Tossed needles and garbage leads to confrontation between neighbours

A Saskatoon man says what started as a request to remove trash from a neighbouring house led to him being assaulted and insulted with racial slurs.

Fayaz Kadir, an electrical engineer, was laid off a few months ago because of COVID-19.

Kadir owns three properties in Saskatoon. He decided to move into one of his properties on Avenue M with his wife and three kids after his tenants left the property, because of complaints of squatting next door.

“I contacted the property manager and told him about the squatting … He told me to throw them out myself,” Kadir said.

“That property had been a red beacon for drug users, squatters and gang members.”

The squatters were eventually kicked out after Kadir contacted authorities to do so. The place was boarded up, but it was far from the last of his problems with the property.

Kadir noticed trash building up not only on the troubled property’s lawn but all over the back alley, and on his property. He was unsure of how the trash was building up until he said he caught a man cutting the lawn scattering the garbage.

“I noticed he would run over the garbage and he would throw it around, he would throw it in the alley so it would be the City’s responsibility,” Kadir said.

A needle located on the property of Avenue M South and 22nd Street.(Logan Stein/650 CKOM)

“There are needles everywhere, all over this yard. There was no consideration for any of it.”

Kadir spoke with the property manager, James Bazin, about what was going on.

In an audio recording acquired by 650 CKOM, Bazin can be heard saying “Eat it, I don’t care what you do with it,” when asked about the growing pile of garbage.

Kadir confronted the man who was allegedly scattering the garbage. The outcome was not what he expected.

“He told me to go back to where I came from,” Kadir said.

“When I tried to stop the path of his vehicle, he bumped me with it.”

Kadir moved to Canada in 2007 from Bangladesh. His wife and kids were all born in Canada.

“I have video evidence of this man coming back to my property the next day and taking stuff from my lawn,” Kadir said.

“It’s unbelievable.”

Kadir filed a police report after the initial incident. Police are currently investigating.

650 CKOM contacted Bazin about the alleged incident. He said the situation wasn’t being described truthfully.

“All he has been doing has been cutting the grass, end of story,” Bazin said. “He works for me, I’ve been satisfied with him.”

“The whole thing has been blown out of proportion.”

Bazin refused to give further comment on the situation.

Kadir said he’s thankful one of his kids haven’t stumbled across any of the needles nearby.

“I can’t imagine if he got ahold of one of the needles,” Kadir said.

“I just want peace. The property manager and the man who mows the lawn have been so aggressive.”