Crying child at centre of dispute between Yukonstruct and caf: court filing

A dispute between the Yukonstruct makerspace and the caf in its Whitehorse headquarters is now before the Supreme Court of Yukon.

Documents filed Thursday by Yukonstructdescribethe court action as the culmination of a year-long saga involving arguments over noise, thecafowner's crying child,andYukonstruct members reportedly threatening to cancel their memberships at the non-profit.

Yukonstruct's petition to the court isaimed at forcing The Poor Creaturecafto vacate its building. The non-profit, whose mission is to foster entrepreneurship,argues that the caf's lease expired last weekand the business has simply refused to leave.

Thecaf has been open all week.

Last month, The Poor Creature owner Brioni Connolly said the decision about her lease seemed tocome out of nowhere, and that it left her in the lurch.

Yukonstruct's court filing suggests Connollyshould not have been surprised.It alleges shedidn't give proper notice of intent to renew the lease, as required by her tenancy agreement.

The petition also saysYukonstructwants to reconfigurethecafintoa common workspace for its other tenants so The Poor Creature has got to go.

It's asking for the court to issue a writ of possession to Yukonstruct, which would allow the non-profit to enforce an eviction.

Connolly's lawyer Vincent Larochelle says Connollysimply wants more time to find a new location, and Yukonstruct is being inflexible.

"She's asking for six months, but not a hard deadline of six months ... she's already looking and if she finds something earlier, she's gonna move out," Larochelle said.

He also says Connolly believes the lease has been renewed, and she's still paying rent.

'Not sustainable or healthy'

Yukonstruct's board of directors and executive director Lana Selbee sent a letter to the organization's members on Thursday, explaining the decision to not renew The Poor Creature's lease.

"We did our best to work with our tenant to come to a mutually acceptable agreement, but despite our best intentions, we were unable to do so," it reads."This relationship was not sustainable or healthy."

In a sworn affidavit, Selbee describesthatrelationship in detail.

It says the newly-opened makerspaceworked hard last year to accommodate and support Connolly's fledgling business, and help her get it off the ground by spendingabout $50,000 onimprovements to the space, to "suit Connolly's needs."

In Selbee's telling, the problems began on The Poor Creature's first day open last December. She says Connolly and her partner Traolach Murchbrought their young child to thecaf, and noise was immediately an issue.

"Their child seemed unsettled and upset and cried and screamed from approximately 7 a.m. until noon," the affidavitreads.

Selbee said some Yukonstructmembers complained, sayingthey had trouble working. Thosecomplaints would continue in the coming months, butConnolly and Murchwere unresponsive, according to Selbee.

There were more periods of crying, "usually measured in hours," the affidavitreads.

"While I could hear their child crying and screaming, I felt very uncomfortable and was not sure what to do, as I had clearly told Connolly it was an issue," it says.

Months of emailswould follow between Selbee, Connolly, Murchand other Yukonstruct staff and board members about the noise issue, butSelbee says those discussions went nowhere. She said memberscontinued to complain, and some threatened to cancel their memberships if the "constant crying and screaming" continued.

According to Selbee, Connolly and Murch chose toportraythemselves as victims.

"They have responded by suggesting that the complaints amount to harassment and that the complainants and Yukonstruct are discriminatingagainst women entrepreneurs and children," heraffidavit reads.

Lawyer Larochelle says Connolly is preparing to file a response to Yukonstruct's petition.

"My clients feel that the messaging of Yukonstruct and their narrative is disingenuous. They are looking forward to putting their version of the facts out in the open," said Larochelle.

"Both Brioni and Traolach have their story to tell, and it's certainly a different one than the one that we've been hearing from Yukonstruct."