typical circumstances, Kativik Ilisarniliriniq would be responsible for finding Partridge a new place to live.
But partway through the year, Partridge decided to transfer to a similar program at the University of Montreal, which caused a whole different set of problems.
West Island Career Centre gave Partridge guidelines about how to go about with the school transfer, which led her to be un-enrolled from her program too early.
This led Kativik Ilisarniliriniq to temporarily revoke her sponsorship Jan. 15 under suspicion of fraud. She appealed the decision on Jan. 29 but that appeal was rejected two days later, on Jan. 31.
On Feb. 5, Partridge asked the school board’s appointed ombudsperson, Caroline Lemay, to get involved. According to Lemay’s report on the situation, which was provided to Partridge Feb. 24, West Island gave “unclear and misleading guidelines” about how to transfer her studies.
At the time, Partridge had been accepted to the University of Montreal, but due to her sponsorship being revoked she had to drop those classes as well.
Her sponsorship was reinstated Feb. 11. In a letter from Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, provided by Partridge to Nunatsiaq News, the school board blamed “miscommunication on both sides.”
By then, though, Partridge, who was un-enrolled from both schools, was ineligible for support offered through the sponsorship, including housing.
Kativik Ilisarniliriniq spokesperson Jade Bernier declined a request for an interview about the situation and offered a written statement instead. She did not explain how the school board enters into agreements with landlords in Montreal.
This is the aftermath of a sewage backup in Adamina Partridge’s bathroom. She moved into the apartment in October 2024 and quickly found numerous issues with mould, mice and plumbing. (Photo courtesy of Adamina Partridge)
“In an apartment rental market where affordable housing is scarce, we always strive to find the best available options,” Bernier said in an email.
“Before entering into a lease agreement, [KI] always visits the premises to assess its general condition and determine its suitability.”
Bernier said building code compliance is the responsibility of the landlord.
Nunatsiaq News contacted the building’s landlords via social media, but they did not respond.
Meanwhile, Partridge is downsizing by selling her furniture and trying to find a new place to live. She said she is going find a job and is considering studying part-time on her own dime.
Call the big bosses at KSB , Makivik Health Board or KRG.
What else should we expect from an Inuit Organization that hires 95 percent of non Inuit. Those in Power will do nothing because they do not want to bite the hand that feeds them. It is no longer an Inuit Organization for the Nunavik Inuit but a brother hood of Non Inuit. They too know how to play the game and play with the Inuit. They’ve been doing that since they arrived to these lands and it will not change.
Just like Nunavut.
No longer Inuk.
Hello is 2025 stop be in the pass in look for good future stupi?
2nd class citizens who pay just as much if not more taxes than the avg Canadian. Only people the school board benefits is the descendants of colonialists.
Her housing situation is unacceptable, but she also gets free housing and university, while the rest of the students are taking huge loans and working part time just to survive. How is that second class?
Living in an illegal, mould and rodent infested hole can hardly be classified as first class though?
Pretty common for students who are living off pennies and dimes to simply take the cheapest housing option possible. Like many, I experienced this in Montreal as well during my postsecondary years. Still completely unacceptable.
Not the first instance. I lived in a mould infested apartment where my neighbours roof was caving in and my belongings where growing mould as a result. I sent pictures and recommended that KI stop giving the unit to any other students that fell on deaf ears. I