The shíshálh Nation is going to court over a dispute about the lease of the Pilothouse Marina in Pender Harbour.
The marina, on shíshálh land known as SBL 19, on Sexwamin Street in Garden Bay, is owned and operated by former NDP candidate Morgane Oger, who ran in Vancouver-False Creek in the last election.
Oger and her business partner, Judit Haranghy, hold the lease from the shíshálh Nation.
They were served with an eviction notice in June and given until July 31 to vacate. In a notice of civil claim filed that day in B.C. Supreme Court, the shíshálh Nation’s lawyer says Oger and Haranghy owe $31,788.71 in back rent. The claim also asks the court to award a further $74,029.66 for “prospective loss of rent owed as lease revenue and foreshore revenue arising from the unexpired portion of the term.”
Tenants in cabins on the property and the marina’s moorage clients have also been caught up in the eviction notice.
One Pilothouse tenant who contacted Coast Reporter noted the awkward timing of the shíshálh Nation’s move, which came “in the middle of a busy season when there is little or no chance of finding affordable housing.”
Another tenant, Peter Vaughan, who’s lived in the Pender Harbour area since 1993, said he’s been able to move in with his brother for now but has also been left in a tough spot when it comes to finding affordable housing.
“It’s very difficult, and in the summer – impossible,” he said, adding that he’s also lost the deposit he made on the cabin. He said if the tenants had been given at least until the end of August to move, it would have made a big difference.
Vaughan also said the potential loss of dock space in Pender Harbour as a result of lease cancellation could hurt the local economy because the area is already short of space for boaters.
When contacted this week, Oger chose not to add anything to her earlier comments on the situation (see Coast Reporter, July 20). Oger said she had not yet seen the statement of claim or discussed it with her lawyer.
In an email after the eviction notice was issued last month, Oger said: “The Pilothouse Marina has been for sale for some time. Because the marina operates on leased Sechelt Band lands, permission is required from the Sechelt Band in order to transfer the leases on which the sale of the marina depends.
“A number of interested parties were presented to the Sechelt Band with real and signed offers. All offers were either rejected by the band or rescinded citing delays and contractual concerns... The Pilothouse Marina is working with our lawyers to settle this issue with the Sechelt Band in a manner that meets the best interests of all parties.”
The shíshálh Nation provided an emailed statement through its lawyer: “The shíshálh Nation is the registered owner in fee simple of the lands in question. Morgane Oger and Judit Haranghy entered into a lease, as tenants, for the lands whereby they agreed to pay rent yet failed to do so,” the statement reads.
“The Nation, as landlord, has therefore terminated the lease and filed a lawsuit for non-payment of rent against the tenants. The Nation will be pursuing those remedies available to it under the laws of British Columbia. No further comment will be made as the matter is now before the court.”
This isn’t the first time Oger and Haranghy have been served an eviction notice by the shíshálh Nation under similar circumstances.
Court documents from a 2015 suit between Oger and Haranghy over a line of credit taken out to support the business show that in March 2013 shíshálh Nation had also served an eviction notice over claims of overdue lease payments.
Those court documents also indicate that in April 2013 Oger had drafted a proposal to sell the Pilothouse Marina to the Sechelt Indian Band for $718,000. Nothing came of it, and the line of credit was used to cover the lease payments and keep the business going.
