A First Nations woman from Burnaby, B.C. has filed a human rights complaint after she was evicted for holding a traditional smudging ceremony indoors.
The ceremony, which involves burning sage in a dish and sweeping the smoke around one's head and body, is a traditional practice among many of Canada's indigenous peoples.
But Crystal Smith says her landlord, Parminder Mohan, won’t let her do it in the apartment she’s renting.
"I'm being forced to move because my landlord is not allowing me to practice my spiritual ceremonies," Smith, a single mother from Burnaby, told CTV Vancouver.
So Smith says she's filing a complaint with the province's Human Rights Tribunal, in hopes that this does not happen to others.
"The human rights complaint will create grounds for indigenous tenants to say, 'You can't evict me because there is this case,'" she said.
Smith's landlord, Mohan, first noticed her activities from the house's upstairs apartment in March, and mistook her activities for smoking drugs.
"He smelled it and I got a text message saying that I smell marijuana," she said.
Smith invited Mohan into her apartment to explain what she was doing, but that didn't change his mind.
"My upstairs suite is totally full with all the smoke," Mohan told CTV Vancouver. "I almost passed out. I actually had to stumble out." He added that he had fans running "24-7" at the house, and that the smell "doesn't go away."
Smith received a letter two days after her encounter with Mohan, informing her that she had breached the conditions of her tenancy contract.
An arbitrator at the city's residential tenancy branch ultimately ruled in favour of Smith. However, Mohan continued to pressure her, issuing three eviction notices after the ruling was made.
"I naively thought that, after the RTB decision, that he would abide by their decision, and he hasn't," Smith said.
Smith is now turning her attention to her human rights complaint.
"I'm moving, but that doesn't mean I'm giving up," she said.
With files from CTV Vancouver
