QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario NDP Housing Critic Jessica Bell (University-Rosedale) is calling on the Ford Conservatives to strengthen Bill 97, Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023, to better protect tenants from illegal evictions.
“The Conservatives’ plan to curb illegal evictions is too weak to work,” said Bell.
“Bill 97 does nothing to address the fact that Ontario’s eviction-protection rules are not enforced by anyone. Not by the police, not by the Landlord Tenant Board, not by provincial or municipal governments.
“In Ontario, if you are illegally evicted, your landlord is almost certainly not going to be fined for illegally evicting you, and you will never be able to return to your home.
“If we want a province that is affordable for families, young people, seniors and workers, then we must do everything in our power to make rent affordable and keep people in their rent-controlled homes,” said Bell.
The Ontario NDP will be introducing amendments to Bill 97 to crack down on illegal evictions and help renters keep their home, including strong rent control, government tracking and enforcement of evictions, and higher compensation for illegally evicted renters.
Quotes:
Caitlin Gowan, a former resident of 11 Walmer Ave
"How can we describe how we feel when we are forced to move out of our homes and not allowed to move back? Our homes are not secure no matter what – even if we are model tenants, simply because someone stands to profit from our displacement, we are forced to lose our homes. Ontarians like us are in desperate need of protection from illegal and fraudulent evictions. We need laws that take meaningful action against landlords locking working-class Ontarians out of their homes.”
Delroy Curling, a former resident of 11 Walmer Ave, 83 years old
“The management company refuses to give me an answer about why I cannot move in. I have been waiting for four years to move back into my home, and all I hear from the company is that the unit isn’t ready. Meanwhile, new tenants are being moved in and offered two months of free rent. This is not fair for those of us who have experienced the agony of being renovicted with no path to secure housing. I want to return to my home.”
Geordie Dent, Federation of Metro Tenants Associations
"Tenant advocates have provided a number of ways to combat the current fraudulent eviction crisis and out of control rent escalation. Unfortunately, the province has ignored all of our suggestions and instead suggested a number of provisions that just won't work."