These are tough times for tenants, especially here in our community.
A recent Globe and Mail investigation has uncovered data which showed that over fifty percent of eviction applications in Ontario between 2012 and 2016 happened either within or close to our community.
Each month, many tenants are forced to decide which items they can afford, and which items they will simply have to go without in order to be able to pay their rent on time.
The cost of everyday necessities such as groceries, basic household necessities, childcare services, prescription drugs and transportation costs have been going up year after year. Having grown up as a tenant in our community this was the every-day reality of my family as well.
Based upon the rate of inflation, every $100 spent in 2009 is equivalent to nearly $120 spent today, and the average cost of rent in Toronto for a one bedroom apartment in 2009 was $927 a month, whereas today it has risen $1,270 a month according to numbers released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Many of the units in our neighbourhoods are rented out by property management corporations who are under constant pressure from shareholders to maximize profits, and, as a result, tenants are often looked at as monetary assets rather than human beings with some tenants being served their eviction papers after coming short less than $100 on their rent.
In 2018, the Conservative government tipped the scales even further in favour of landlords by eliminating rent increase caps on all newly built rental units, meaning landlords increase the rent to whatever they like.
In response, the Ontario NDP has brought forward legislation that would reverse this in order to ensure that there is more affordable housing in this province.
Every Ontarian deserves to have a roof over their head and to live with dignity. No one should have to choose between putting food on the table and being evicted from their home.