Press Hits

Ottawa renters need to earn more than double the minimum wage to afford a vacant one-bedroom apartment in the capital, according to a new report. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a report titled “Making Rent: The CCPA’s rental wage update 2024” on Thursday, looking at the hourly wage needed to afford rent while working a standard 40-hour week and spending 30 per cent of their income on housing.

LaSean Ebanks, a Black renter and co-chair of Peel ACORN, said the region has seen a sharp rise in no-fault evictions — including N12 notices used when a landlord or one of their immediate family members intends to move into a unit, and N13 notices filed so the landlord can conduct demolitions or major renovations. ACORN’s analysis of Landlord and Tenant Board data found Brampton had the second-highest number of N12s in Ontario between 2017 and 2021, with 1,193 notices. Between 2017 and 2022, the city also saw a 230 per cent increase in N13s. However, Ebanks said those figures only capture official filings to the Landlord and Tenant Board. “In our direct work, we’ve encountered many more cases where tenants were pressured, intimidated, or made to feel they had no choice but to leave without formal due process,” he said.

A provincial advocacy group held demonstrations in downtown Moncton and Fredericton on Friday to call for an energy rebate program for low-income New Brunswickers. New Brunswick ACORN, which advocates for tenants’ rights, climate justice and fair banking, hosted the rallies to push for a low-income energy rebate program, a moratorium on rate hikes and a winter disconnection ban for residential ratepayers. The group is asking New Brunswickers to sign a petition that also asks for full funding of the Enhanced Energy Savings Program and an arrears management program with flexible payment options and debt forgiveness.

Tenants at a public housing building in London are renewing calls for London and Middlesex Community Housing (LMCH) to fix persistent pest infestations, rotten floors, mould, leaky ceilings and other problems in their units. Thursday was the second time residents protested outside 85 Walnut Street — this time with a photo display they call “a gallery of horrors” to showcase the chronic issues in their units. Tenants say not much has changed since their last rally in March. The 232-unit building is geared to low and middle-income renters, and mostly inhabited by seniors. Many say they’ve had enough and shared their experiences alongside ACORN, a tenants’ advocacy group.

Yesterday, more than 20 London ACORN and community members held a gallery demonstration in front of London Middlesex Community Housing (LMCH)’s 85 Walnut Street apartment building. The event aimed to raise awareness regarding the safety and conditions of units in LMCH, which ranked second in London ACORN’s “Slumlord awards” last month. “There are a lot of issues going on at London housing buildings,” said Sharon Villeneuve, an ACORN member and resident at 85 Walnut Street. “A lot of pest control issues, maintenance issues, safety issues, and they’re not being addressed.”

Thursday’s demonstration is the second this year by tenants of the 200-plus-unit building west of downtown, who say for years now they have had to deal with pest infestations and other concerns that have gone unaddressed by the city-run London and Middlesex Community Housing (LMCH). “We’re not here to just be antagonistic, but we also have to stress that they’re not doing a good enough job,” said Jordan Smith, a local leader with tenants’ group ACORN, which helped set up the demonstration. “I appreciate that (LMCH) has a very difficult job, and I also appreciate, quite frankly, that they are underfunded. But this gallery the tenants are sharing is to show what they’re dealing with in their homes, so that the public can see and really put it into perspective . . . It needs to be fixed.”