Posts by Celia Chandler

Henceforth legalese should not be used — i.e., it should cease, desist and be at an end

January 26th, 2017 by Celia Chandler

This post was first published on rabble.ca

Law is a tool. It’s a tool for everyone to use. And with increasing numbers of people representing themselves in court and using legal how-to books and online resources, everyone is using it. Lawyers and judges have a responsibility to talk and write clearly so that others can effectively use the tool.

Legalese is the term used for language used by lawyers and in legal documents that is difficult for ordinary people to understand. Here are four techniques that exclude others: Continue reading “Henceforth legalese should not be used — i.e., it should cease, desist and be at an end”

Landlord and Tenant Board ups its rates effective Jan 16, 2017

December 19th, 2016 by Celia Chandler

Housing providers take note – whether you’re a co‑op or a landlord, the province has decided you will pay more to assert your rights at the LTB starting January 6, 2017.   The co‑op application filing fee will increase $20 to $190.   Landlords have a similar rate increase, but if they file their application electronically they can realize a savings of $15 – making the application fee only $175.

The list of fees is found here.

The province makes a move towards affordable housing

December 12th, 2016 by Celia Chandler

Last week Bill 7, Promoting Affordable  Housing Act, 2016, passed third reading and received Royal Assent.  Bill 7 is part of the government’s Long‑Term Affordable Housing Strategy.

The province’s news release describes Bill 7 as a way to increase the supply of affordable housing and modernize social housing in the following four ways:

  • By giving municipalities the option to implement inclusionary zoning, which requires affordable housing units to be included in residential developments;
  • By making secondary suites such as above-garage apartments or basement units in new homes less costly to build, by exempting them from development charges. Secondary suites are a potential source of affordable rental housing and allow homeowners to earn additional income;
  • By giving local service managers more choice in how they deliver and administer social housing programs and services to reduce wait lists and make it easier for people in Ontario to access a range of housing options;
  • By encouraging more inclusive communities and strengthening tenant rights by preventing unnecessary evictions from social housing and creating more mixed-income housing; and
  • By gathering data about homelessness in Ontario by requiring service managers to conduct local enumeration of those who are homeless in their communities, so that Ontario can continue to work towards its goal of ending chronic homelessness by 2025.

The bill was passed, but not everyone is thrilled with it and the sticking point seems to be the inclusionary zoning option.  (Regular readers of our blog will know that inclusionary zoning is an approach that we’re interested in and something we’ve blogged about before.)   At Tuesday’s debate, the NDP’s Percy Hatfield expressed the concerns of Toronto Councillor and strong housing advocate, Ana Bailao, and of the co‑op sector’s Harvey Cooper.  Both are worried that as it’s presented, inclusionary zoning will force municipalities to make hard choices between housing and other community improvements like daycare and parks, so called “section 37 benefits” .    As inclusionary zoning will be optional for municipalities, time will tell what the uptake is and where it is adopted, how effective it is as a tool to expand the affordable housing stock.

More immediately though for our clients, Bill 7 amends the Residential Tenancies Act to clarify that neither a landlord nor a non‑profit housing co‑op can give an eviction notice “on the ground that the member has ceased to be eligible for, or has failed to take any step necessary to maintain eligibility for, rent-geared-to-income assistance as defined in section 38 of the Housing Services Act, 2011.”  These amendments, in force immediately, are found in the RTA at section 58(3) (for landlords) and section 94.2(3) (for housing co‑ops).

Dispatches from “Hoarding: New Approaches to Community Management,” October 20, 2016

October 21st, 2016 by Celia Chandler

I attended a day-long seminar on a topic of significance to our housing clients called “Hoarding: New Approaches to Community Management” on October 20, 2016. The session, hosted by VHA Home HealthCare (VHA), was well attended by mental health agency staff, housing providers, and assorted others – like me – serving housing providers who encounter the problems resulting from tenants’ and members’ excessive clutter. The fifth of such events in Toronto, there is heightened awareness of problematic hoarding since the fire at 200 Wellesley Street, just over six years.

Continue reading “Dispatches from “Hoarding: New Approaches to Community Management,” October 20, 2016”

44% of Ontario’s co-ops could be slated for dissolution. Make sure yours isn’t one of them!

August 24th, 2016 by Celia Chandler

In 2015, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) requested each of Ontario’s co‑operatives incorporated before December 31, 2014 and not dissolved to complete an information return. As reported last week by FSCO, many co‑ops filed their returns. However, about 44% of co‑ops on FSCO’s list did not.

Because of the low response rate, FSCO has advised that it will begin the process of dissolving those co‑ops no longer in operation. It’s not clear exactly what FSCO’s process will be. But we’d hate for your co‑op to be among them.

Did your co‑op respond? Take a look at FSCO’s directory to be sure.

Alberta parents ‘morally blameworthy’ in son’s death: The moral dimension of alternative health care

June 30th, 2016 by Celia Chandler

This article was first published on rabble.ca

Last April, a jury found David and Collet Stephan guilty of “failing to provide the necessaries of life,” under section 215 of the Criminal Code, when their nearly 19-month-old son Ezekiel died in March 2012 of meningitis. Rather than pursuing traditional health care for their son, they made a series of decisions about his health care from February 27, 2012 — the day little Ezekial’s symptoms emerged ‑‑ through to the evening of March 13, 2012, when he stopped breathing and they called 911. Those decisions involved treating him with, among other things, hot peppers, garlic, onions and horseradish, despite a nurse family friend suggesting his symptoms might point to meningitis. Their defence at trial was that they had pursued a legitimate, alternative course of treatment.

Continue reading “Alberta parents ‘morally blameworthy’ in son’s death: The moral dimension of alternative health care”