Last Friday’s Keys to Affordable Housing: A Hamilton-Burlington Tenant Forum, was a big success. Counting the online audience, 100 people heard Hamilton tenants talk about the challenges they face, including threats, usually from corporate landlords, to evict longtime tenants from relatively affordable units. Sharlene Henry, speaking in the photo, helped lead a rent strike that successfully pushed her big landlord to negotiate on proposed above-guideline rent increases. Dr. Carolyn Whitzman talked about methods used in other countries—and which Canada once used—to make housing more affordable, including once again building thousands of deeply affordable homes every year. Epic Books sold 21 copies of her excellent book, Home Truths: Fixing Canada’s Housing Crisis.
Some key recommendations: Whitzman, Henry and several of the Hamilton tenants called for either full restoration of rent control as it was before 2018, or at least ending unlimited rent increases when units are vacated, tightening rules around increases above rent control guidelines and better adjudicators at the Landlord and Tenant Board. Henry said the minimum wage had to be much higher for people to afford current rents. Whitzman noted that many union pension funds, and the Canada Pension Plan, invest in corporate landlords that take advantage of every opportunity to raise rents and to evict tenants with relatively affordable rents in order to boost their profits. She also noted that the federal government does a terrible job of even counting things like the number of people experiencing homelessness, which allows it to evade accountability.
Many thanks to our speakers, Carolyn and Sharlene, Chris Tondreau of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, and tenants Alex Ballagh, Amanda Dick, Michael Fedchak, chair of Hamilton Mountain branch of ACORN. Linda Boos, Lorne MacMillan (whose statement was read out by Richard Douglass-Chin) and an anonymous divorced mother with an M.A., working professionally, who pays about 50% of her income on rent for a one bedroom basement apartment. Thanks as well to everyone who took part and to the many people who helped make the evening happen.