The owner of the Travelodge says there is “no reason to believe” that the conditions caused the death
A mother who lost her two-year-old son earlier this month thinks that dirty living conditions at the Ottawa motel where she and her five children lived last summer may have caused his death.
Gloria Luhaka and her five children, including twin toddlers, have been living at the Travelodge by Wyndham Ottawa West on Carling Avenue for the past seven months. They left the Democratic Republic of the Congo because of the violence there.
The City of Ottawa put the family up at the motel, which is one of the places the city uses when shelters are full. Like many people who have stayed at these kinds of motels, Luhaka doesn’t think they meet basic standards for health and cleanliness.
“I give some of my food to the mice. I give the mice some of my son’s milk “Luhaka said this on Tuesday in a French interview.
“Where is the Canada I almost died for?”
Tuesday, Radio-Canada went on a tour of the Travelodge and Luhaka’s two connected rooms.
Conditions were not typical for a chain hotel. There was an outside window that couldn’t close all the way, a space heater to make up for the lack of heat in the room, a dead mouse and an insect in a mouse trap, exposed insulation in the ceiling, dirty carpets in the rooms and hallways, stains on the walls, and a strong, bad smell in the air.
Conditions probably caused the child’s illness: CHE
Brantly, Luhaka’s two-year-old son, was taken to CHEO, the children’s hospital for eastern Ontario in Ottawa, on Feb. 26 because he was having trouble breathing. A hospital social worker sent an email to River Coun. Riley Brockington, which was shared with CBC. The email said that the child got five viruses and eight different kinds of bacteria.
A family representative said that the little boy died in the hospital on March 8, 10 days after he was admitted.
“It is not clear if Brantly’s living conditions caused his illness (autopsy results are coming soon), but it is likely that environmental factors in the family’s living space contributed to Brantly’s illness,” said a letter from a CHEO social worker dated March 14.
“He was a healthy child who had never had any known health problems.”
Luhaka told reporters on Tuesday, as she wiped away tears, that her son followed her everywhere because he couldn’t stand being away from her for even a few minutes.
“He was mommy’s son for sure,” she said. “What rights does Brantly have?”
Luhaka talks about the motel in this video:
A motel says it has nothing to do with the death of a toddler
The motel’s owner, Holloway Lodging Corporation, has a chief operating officer named Robert Sherman. He said the company is working with the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Public Health to make sure the motel meets “all applicable regulations and expectations of authorities.”
“We have no reason to think that the hotel’s living conditions had anything to do with this terrible event,” Sherman wrote in an email to CBC.
Sherman said the hotel has a “pest problem” and that the company has hired a company to take care of it. He also said that the company is aware of the need for maintenance and is taking care of it.
The city put the family up in the hotel and said it will look into how things are at the Travelodge.
Paul Lavigne, who is in charge of housing on an interim basis, said that city staff will talk to affected families and work with partners to “make sure that any concerns are identified and dealt with.”
In a written response to CBC, Lavigne said that the city is also giving Luhaka’s family grief and mental health support, as well as financial help.
An advocate says there are many “Glorias” in Ottawa
In 2019, Ottawa’s auditor general, Ken Hughes, told the city to stop using motels and find cheaper ways to house people for short periods of time.
At the time, Ottawa paid an average of $3,000 per month for a family to live in a motel, which was much more than the going rate for similar places to stay.
Brockington, whose ward includes the Travelodge, told CBC that most motel rooms are not set up to house a family for longer stays. For example, Luhaka’s room is one of many suites that don’t have a kitchen.
He said, “They might have a microwave and a very small fridge, but they can’t cook meals.”
Hector Addison, who runs the African Canadian Association of Ottawa as its executive director, said that Luhaka’s family is not at all unusual in Ottawa.
He said, “There are lots of Glorias all over the city.”
“Transition homes are supposed to be temporary, but we often see people living in motels for six or seven years in the city.”
Addison wants the city to work with more local organizations to build more affordable housing. He said that the plan would not only give families better places to live, but also save money in the long run.