Marilyn is asking you to trust her on home ownership

Earlier today, Marilyn Gabriel, Tumia Knott, and Les Antone sent a memo to the community saying that there was a miscommunication about their plan to take over all rent-to-own homes. They wrote that: “those tenants in s.95 units with the option to own their units still have that option; that option and the conditions that apply to it have not been changed. We again sincerely apologize that there was confusion and concern caused by the communication shared at the meeting yesterday on this. We will work to correct the misunderstandings.”

However the memo they gave band members yesterday was unambiguous:

These changes are reflected in the new housing agreements they are asking reserve residents to sign. Previously, agreements had this section - indicating if it was a rental or a rent-to-own:

That box makes no appearance on the new rental agreements. You can read the new version by clicking here. As part of the new rental rules, people must sign the new agreements by the end of day tomorrow, or they will be evicted and must leave with 48 hours notice. Also, as part of the new agreement, Marilyn and her gang can make any changes they wish to the agreement at any time.

In sum, the meeting yesterday, the memo yesterday, and the new rental agreements all show that Marilyn has ended rent-to-own. The only thing suggesting that they aren’t is a panicked memo, likely written by Tumia, telling the home-owners they misunderstood.

If Tumia and Marilyn were serious - they would put rent-to-own back on the agreements, formally rescind the memo they gave band members yesterday. They haven’t done that - instead, it’s their usual promise of private meetings where they’ll try and convince you to take their word for it.

There is a reason 90% of Kwantlen voters, voted these people out. Kwantlen’s Band Council will meet tonight at 6pm to discuss this issue and look at resolutions for it.

Click here to join that meeting.