Community land trusts a model for community-led land stewardship

April 25th, 2019 by Claudia Pedrero

This article was first published on rabble.ca

Last week marked the first meeting of the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts held on Canadian soil.

The group’s meeting in Montreal was attended by community land trusts from across Canada, most of them from British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. It’s indicative of a rise in popularity of this alternative model of land ownership, as communities grapple with increasingly unaffordable housing prices, and commercial development changes the social, cultural and economic diversity of neighbourhoods. The Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts is seeking to share the collective experience and expertise of Canadian land trusts while expanding the footprint of this model of land ownership.

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Don’t Miss It – May 4, 2019: CHFT Spring Durham Education Event – Human Rights

April 25th, 2019 by Celia Chandler

Human rights is a topic that comes up daily in the work we do with housing co‑ops.  Some recent examples:

  • how to accommodate dogs in a pet‑free co‑op;
  • is the medical note provided is enough to justify replacing carpet with laminate;
  • what is the best way to finance the cost of a stair lift in a townhouse (do we really have to?);
  • can we evict for noises that might relate to a mental health disability; and
  • can a maintenance person with a drug addiction continue to work at the co‑op.

If these are the kinds of questions that are coming up in your co‑op, come to my session on May 4, 2019 to talk through what the co‑op’s obligations are and how best to meet them.

CHFT has a long history of education in Toronto but recently they’ve expanded their reach to Durham.  I was excited to participate in the first CHFT Fall Durham Education Day in 2018 and am pleased to be asked back.

May 4’s event will include lunch and an afternoon workshop from CHFT staff member Anjala Kulasegaram, about what makes a good board.  You won’t want to miss that.

Registration information is here.

Join us!  We’d love to see you.

Free legal workshop: Employment Standards Act – Amendments in 2018 and 2019 and what they mean for you

April 25th, 2019 by Iler Campbell

Free legal workshop | Employment Standards Act: Amendments in 2018 and 2019 and What They Mean for You

In 2018, the Ford Government passed Bill 47, the “Making Ontario Open for Businesses Act”. This bill reverses a number of changes made to employment standards legislation by the Liberal government, including the provision around annual increases to minimum wage. In addition to providing a summary of key amendments to the Employment Standards Act, we will also touch on Bill 66, the “Act to Restore Ontario’s Competitiveness”, which was passed on April 3, 2019 and makes further changes to employment legislation in Ontario.

Join Iler Campbell lawyer, Safia Lakhani, on May 15 at 9:30 am for this free workshop.

How to attend

You can attend this workshop as an interactive webinar or in person in our office.

If you can’t make it but would like a recording of the webinar, click register and select ‘I can’t attend the webinar but please send me a recording.’

Sign up here.

 

Client Profile: Parkdale Activity and Recreation Centre

April 17th, 2019 by Iler Campbell

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The idea of the Parkdale Activity and Recreation Centre (PARC) was born in 1977 when a group of volunteers observed the large number of adults living in Parkdale rooming houses and boarding homes. Many were survivors of the psychiatric system, had little money, few family contacts and no real place to go and connect with peers.

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Court fees increase again. Who should bear the cost of accessing justice?

April 10th, 2019 by Brynn Leger

As of April 1, 2019, the Ontario government has introduced significant changes to court fees for Small Claims Court as well as Civil and Family proceedings at Superior Court. Court fees are the costs that come up from time to time as a case moves through the court system and includes fees for filing a claim, setting a date for a trial, and a range of other court steps. These fees are not new and they have had significant increases in the past, but the most recent changes raise questions about access to justice for people and organizations with less money trying to pursue a claim in court.

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A constitutional cop‑out: Federal government passes the buck on conversion therapy

April 1st, 2019 by Michael Hackl

This article was first published on rabble.ca

The federal government missed an opportunity to introduce a significant protection for the LGBTQ community by failing to take steps to ban conversion therapy (the discredited practice of trying to convert individuals with non-heterosexual sexual orientations to heterosexuality under the guise of therapy). Instead, in its response to a petition calling for a ban on conversion therapy the federal government passed the buck to the provinces and territories.

The petition and the government’s response

On February 1, NDP MP Sheri Benson presented a petition to the House of Commons seeking a ban on conversion therapy, with a focus on protecting minors. The petition pointed out that organizations such as the World Health Organization and the Canadian Psychological Association have issued statements indicating that the practice is not supported by scientific research, lacks medical justification, and rather than providing assistance to affected individuals, can have significant adverse effects on their mental and physical health.

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