FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (PDF Version)
Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations Calls for Reinstatement of Eviction Ban NOW
November 23, 2020
The Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA) is calling on the Government of Ontario, the Premier, Doug Ford, and the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, to immediately re-instate the eviction ban in Ontario.
As of Monday, November 23rd further COVID-19 restrictions will be implemented across the province, including full lockdowns in Toronto and Peel Region. Renters are the low wage workers keeping our grocery stores, pharmacies and hardware stores open, and caring for our elderly and disabled loved ones. They are also the people who have lost jobs in the service industry, retail, and other precarious areas. Coming on the heels of eight months of economic crisis, and years of skyrocketing rents and stagnant wages renters are uniquely vulnerable to these new restrictions.
The Premier has stated that no-one should lose their homes for unpaid rent during the pandemic. Yet, the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) has processed an average of more than 1,500 eviction applications every month since the beginning of the pandemic. In the first three weeks of November, there have been some 1300 eviction hearings in Toronto alone, and the number of homeless encampments is rising sharply.
You can’t shelter in place if you don’t have a home. The CERB has run out, reliance on foodbanks is up 200%, and the government has repeatedly ignored the advice of health experts and frontline workers calling for the reinstatement of paid sick days. As a result, tenants across the province are at the very end of their mental, physical, and financial reserves.
On the eve of a cold and uncertain Canadian winter the FMTA is calling on the Government, the Premier and the Minister to protect the rights of Ontarians of all backgrounds and beliefs to safe and secure housing over the holidays and for the duration of the pandemic.
View the FMTA petition to re-instate the eviction ban NOW.
For inquiries please contact:
Rob Field
Chair, Board of Directors
Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations
Phone: 416-527-1373
Email: [email protected]
Chiara Padovani
Member, Board of Directors
Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations
Phone: 647-554-6770
Email: [email protected]