Ontario Keeps Public Housing Veto
Today the Ontario government proposed keeping final approval over the sale of social housing.
The government had toyed with eliminating the veto in its new housing law, however several FMTA members along with severel other tenants-rights groups made passionate appeals at the Ontario Justice Policy Committee to have the veto kept on to prevent the sell off of public housing.
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/977993--ontario-retaining-right-to-veto-sale-of-public-housing
City of Toronto to Consider Cutting Tenant Defence Fund Sub-Committee
Dear friends,
The City of Toronto's Executive Committee will be meeting on April 20 to decide the fate of a number of working committees. One of the committees being recommended for cuts is the City's Tenant Defence Fund.
The FMTA is very concerned about the elimination of this committee.
The Tenant Defence Fund subcommittee is the primary resource for councillors to learn about the trends uncovered by FMTA activity. Councillors will no longer hear from people in the field who deal with tenant issues directly.
The TDF subcommittee was also the committee to go to for ‘special grant requests'. Such requests will now have to go directly to council without the proper background, input and debate from the committee. This debate will now occur at council and can often be lengthy.
Most importantly, the aim of the TDF sub-committee is supposed to be ensuring tenant defence. In a time when several reports are being released (3 Cities; Vertical Poverty; Tower Renewal in Golden Horseshoe) the City is dropping an opportunity to expand the mandate of tenant defence and is instead eliminating it as an area of interest. In a City with a 50% tenant population, we think many people would challenge the priorities of council if this were to occur.
If you would like to depute at the Executive Committee to promote keeping the TDF subcommittee, you can contact:
Frances Pritchard
10th floor, West Tower, City Hall
100 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M5H 2N2
email: [email protected]
phone: 416-392-6627
fax: 416-392-1879
Requests to depute should be made by 4:30pm the day before the committee meets.
The full report can be found here:
http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2011.EX5.3
Here's the link to the City's website about what the Tenant Defence Fund provides for tenants.
http://www.toronto.ca/housing/about-tenant-defense.htm
Sincerely,
Geordie Dent
Executive Director
Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations
Tenant School 2011
FREE legal workshops for tenants
by staff from community legal clinics
and the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations
MAY 4 TO JUNE 2, 2011 6:30 - 9:00 pm
Wednesday May 4 Residential Tenancies Act: The Basics
Wednesday May 11 Eviction Process
Wednesday May 18 How Rent-geared-to-income is Calculated / Internal Reviews
Rent Increases in Private Market Housing
Wednesday May 25 Repairs and Maintenance
Thursday June 2 Community Organizing
ONTARIO INSTITUTE FOR STUDIES IN EDUCATION (OISE)252 BLOOR ST. WEST (ST. GEORGE SUBWAY)
Registration from April 13 to April 27, 2011 at (416) 653-5400 ext. 1280
Preference will be given to Tenants who can attend all 5 sessions
Space is limited, register early
Forum seeks an end to Canada’s housing crisis
Audio Broadcast:
Published by John Bonnar at Rabble.ca
February 25, 2011
Over 100 people gathered for a forum Friday in Toronto looking for ways to end homelessness and increase the stock of affordable housing in Canada.
The event was held at OISE and organized by the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario.
Speakers included ( in speaking order) Sheryl Lindsay from Sistering, Regi David from Rooming House Tenants Group - Scarborough, Doug King from Pivot Legal Society in Vancouver, Cathy Crowe from the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee and Geordie Dent from the Federation of Metro Tenants Association.
Length: 56:18 minutes (51.55 MB)
Format: Stereo 44kHz 128Kbps (CBR)
For audio recording, visit:
http://www.rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/john-bonnar-audio-blog/2011/02/forum-seeks-end-canada%E2%80%99s-housing-crisis
Toronto community housing CEO fired by new director after critical audits
Anna Mehler Paperny
Globe and Mail Update
Published Thursday, Mar. 17, 2011
Case Ootes, interim managing director of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation, has fired CEO Keiko Nakamura.
Ms. Nakamura has been resisting calls to resign since asked to do so by Mayor Rob Ford after a pair of auditor's reports found inappropriate employee expenditures and "pervasive" flouting of the housing corporation's own procurement policy.
Her departure, effective March 25, comes after the TCHC's entire board was purged, and after former CEO Derek Ballantyne was asked to leave his position as chief operating officer at Build Toronto.
A statement from the housing corporation Thursday afternoon said Mr. Ootes "has concluded that in light of recent events at the housing corporation and the report from the City of Toronto's Auditor General, a fresh start is needed in the office of the CEO."
Mr. Ootes, who effectively became a proxy for the TCHC's dissolved board last week, is the only person with the authority to force Ms. Nakamura to step down.
"I have concluded that because of recent events, Ms. Nakamura continuing as CEO would be a substantial distraction for the corporation in its efforts to provide affordable housing to low- and moderate-income residents," Mr. Ootes is quoted as saying in the statement.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/toronto-community-housing-ceo-fired-by-new-director-after-critical-audits/article1946302/
Tenant Defence Fund Budget Cut
On February 24th, 2011 City Council passed the new budget for the City, including a cut to the Tenant Defense Fund of $100 000. $25 000 was cut from the grant money that tenants can access in order to challenge above guideline rent increases, demolitions, and conversions, and $75 000 was cut from the tenant education and support services offered by the FMTA. The cuts will result in a reduction in services provided by each branch of the FMTA, that is, the Tenant Hotline, the Outreach and Organizing Team, and the Tenant Education Project.
