Tenants being evicted from the Canadian Hotel will be able to move straight into a building at Southside ? furnished with fittings from the defunct Club Med hotel.

Housing Minister Sen. David Burch said yesterday that the Southside Emergency Housing Centre ? known as building 632 ? will house at least 46 people from the Canadian Hotel on Reid Street, which is about to close.

He also revealed that the Canadian Hotel?s landlord has agreed to postpone the eviction from today until Thursday, and talks are underway to put it off until next Thursday.

?It is our intention to furnish the entire complex with furnishings from the old Club Med Hotel,? Sen. Burch said. ?I was surprised to learn that there were still furnishings there that are in very good shape and it?s all part of the same Ministry. We will take possession of all of that furniture now for use not only in this facility but in other facilities that we are planning.?

The third floor of the Emergency Centre will continue to house women and children for the Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC), he said.

Ex-Canadian Hotel residents will remain in the Emergency Centre for two years until a new facility is built, he said ? but he expected some tenants would want to stay longer.

?There is no time limit,? he said. ?The rent remains the same as the Canadian Hotel ? $500 a month.?

There are 52 rooms on the two floors, he said, each with a laundry, kitchen and two bathrooms.

?Let me first report Mr. Thomas Powell, the owner of the Canadian Hotel has agreed to extend the lease until this Thursday, and we are in discussions with him to try and get him to do it until next week Thursday, when in fact his insurance coverage expires,? Sen. Burch said.

BHC had so far received 46 applications from Canadian Hotel residents and had interviewed 36 of those applicants to date, he said.

?At this stage I would encourage the remaining ten if they want to come in, they need to get into BHC and fill out the proper documentation,? the Minister said.

Sen. Burch said there were more than 46 people accommodated at the Canadian Hotel but his information was that they found homes elsewhere.

Residents were expected to tour the Emergency Centre last night, he said.

?You will see in some of the rooms that they have been furnished,? Sen. Burch said. ?The one hold-up at the moment is the installation of the smoke detectors.

?We expect that to be completed by close of play (yesterday).?

Sen. Burch described that as the final hurdle was for the Bermuda Fire Service to give clearance to occupy the building.

?Following that we will get an occupancy certificate from the Department of Planning,? he said.

Essentially this was an ?emergency exercise?, he said.

?... Less than a month (ago) we were advised that the Canadian Hotel was closing. And we set about coming up with a solution.

?One contractor did this floor and another did the one above,? he said. ?There was a race to the finish to see who could get completed first. You can judge for yourselves who wins.?

The first floor was more complete as the second floor was not furnished and had no carpets.

Sen. Burch thanked Mr. Powell and Canadian Hotel manager Larry Thomas for distributing information to the residents.

?I personally have met with them on two different occasions to update on what the plans were and the quango consultant has kind of lived down there, I think, in that he has had regular contact with both Mr. Thomas and the residents,? he said.

He also thanked BLDC management and staff as well as the Canadian Hotel residents.

?If we in this Country had more people who started off with being appreciative for what others do for them as opposed to demanding what they feel they are entitled to, we would be a far better off country,? he said.