COVID-19: Benefits and Resources
A collection of information, resources, news and campaigns around the COVID-19 pandemic.
News
JUNE Rent Break: Stop RENT DEBT
Posted on May 29, 2020
CBC News: Pandemic drives demands for universal affordable internet and cell plans
Liberal MP calls overage fees 'a tax on poor Canadians'
140 ACORN members discuss how to rebuild a people centric economy
Posted on May 13, 2020
The Chronicle Herald: Nova Scotia urged to freeze rents, extend tenant eviction ban
Nova Scotia ACORN and the New Democratic Party are calling on the provincial government to expand the three-month eviction ban announced March 19 and to freeze all rental increases during the state of emergency.
Hamilton Spectator: ‘You just go stir-crazy’: High-density living proves difficult for Hamiltonians
Health experts have warned that COVID-19 can disproportionately affect dense communities stricken with high poverty rates.
VICE: Payday Lenders Are Charging Up to 780% Interest Amid Coronavirus Panic
While banks are slashing lending rates, it's business as usual for payday lenders, now considered essential services during the pandemic.
CTV News: Advocacy group says CERB not enough
Survey from ACORN says 35% of renters won't be able to pay rent tomorrow
CBC News: Anxiety rises for tenants and landlords as May rent comes due
People making choices about bill payments after job losses and business closures because of pandemic
ACORN Canada releases a new report on the Status of Renters during COVID-19: Calls for Urgent Measures from Governments
Posted on April 29, 2020
CTV News: Bank of Canada urges stores to continue to accept cash
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers had been increasingly using forms of cashless payment such as credit and debit cards, e-transfers and their smartphones to pay for products.
Policy Options Politiques : Fournier un accès Internet aux ménages à faible revenu
La pandémie de COVID 19 montre qu’il est grand temps d’inclure Internet dans la liste des services publics essentiels et d’offrir l’accès à tous.
News 95.7: Rent Break
Nova Scotia ACORN member Fred Barnes talks to Sheldon Macleod about the Rent Break campaign.
News 95.7: Internet for All
Nova Scotia ACORN member Marjorie Pemberton talks to Sheldon Macleod about the Internet for All campaign.
CBC Shift: Rental Woes
Nova Scotia ACORN member Darryl King talks to CBC about the Rent Break campaign.
OP ED: Governments must do more to provide critical Internet access to low income households
Posted May 4, 2020
604 Now: 1/3 of Canadian Renters don't know if they can afford their May rent
More than a third of Canadians don’t know if they can afford this month’s rent, due impacts from the pandemic.
CTV News Vancouver: Landlords and tenants unite to demand greater rent relief from government
More than one in three renters across Canada fears they won't make their rent payment tomorrow, and many landlords are bracing for the economic impact as personal finances tighten under the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Toronto Storeys: April Wasn’t the Month for a Rental Crisis, But May Could Be
Tomorrow is the first day of a new month. Specifically, the second ‘first day’ of a new month since COVID-19 took over much of our lives.
CKTB NewsTalk 610: 35 Percent of tenants in Canada fear they won't have enough money to pay rent tomorrow
Posted May 1, 2020
Global News: Rent is due May 1. Experts say CERB isn’t enough for some Canadian tenants
The financial sting of COVID-19 may deepen for some Canadians this week, as May 1 ushers in the second due date for renters since the pandemic began.
Toronto Star: ‘We cannot return to what was normal’: Rebuild Toronto with ‘green and just’ recovery plan, say activists
Toronto must rebuild itself with a “bold, green and just recovery plan,” that shrinks the growing gap between rich and poor, fights climate change and combats racial inequity, activists say.
Toronto Star: Nearly half of Canadian tenants fear they can't pay rent on May 1 — and provinces, feds can't agree on where relief will come from
Almost half of Canadian renters may not be able to make May 1 rent, according to a new survey that comes as the federal and provincial governments look to each other to fund residential rent relief.
Hamilton Spectator: One in three Hamilton tenants fear they can’t make May rent payment
One in three Hamilton tenants say they won’t have enough money to pay their May rent because of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a national survey conducted by ACORN Canada.
Halifax Today: 'Grim' outlook for renters says new survey
ACORN’s survey out today says over a third of Canadians can’t pay rent