B.C. flight school dropout still refusing to leave dorm, 2 years later: Court case

A flight school in Pitt Meadows, B.C., is taking a man to court for remaining firmly grounded at its dormitories for more than two years after he stopped being a student there.

The Canadian Flight Centre’s petition to B.C. Supreme Court seeks an order for Saifeddin Rajab Falah Aldara’in to remove himself and his belongings from the dorms, as well as a permanent ban of his re-entry to the premises.

It also seeks payment for the time he spent there beyond July 2, 2021 — the date he withdrew from his classes.

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Global News knocked on Aldara’in’s door on Thursday. He covered his face from the camera and declined to comment, beyond stating, “the final case will be in the court” and he could not answer questions.

The petition alleges that Aldara’in signed a student accommodation agreement with the Canadian Flight Centre on June 24, 2021, and withdrew from his classes a little over a week later.

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He has refused to leave ever since, and the centre claims he has been “uncooperative with and aggressive towards employees and representatives,” and has “exhibited hostile behaviour towards employees and students.”

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Aldara’in has further been late with rental payments and reportedly disputed other charges, including utility fees and cleaning fees, the petition states. On various occasions, it adds, he has tried to deny other people entry to the dorm and gone so far as to tamper with the building’s outdoor locks.

Anna Serbinenko, chief flight instructor with the Canadian Flight Centre, said Aldara’in came to Canada on study permit based on him enrolling at the flight school. She said he informed them of his plans to leave the school and pursue something else, but once he did, he never left the dorm.

“It’s sometimes hard for international students, especially, to find accommodation because they cannot always commit to a one-year lease, and not always have the flexibility, and sometimes also looking for more affordable accommodations,” Sebinenko told Global News.

The flight school’s student accommodations are meant to eliminate that challenge for them and while the school often accommodates a “transition period” for students who are leaving, Aldara’in was “not just refusing to leave but almost barricading himself” in, the flight instructor added.

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It has been distracting for other students who share the dorm and it means another student who needs accommodation is missing out, Serbinenko said.

Eventually, the school ran out of options and sought “help from the professionals” for what she described as an “unprecedented situation” for the organization.

The court petition, filed Feb. 2., claims Aldara’in is not a tenant as defined by the Residential Tenancy Act and is now trespassing, with the Canadian Flight Centre having lost revenue as a result.

The document states that if Aldara’in intends to respond to the claims, he must do so within 21 days of being served or by another date set by the court.