Ottawa-Vanier ACORN Members Stop Des Pères-Blancs Renovictions!
Posted November 4, 2021
Posted November 4, 2021
A massive victory was won this Wednesday, November 3rd, for tenants living at 253 and 249 Des Pères-Blancs: after a long campaign, the new corporate owners of the buildings (OPG Holdings) conceded defeat and rescinded all outstanding N11 and N13 eviction notices.
Members and allies, including MPP Joel Harden, had been planning a rally for weeks, spreading the word and gearing up for a hard fight. This event was to be a follow-up to the demonstration held on July 15th, where we made a stand and sent a letter to the company- OPG Holdings- requesting that they allow the remaining tenants to stay. OPG Holdings had already shown their true colours when they sent out eviction notices three months before they even owned the building, let alone when they tried to buy out the tenants with back-door dealings. We were braced for heavy resistance and gathered accordingly.
Less than an hour before the event officially began, the pressure we’d been building up with online and direct actions pierced through the company’s bravado and they sent out an email announcing that all remaining residents could keep their homes. Upon hearing this, we shifted gears and transformed the protest into a victory party! The Ottawa Citizen and Le Droit had both arrived to cover the event, after all, and it was an amazing chance to show the power of tenant and community organizing.
To keep the momentum going, be sure to sign our online campaign and send the message to Ottawa City Hall that these mass evictions need to stop!
Press:
Ottawa Citizen (coming soon)
Le Droit: «Rénovictions» à Ottawa: une manifestation se transforme en célébration
