“I just want to see my grandbabies,” read one of the signs that lined the protest held by Twelve Elgin and Centreville non-profit housing tenants on Sept. 9, referring to the bed bug and cockroach infestation that is keeping their families away from the building.
They set out from Elgin Street, some walking, some by cab (provided free by Aaron taxi) heading to the 120 Larch Street head office of Luxor Management Inc. to protest what they say is inaction by the company, though they are currently under an Order to Remedy by the City of Greater Sudbury.
The tenants' complaints about their building and its manager also include allegations of bullying by staff and lax security leading to assaults and trespassing.
It’s the same situation for the tenants from Centreville, with one exception: the elevator in their fifth-floor has been inoperable for eight months.
With signs that read “Do your job Luxor” and “Luxor, show respect for seniors,” the tenants at the event are deeply concerned about the pest issue at Twelve Elgin.
Luxor, for its part, maintains there is not that serious a problem, and it’s only made that way because of inaction or lack of co-operation from tenants.
Detailed in an email received at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 9, in advance of the 2 p.m. protest, Luxor president, Jay Mancini, told Sudbury.com the Twelve Elgin non-profit was “in excellent condition, inside and out.”
“As of September 3, 2025, Twelve Elgin currently has six (6) cases of active bed bugs, and four (4) of those six (6) tenants did not prepare for their last treatment,” he wrote. “There are currently two (2) cases of active german cock roaches, and each of these two (2) tenants did not prepare for their last treatment.”
Mancini wrote that tenants that are not compliant with the “Act” are in breach of their lease. “The Landlord, and Luxor, as their Agent, are controlling everything they can, adhering to all laws. We cannot, however, control a tenant's behaviour or their living habits. The weekly pest control program will remain in place, on an as-needed basis, with the end objective, to have zero units with pests,” he wrote to Sudbury.com.
Across the street from the protest, in front of another Luxor-managed property, St. Andrew’s Place, four counter-protesters stood with signs that said “I love Luxor.” They told Sudbury.com they had been living at St. Andrew’s Place for several years and had no issue with Luxor management whatsoever.
They denied Luxor had asked them to counter-protest, saying their only motivation is their “love of the company.” They said that Luxor always replies promptly to requests for spraying, and arrives within a week to take care of the matter. Sudbury.com asked about their personal experiences with bed bugs or infestation, to which the counter-protesters said they’d had no issues.
When asked how they knew about Luxor’s response to pest control and maintenance issues if they themselves have not had any issues with pests, the four counter-protestors paused, then stood silently, until one woman said, “We heard.”
Luxor Management Inc. responds
Near to these counter-protesters was “Joey,” the property manager at Twelve Elgin. He was identified by the tenants and agreed to a short interview with Sudbury.com, despite not returning two calls in the past. We still do not know his last name as he refused to tell us.
He told Sudbury.com “when it comes to any sort of pest control, it is the landlord's responsibility to provide treatment, of course, but it's also my tenant's responsibility to prepare for that treatment,” he said.
When asked if there was help Luxor Management could give to the seniors at the building, he replied, “It's an Independent Living building,” but wouldn’t explain exactly what he meant by that.
Joey also blamed Twelve Elgin tenants’ association head Steve Tysick for inciting tenants against Luxor.
“You can't keep everyone happy in a building with 155 people. I do what I can to keep the place under control with what’s in my jurisdiction,” Joey said. “The tenants, I know a lot of them have grouped up behind a single individual which have caused issues in the building. So this is kind of his way to fight back at Luxor best he can.”
When asked specifically about allegations Luxor staff bully tenants, including tenant association leader Steve Tysick, Joey would not comment. In the statement provided to Sudbury.com, Luxor said Tysick is being evicted from Twelve Elgin, but wouldn’t provide any reason why.
“Mr. Tysick is being evicted from Twelve Elgin, via LTB Court Order, on October 10, 2025,” said Mancini in his statement. “I cannot share any details, but I can confirm much of what he produces is without merit.”
