After a month without a working furnace, Saskatoon woman getting help to replace it

UPDATE: After CBC News initially published this story on Jan. 13, 2025, Laura Edna Lacey received a phone call from the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation saying her application for money for a new furnace will be approved. The article has been updated to reflect that information.

Laura Edna Lacey has been without a working furnace since Dec. 13, 2024, and has been struggling to get it replaced by emergency social programs.

Lacey has lived in her bungalow in Saskatoon for more than 20 years, but due to disabilities like chronic pain, she's been unable to work for the last 10 years and survives off Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID).

She said buying a new furnace is out of the question because she lives cheque to cheque.

"I might have $30 or $100 left at the end of the month or some months I don't. Some months I'm even using the overdraft in my bank account," Lacey said.

In the meantime, she is heating her home with a collection of portable heaters donated by a friend. Saskatoon's temperature has averaged -15 C since mid-December and has dipped as low as -33 C.

"I have the smaller heaters on the main floor, although I have to be careful to not use them too much because if you plug in like two in the living room and dining room at the same time, it blows the breaker."

Path to a new furnace

There are two paths Lacey could take to get the funding. One is the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation's (SHC) emergency repair program and the other is directly through SAID.

Lacey said the SHC initially denied her claim because in 2017 she applied and got money from an emergency program to fix structural supports in her basement.

Nicholas Blenkinsop, a lawyer at CLASSIC Law — which does free legal work for people experiencing poverty or injustice and represents Lacey — argues the emergency program Lacey applied to in 2017 and the current one are two separate programs.

"What the housing program said is that, 'because you got this within the past 15 years, we can't give you any more money,'" said Blenkinsop.

"My concern about that is that I've looked at the information about the program and number one, it looks to be a new program, number two … nothing in the law that creates the program appears to say anything about you can only get one grant every 15 years."

After CBC's initial reporting, the SHC reached out to Lacey to say her application for funding for a new furnace will be approved.

The other route is to go through SAID, which Blenkinsop said has an emergency benefit specifically for issues like Lacey's. He said she qualifies for it, but has been waiting for close to a month for a definitive answer.

"Rather than provide a response as to the benefit, the SAID program has sought to have my client go out to see if she can find financing that will allow her to pay for the repairs to the furnace," Blenkinsop said.

"They made this request in a situation where they know Ms. Lacey's financial situation, that she has no income and relies on social assistance for support."

Lacey said she told the Ministry of Social Social Services about her old furnace three years ago. She said she was immunocompromised at the time and scared that if her furnace went out she'd risk getting COVID-19 in a homeless shelter.

"I told the ministry the details of the medical stuff and the supervisors didn't even respond to my worker's email," said Lacey.

"I've been feeling ever since then, like, yeah, they don't care if I live or die."

Asked about Lacey's case prior to the SHC taking action, the ministry provided a statement.

"We are aware of the situation and have been reviewing options to address the expressed need," it said.

It said it could not provide further information due to privacy concerns.