Of the 45 city councilors, 23 supported the cuts while 22 voted to keep the funding.
Voting for the cuts:
Paul Ainslie, Michelle Berardinetti, Josh Colle, Gary Crawford, Vincent Crisanti, Mike Del Grande, Frank Di Giorgio, Doug Ford, Rob Ford, Mark Grimes, Doug Holyday, Norman Kelly, Gloria Lindsay Luby, Giorgio Mammoliti, Peter Milczyn, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Ron Moeser, Frances Nunziata (Chair), Cesar Palacio, James Pasternak, David Shiner, Karen Stintz, Michael Thompson
Voting against the cuts:
Maria Augimeri, Ana Bail√£o, Shelley Carroll, Raymond Cho, Janet Davis, Glenn De Baeremaeker, Sarah Doucette, John Filion, Paula Fletcher, Mary Fragedakis, Mike Layton, Chin Lee, Josh Matlow, Pam McConnell, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Joe Mihevc, John Parker, Gord Perks, Anthony Perruzza, Jaye Robinson, Adam Vaughan, Kristyn Wong-Tam
FMTA Appeals to City Budget Officers to Save the Tenant Defence Fund
“This cut is about a quarter of our budget. So what do we cut? Is it hotline services? One-on-one consultants with tenants? ... Language and translation?” -Effie Vlachoyannacos, Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations Board of Directors
Toronto Star: What citizens had to say
Published On Thu Jan 20 2011
David Rider and Robyn Doolittle Urban Affairs Reporters
Here’s a sample of what more than 70 speakers told budget committee members Thursday night at simultaneous public consultations at the York and Scarborough civic centres. On the second and final night of public deputations, individuals and groups each got five minutes.
Name: Seema Jethalal
Group: Manifesto non-profit arts and cultural organization
Issue: Arts grants should be raised, not frozen; the city should meet the target of $25 per capita arts funding; billboard tax revenue should all go to the arts.
“Consider how incredible it is that thousands of young people became engaged in municipal politics because of the arts funding issue ... It’s like getting a room full of children to eat brussels sprouts.”
Name: Mark Ferguson
Group: CUPE Local 416
Issue: Spending restraints are degrading services and irresponsibly raiding surpluses and reserves.
“This budget eliminates 397 jobs. These jobs are lost forever and impact our ability to deliver quality services to the citizens of Toronto.”
Name: Jason Kung, 16
Group: AGO youth council
Issue: Raise current arts per capita funding from $18 to $25.
“Creativity helps people problem-solve in everyday life ... We would like more funding for the arts because we feel it is important for every youth in Toronto to experience what we have experienced with the Arts Gallery of Ontario youth council.”
Name: Effie Vlachoyannacos
Group: Federation of Metro Tenants’ Association
Issue: $100,000 reduction to the tenant defence fund
“We are not meeting everyone’s needs now as (it) is ... This cut is about a quarter of our budget. So what do we cut? Is it hotline services? One-on-one consultants with tenants? ... Language and translation?”
Canadian Pensioners Concerned Appeals to City to Save Tenant Defence Fund
A representative of Canadian Pensioners Concerned appeared before the City of Toronto's budget committee pleading to have the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations spared from planned cuts in the 2011 budget.
Toronto Star: A litany of beefs and pleas
Published On Wed Jan 19 2011
Daniel Dale and Paul Moloney Urban Affairs Reporters
Here's a sampling of what about 90 speakers told councillors Wednesday night at simultaneous public consultation meetings on the Toronto city budget, held at the North York Civic Centre and East York Civic Centre.
Transit and arts funding were popular issues among a diverse set of topics. Individuals or groups were required to sign up in advance; each got five minutes to speak.
Issue: Cuts to the No. 8 and No. 56 bus routes at night on weekends and holidays
"The fact that these buses are deemed to be underused should be meaningless. All parts of the city need access to public transit, whether there is one person on the bus or 40."
Name: Margaret Watson
Group: Canadian Pensioners Concerned
Issue: Proposed $100,000 cut to Tenant Defence Fund
"We hope that councillors do not want to put more residents at risk of homelessness."
Name: Carol Wilding
Group: Toronto Board of Trade
Issue: Toronto's fiscal position
"We are happy to see the implementation of a much-needed course correction and fiscal culture change at city hall. One need only look at the bottom line to see that Mayor Ford is serious about change."
Name: Mary Milne
Group: Toronto Drop-In Network
Issue: Cuts to services benefitting the poor, insufficient funding of Community Partnership and Investment Program
"We are very concerned about this budget and the untenable burden being placed on the poorest individuals and families across the city."
Name: Karen Buck
Group: Citizens for a Safe Environment, other environmental groups
Issue: Preserving the rebate program for low-water-flow toilets, which is up for elimination
"It seems that that's a win-win-win: water consumers save money, and residential and business taxpayers save money."
Name: Claire Hopkinson
Group: Toronto Arts Council
Issue: Increasing per capita arts funding from $18 to $25
"If you want to grow Toronto's economy, invest in the arts."
Rabble Story on the Tenant Defense Fund Cuts
Tenants' advocacy groups face possible $100,000 funding cut
Read the whole story here: http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/johnbon/2011/01/tenants%E2%80%99-advocacy-groups-face-possible-100000-funding-cut
Tenants will be left to fend for themselves if the City of Toronto follows through with its proposed funding cuts to tenant programs and services, said a non-profit tenants' rights group in a statement released Thursday.