When asked about his impending eviction, Tysick said he feels he has been targeted by Luxor as a whistleblower since he began complaining about the state of the building to the board of directors in 2024. He also feels he is being targeted by the company for reporting the former maintenance manager,Gary Hirtle, for allegedly sexually assaulting a tenant. Hirtle is now facing sexual assault charges. That case has only just started to work its way through the courts.
Tysick said he began hearing from tenants last year, and in September 2024 he sent a letter to the board of directors detailing his concern. He requested a meeting, which they declined. You can find more information about that letter in Sudbury.com’s story here.
Tysick has also called the fire department about what he sees as a lack of fire safety, as evidenced by a tour he gave Sudbury.com that showed some exits are blocked for those in mobility devices, and that during our tour on Aug.13 there were no posted fire codes or safety instructions.
It was this past April that Tysick said a tenant confined to a wheelchair came to him with allegations of sexual assault against Hirtle, the maintenance manager at Twelve Elgin.
From that point, Tysick said Luxor began to escalate their interactions with him.
“They’re trying to get me, get under my skin and trick me into getting physical,” he said.
He told Sudbury.com he believes that he is being watched on the security cameras in the building, and any perceived infraction is noted.
He is currently speaking with a lawyer, and has paid his rent each month but for September. “Of course I paid,” he told Sudbury.com. “We can’t afford to live anywhere else in this town.”
But it was clear from the statements and the chants at the protest that the residents are very concerned about their home, and their alleged treatment from Luxor.
Many of the tenants have told Sudbury.com that they fear speaking to Luxor representatives. At the protest, a woman approached tenant’s association co-leader Bill McElree to ask his advice on her situation. “My oven is sparking,” she said. “But I’m scared to tell them.”
We have included the full Luxor Management Inc. statement below.
When asked in reply if the statement meant Mancini would be open to interview with Sudbury.com, he declined. “I have provided a written statement, in response to your article, for your readers, which is an appropriate method for this type of media,” he wrote.
Elevator issues still plague Centreville
Lawrence Lachance, maintenance manager at Centreville, was leaving the Luxor building during the protest, and so Sudbury.com asked for an interview.
Lachance said he had been “doing this (job) for 12 years and the last two or three years it's gotten progressively worse. It's just the attitude. They need to help us help them.”
Lachance said the elevator was a “full replacement,” because the elevator was leaking fluid every month. “The water that's accumulated around that cylinder will let go, and that elevator will drop and anyone near the door will be cut in half,” he said.
Lachance said he was the one who pushed the Centreville board of directors to replace the elevator.
He felt the timeline was clearly communicated to the tenants and when asked when the elevator would be working, Lachance said there was “supposed to be a site meeting” later this week, and building managers were waiting for TSSA to come and do the inspection.
Centreville property manager Corey Vaillancourt told Sudbury.com Aug. 15 it would be done at the end of that week.
Lachance also said if the elevator had failed, “it would have been two years, maybe more,” before it was working, and he felt it was one tenant who was “a big thorn,” over the issue.
He clarified he was referring to Andrea, and pointed at Andrea Gustafson, who has spoken with Sudbury.com several times.
“You've got an individual over there that claims that she's handicapped and she's not. She's a big thorn,” he said.
Gustafson told Sudbury.com she is disabled and showed us her disabled parking pass. The medical condition that effects her joints comes with “good days and bad days” and she needs to occasionally use a cane. More than that, she told Sudbury.com her health is “not the maintenance manager’s business.”
When asked about the protest, Lachance said he understood the tenants' frustration, as he too was having to use the stairs to complete his maintenance work. But regarding the bugs, he, too, blamed the tenants.
He said he recently told a tenant that she needed to get a mattress cover, even if she didn’t have bedbugs. “It’s $40 and I know she can afford it.”
Sudbury.com asked about considerations for disabled and senior tenants who may not have the physical capabilities to move their furniture away from the walls or to pack all of their property into bins for examination or spraying. He said Luxor would be happy to help, but tenants would have to pay a fee.
