Regina woman alleges school construction damaged home
It's the change of heart one Regina woman was hoping for.
Monnell LaBelle, who alleges construction at nearby Sacred Heart Community school caused damage to her home, will not lose her insurance coverage after all.
LaBelle lives across the street from the school. When the ground broke for the new construction projects in the community, MLAs and the school board came together to celebrate the positive change for the area.
Problems follow construction
LaBelle first moved in to the neighbourhood in 2000.
But after two years of work, she said her home was rattling apart and deteriorating under the stress of the construction and no one would listen to her claims.
When heavy machinery was working, she said the impact was severe for her home.
"I was sleeping and lath and plaster was falling on my head when I was sleeping. I woke up screaming because it landed in my face. I had a big scratch and cut down my face," said LaBelle.
LaBelle said she has heard from neighbours that they have also experienced damages since the construction started, but none have come forward.
"They said 'Monnell, who listens to us? Look at where we are, no one cares about us'," said LaBelle, who lives in north central.
Warren McCall, NDP MLA for Regina Elphinstone-Centre, said his office has been working with LaBelle for close to a year.
"The thing that concerns me is that we've been working alongside Monnell to try and get some straight answers from the different partners and it's been disappointing — the merry-go-round that she's had to endure," said McCall.
Insurance provider changes its tune
A claim filed to her insurance provider, Aviva, to repair the damage to her home was denied in October 2016. The refusal stated that her policy did not cover any "earth movement." A letter sent on Feb. 10 from her provider stated that "after careful review and consideration," they were discontinuing their coverage.
However, after first going public with her story — while facing the termination of her insurance policy on March 20 — Aviva has made an offer to continue its coverage for her.
Jason Galon, general manager of Galon Insurance Brokers, says he heard from Aviva Wednesday morning stating they were reviewing LaBelle's file.
"We do have coverage in place for now," said Galon. "We did come to a coverage solution with her current insurer Avivia, they are going to continue coverage for her home for renewal in March."
From Galon's perspective he said although the damage in LaBelle's home coincides with the construction of the school it's not yet definitive if the damage to her home is due to construction.
"Can I say for sure it's the construction or if it's settling and moving of the Regina earth we're built on? I can't say for certain," said Galon.
During her struggle to find insurance and repair her home, LaBelle went to the Ministry of Education and the Regina Catholic Separate School Divisions with her concerns.
In an e-mail from Oct. 11, 2016 Don Morgan, minister of education, advised Labelle to work with her insurance company and said "the school divisions are ultimately responsible for the management and completion of projects."
Domenic Scuglia, director of education for Regina RCSSD, said the division insurance policy will deal with Labelle's claim and that they are currently investigating.
