“Water is a Human Right”- Paul Anka Tenants Union delivers letter demanding an end to weekly water shutoffs

For the last year the tenants of 3360 Paul Anka have been dealing with some big issues including water shut offs that have happened once a week for 8 hours each week. These water shutoffs have come with vague and inconsistent explanations as well as inadequate notice. Members have also dealt with inconsistent response time regarding repairs and dubious repair work from maintenance contractors. Tenants also received a previous Above Guideline Increase for work that included painting the outside of the building but no end to the water shutoffs.

That’s why the Paul Anka ACORN Tenant Union delivered a letter demanding their big corporate landlord Starlight immediately take action on ending the water shutoffs without giving passing down the cost of the work to tenants through above guideline rent increases, flyers for notice at tenants’ doors, and a meeting with Starlight and their property manager Metcap to discuss a plan of action.

Members met outside the building and traded powerful stories about how the water shutoffs had impacted them including not being able to have a shower before work, not being able to bathe their kids, and the lack of access to water to drink and cook with. Patrick Fowler who is a visually-impaired ACORN member who has lived in 3360 Paul Anka for over 2 decades shared how insufficient merely posting notice on the wall in the lobby is and spoke to the demand of returning to paper notices in each tenants’ door.

We marched to the office and were unsurprised and disappointed to find that no one was at the office despite the posted office hours indicating otherwise. Was it incompetence or cowardice from this management team? Well the consensus seemed to be both. Undeterred, the Paul Anka ACORN Tenant Union posted their demands on the office front door. They then posted the demand letter throughout the lobby including, poetically, over top of where the water shutoff notice was. Big shout out to Matthew Milne, Will Barnes and Antonio Lunge for leading the action. Great work and thanks to South Ottawa ACORN members for coming out to support their neighbours. Starlight: your move.