“It would be about $150 bucks, he said.
If a tenant is not prepared for spraying, Luxor has stated in writing that they will be charged $130 for each missed appointment. This is the case for both Twelve Elgin and Centreville.
He said there are also issues with tenants in his building who have mental health issues, including one he refers to as a “hoarder.”
“I tried to reason with her,” said Lachance. “I said, you gotta help me help you. In essence, if you can't do what you need to do to get this under control, then I gotta go and start the process of getting rid of you. I don't want to do that. Nobody wants to do that.
“I’m scared myself because I gotta go into these units and I'm scared,” he said. “I don’t want to take these bed bugs or cockroaches home.”
The two people identified by Luxor as the inciting tenants of the issue are both the leaders of the tenant’s associations at their respective buildings.
Full Luxor statement
Below please see the full statement provided by Luxor Management Inc. Please note, at the beginning of the statement, Jay Mancini states Sudbury.com has never attempted to contact Luxor for their side of the story. This is patently untrue.
As part of our coverage, Sudbury.com has contacted Luxor Management Inc. as a company by phone on three occasions without receiving an answer or a call back. As well, Sudbury.com has contacted the property managers of both buildings twice each, only one of whom spoke to us, prior to this story. As part of our efforts to cover this story, Sudbury.com has also twice contacted the leasing company, Mallette-Goring, which shares a building with Luxor Management at 120 Larch Street, the location of the protest yesterday.
To date, we have received no response from Mallette-Goring.
Sudbury.com has also reached out to each member of the board of directors. We initially received “no comment” answers from each person we spoke with, before an email addressed to West’s office was also cc’d to Sudbury.com, offering their version of events.
We detailed that email in a story.
Hello Jenny and Sudbury.com,
We were not contacted to provide any information, therefore, I'm submitting a formal statement in response to your article this morning. Please distribute it to the Public via UPDATE or a NEW Article, at your earliest convenience, and advise via reply-all to this note.
Since 1977, Luxor Management has been a leader in the property management industry, hired by private owners and non-profit organizations to manage their building(s). Luxor is a proud Community Partner who works closely with Police, Fire Services, Paramedics, all public servants and fellow property owners.
Twelve Elgin Housing Corporation and Centreville 1&2 Non-Profit Inc. have always been in compliance with S.4.15 of the City's By-Laws, the Residential Tenancies Act and the Pesticides Act with regards to pest control. Twelve Elgin and Centreville are both independent living facilities, that charge below-market rent rates, which is defined as affordable housing.
The Board of Directors that governs these two (2) non-profits invest a significant budget towards pest control treatments, however, in many instances, it's the behaviour and living standards of some of the tenants that promote pest infiltrations into their apartment unit. As per the Residential Tenancies Act, the Landlord must pay for licensed pest control treatments and the Tenant must prepare their unit for these treatments.
Twelve Elgin received an Order to Remedy from the City's By-Law department, however, the required actions have always been in place. The building is in excellent condition, inside and out. This building receives a weekly scheduled visit from a licensed pest contractor, Greater Sudbury Pest Control Inc. The current statistics are displayed in the attached Twelve Elgin Newsletter.
Mr. Tysick is being evicted from Twelve Elgin, via LTB Court Order, on October 10, 2025. I cannot share any details, but I can confirm much of what he produces is without merit.
As of September 3, 2025, Twelve Elgin currently has six (6) cases of active bed bugs, and four (4) of those six (6) tenants did not prepare for their last treatment. There are currently two (2) cases of active german cock roaches, and each of these two (2) tenants did not prepare for their last treatment.
Tenants that are not compliant with the Act are in breach of their lease. The Landlord, and Luxor, as their Agent, are controlling everything they can, adhering to all laws. We cannot however, control a tenant's behaviour or their living habits. The weekly pest control program will remain in place, on an as-needed basis, with the end objective, to have zero units with pests.
Jay Mancini
Senior Property Manager
Ontario Licensed Condominium Manager (OLCM)