Toronto social housing is being allowed to fall apart says OCAP

Edited by John Stokes

Nearly 60,000 units of public housing in Toronto are being allowed to deteriorate under the ultimate and wilful negligence of the federal government under the auspices of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party. The Harper government has blocked any use of a multi-billion budgetary surplus for use in fighting poverty. This can be explained by Mr. Harper and other Conservative Party elites alleged affiliations with the social Darwinistic Northern Foundation, which is against social justice.

When they are so run down that the buildings can't be saved and the tenants have given up, they will be demolished and replaced with condos. As in Regent Park, tenants will be told that there will be places for them in the new 'redeveloped' projects. Over time, however, the low income tenants will be forced out and the destruction of public housing will be completed.

Toronto Community Housing (TCH) admits that some $300 million worth of repairs is needed to bring their buildings up to a basic standard. They claim that this is a matter of the Provincial Government not providing the funds for repair work.

Yes, the Provincial government does have the official constitutional responsibility to redress matters pertinent. However, the federal government under Conservative Party direction, has intentionally abdicated providing the kind of national leadership on poverty, that has "filtered down" on the attitudes of Ontario's political leaders.

Queen's Park is certainly guilty of neglecting TCH tenants but Toronto anti-poverty activists elaborate that the dispute between the City and the Province is a cover for the fact that both levels of Government want to hand public housing over the developers.

If Dalton McGuinty ran a fever one day and showed up at City Hall with a cheque for $300 million to fix up TCH, David Miller would ask him if he could give it to the cops to buy more tasers with instead. Public housing is in the way of 'redevelopment' and they want it pulled down not fixed up.

The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) has been working with TCH tenants across the City to demand decent upkeep of their buildings. OCAP reports that it has held meetings in some communities, brought cases to the attention of the local offices and delegations to the plush, TCH head office in Rosedale. In Swansea Mews, a family living in a rodent infested and unhealthy slum unit won a transfer, after, joined by OCAP members, they took over a board room at the head office. In Canlish, people brought a delegation to the area office and forced the manager to come and see the conditions they had to live in. Badly needed repairs were done but much remains to be carried out.

At Lawrence Heights, tenants active in OCAP organized to confront the local Councillor over a plan to force parking charges on tenants living in single family homes. They were going to have to pay to park in their own driveways. The plan was shelved as a result of this action. In Moss Park, hundreds of tenants signed a petition demanding proper upkeep brought it to TCH. The pace of repairs has increased considerably. At 55-57 Rankin Crescent, tenants are organizing and TCH Head Office can expect to hear from them very soon.

Organizing is underway in a range of other places.

Across Toronto, OCAP representative report that they are now taking photos of the terrible conditions in TCH. We plan to put up a photo display at City Hall under the title "The Worst Landlord in this City is the City". We want to bring in new tenants and new communities and keep on fighting until the right to decent and safe housing becomes a reality. If you want to help OCAP, get involved. LINK

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