NorthThe Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) prevented consulting giant Deloitte from selling 19 subsidized housing units designed for Indigenous tenants in Watson Lake, Yukon, and evicting the tenants. Units are housing for Indigenous people from various nations living in Watson LakeLuke Carroll · CBC News · Posted: Oct 28, 2025 3:42 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 28Listen to this articleEstimated 6 minutesOne of the homes Deloitte listed for sale in Watson Lake, Yukon. This was one of 19 units the company was proposing to sell, before the sale was halted by the CMHC. In 1998, Deloitte was appointed receiver of the units once owned by the Tintina Housing Society. (Luke Carroll/CBC)The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) prevented consulting giant Deloitte from selling 19 subsidized housing units designed for Indigenous tenants in Watson Lake, Yukon, and evicting the tenants. In late September, tenants in multiple public housing units in Watson Lake were informed that they may be evicted as early as January. They were later told that was no longer the case. “There was a lot of confusion with it — are we going to get evicted? Are the houses going to [be] bulldozed?” said Colleen Dennis, who has been living in one of the Tintina Housing units for over 20 years and raised her five children there. “It’s been stressful … where are we going to go?” Agnes Reid is another Tintina Housing tenant. She received a letter from Deloitte on Sept. 23 informing her that the units were being sold, meaning the future of her unit was uncertain. It also said if there were no interested buyers, she would be evicted no later than Jan. 1, 2026. “If a Notice to End Tenancy is issued… your house will be decommissioned by the receiver, and it will not be re-rented,” the letter states. On Oct. 7, Reid received another letter, this time from CMHC.“We want to make it clear that we do not support the receiver [Deloitte] carrying out the sales process, or issuing any eviction notice,” the CMHC said. “We are actively taking the necessary steps to challenge and stop this process as quickly as possible.” Then, on Oct. 17, Reid got another letter from Deloitte informing her that the sale “has been terminated” and the tenancy agreement remains in place.A street in Watson Lake this month. Tenants in multiple subsidized housing units in the town were warned in September that they may be evicted due to a possible sale. However, the CMHC intervened to prevent the sale. (Luke Carroll/CBC) The 19 homes had also been listed for sale and Deloitte was accepting bids before the listings were then taken down. Lauren Hanchar, the mayor of Watson Lake, believes there are about 40 tenants living in the 19 homes. Watson Lake is a town of just over 1,400. What is Tintina Housing and why is Deloitte the landlord?Tintina Housing consists of 19 homes scattered around Watson Lake.They were once owned by a non-profit called the Tintina Housing Society, which accessed federal funds to house Indigenous people living off-reserve, explained Robert Greenway, a manager of capital with the Daylu Dena Council in Lower Post, B.C., near Watson Lake. “On reserve, there was no housing and there was no place for low income rent in Watson Lake,” he said.He knows about the organization partially because the Daylu Dena Council looked into purchasing the homes to ensure the tenants weren’t left on the street.It’s not clear exactly why, but Tintina Housing Society was taken to court in 1998 by the CMHC which ordered the homes be taken over by Deloitte, as the receiver, and continue to be operated as originally intended. According to court documents, the recent proposed sale of the units was stopped because Deloitte would need court approval to go forward with any sort of sale. “CMHC opposed the sale of these homes and successfully requested a halt to the sale process. CMHC is now working towards a resolution that will achieve the goal of tenant stability,” wrote Leonard Catling, a spokesperson for the CMHC, in an email.“This work is ongoing, and we cannot provide further details at this time.”CBC News contacted Deloitte for details on the proposed sale, and what happens next. A spokesperson responded by email saying that they wouldn’t provide any details other than what was already publicly available from the 1998 court decision.“Deloitte Canada performs its work in strict accordance with the highest professional standards and takes very seriously the confidentiality requirements of the work we do,” the spokesperson wrote. “Tenants were informed at the outset that their tenancy could be impacted by the sale process but no formal notices to end tenancies were ever issued.”Not the first eviction by Tintina HousingAngela Miller is the former housing coordinator for Safe at Home in Watson Lake. She said the eviction of tenants from 19 homes in Watson Lake would’ve been devastating. (Submitted by Angela Miller)Angela Miller, a former housing coordinator in Watson Lake with the non-profit group Safe at Home, said evicting tenants from 19 homes would be devastating for the community. “A lot of the demographics that Tintina housed were First Nation folks, and a lot of them are First Nation but not from here,” she said. Miller said she knows it would be devastating because she worked with a former Tintina tenant who was evicted in March so her home could be renovated.“They basically said that she had to leave because the house was not maintained and it was going to be condemned,” Miller said. “She ended up getting a 30-day eviction notice because they were going to condemn her house.” Darcy Laverdure was the tenant of that home for over 30 years. She was informed by a letter that she was being evicted because of plumbing issues. “I don’t know anything about plumbing,” she said, adding it was the property owner’s responsibility to stay on top of repairs. Darcy Laverdure was evicted from her unit in March by Deloitte, due to renovations. She said the situation was stressful but she was lucky to get housing through the Liard First Nation, which she is a member of. (Submitted by Darcy Laverdure)Laverdure says finding a new house was very difficult on her emotionally. “Like, where are you going to go?” she said.Laverdure said she was fortunate that Liard First Nation, which she is a member of, set her up with a home. She said if other tenants were evicted, they likely wouldn’t be so lucky. Greenway, with Daylu Dena Council, said that’s why his organization looked into purchasing the homes. “If they’re going to be kicked out, there’s no place for them to rent,” he said.ABOUT THE AUTHORLuke Carroll is a journalist with CBC News in Yellowknife. He can be reached at luke.carroll@cbc.ca.
CMHC stops Deloitte from selling subsidized homes in Watson Lake, Yukon, evicting tenants
