When a fire destroyed Charlene Mills’s home and all her possessions in February, she felt it was a “blessing” she could move into a rental house she owned in Dartmouth, N.S. — it just needed a little work.

But that blessing would soon become a curse, Mills said, after she posted an ad on Kijiji looking for a contractor and hired Robert Allan Monk.

Monk agreed to do a variety of general contracting work for Mills, including priming and painting each room, replacing the kitchen ceiling, painting the kitchen cabinets — all within one week.

When she inspected the work three weeks later, Mills said she was horrified