Press Hits

When hundreds of tenants shut down the federal housing office in Ottawa earlier this month, I was part of a small group that managed to reach the 11th floor to demand a meeting with the minister.

Housing Minister Gregor Robertson’s office refused to listen to us. The department even threatened tenants with arrest.

More than 300 tenants from across the country filled the lobby of the Ministry of Housing, triggering a building shutdown. We continued to occupy the office for more than an hour, chanting and flooding MP phone lines.

Tenants are pointing out this hypocrisy in Canada’s approach to housing: subsidizing provinces and municipalities without conditions to fund unaffordable private housing developments, while allowing them to destroy existing affordable housing.

With high temperatures draping a blanket over Hamilton of late, one of the hottest issues in town remains a proposed bylaw that could reshape how renters beat the heat.
However, it will likely be another long, hot summer without much movement on the matter.

The city confirmed Friday that staff will ask for an extension on a reporting deadline related to the bylaw, moving it to Sept. 29. The request is expected at the next planning committee meeting.

The long-awaited bylaw could one day require landlords to ensure all units remain habitable during extreme heat — regardless of whether cooling was included in a rental agreement.

Ontario landlords are required to keep tenants warm in the winter. Ottawa Centre MPP Catherine McKenney says it’s time the province offered the same protection from extreme heat in the summer.

McKenney has introduced a private member’s bill that would require Ontario landlords to keep rental units at or below 26 C during the summer months by adding cooling to the definition of a vital service under the Residential Tenancies Act.

The proposal comes as climate change drives hotter summers and more frequent heat waves, raising concerns about residents living in apartments without air conditioning.

The findings of a study which concluded that 28% of Canadian postsecondary students are experiencing some form of homelessness is set to be presented at an academic conference in Edmonton this week.

For the 2025 study titled “Post-Secondary Student Homelessness in Canada” researchers spoke primarily with students in Nova Scotia and Alberta. The study’s findings will be presented at the national Big Thinking Summit which starts today and runs until Thursday.

The study concluded that members of vulnerable groups, including survivors of domestic violence, face the highest risk of homelessness.

Lindsay Eagleson was thrilled to find a newly renovated apartment in Halifax after living in her car for 10 days.

But before she moved her belongings into the building in the Cowie Hill neighbourhood a couple months ago, she realized there was an issue.

“I noticed a bunch of cockroaches in the kitchen and at first I had no idea what they were and I was just kind of shocked,” said Eagleson.

She was alarmed to find out from online reviews and other residents that the building was known to have a cockroach and mouse infestation.
“My heart dropped … I had just finished living in my car and I moved into this apartment and I was really excited to kind of have a fresh start.”

But the problem isn’t limited to Eagleson’s apartment building.