Press Hits

On National Housing Day, housing advocacy group ACORN continued to push for anti-renoviction bylaws. This comes the same day Region of Waterloo reported progress in its plan to build more affordable housing. Linda Vos joined ACORN to echo tenant concerns at her 250 Fredrick Street building, where tenants said they’re being unfairly forced out for renovations.

Residents in Surrey’s Whalley neighbourhood say low-rise buildings are being scheduled for demolition, leaving little affordable housing in the working-class community. They’re looking for protection from new construction, similar to recently passed protections in Burnaby and in the Broadway Corridor in Vancouver.

L’organisme ACORN a organisé une manifestation pour interpeller le maire Mark Sutcliffe sur les politiques anti-déplacement et la lutte contre les rénovictions, une pratique qui pousse les locataires hors de leurs logements sous prétexte de rénovations majeures. Environ 330 locataires de 11 immeubles différents ont été victimes de rénovictions au cours des cinq derniers mois, rapporte ACORN, dénonçant une tendance qui aggrave l’itinérance.

Of the roughly 50 speakers that presented during the public submission portion, a large contingent wanted the City to maintain support for the Low Income Transit Pass, but also expand funding for transit in general to improve mobility access for tens of thousands of Calgarians. “I’m especially concerned about the potential underfunding of the low-income transit pass program,” said Abby Martin, a local business owner and member of the ACORN Calgary group.

There was a standoff between a tenants rights group and a landlord in London on Thursday. Police were called to the now infamous Webster Street Apts. moments after a bailiff initially failed to gain entry. 30 minutes later, the bailiff and officers re-entered to be faced with some tenants shouting “shame!” At a rally last month, ACORN presented records indicating a person named Micheal Klein is behind a numbered company that owns the Webster Street Apts. and dozens of other units across Ontario.

Even with the existing issues, officials in Calgary say the city’s increasing housing supply is already impacting the average rental price, which fell by 4.7 per cent annually last month. ACORN Canada is still demanding the government do more to address rent costs. The organization’s northwest Calgary chapter held a rally for a rent cap on Wednesday morning. William Gillies is the ACORN secretary for NW Calgary and says the situation has gotten out of control. He says even with the new provincial portal, a cap is sorely needed. “Certainly the last number of years it’s been an issue,” he says. “People are getting 20, 30 and 50 per cent rent increases.”