Last October’s prorogation of the legislature stalled the much‑anticipated co‑operative housing eviction reform bill. Building on the momentum this issue had in the fall session, just a few short days after the new session began, Bill 14, the eviction reform bill, was given first reading (February 27, 2013).
Continue reading “Co-op Eviction Reform back on the agenda at Queen’s Park”
This is information only and is not intended to be taken as legal advice. If you have a case of excessive clutter, we urge you to talk to your lawyer and work out a plan that meets your duties and minimises your liability.
Housing providers often ask: (1) how to clean up an excessively cluttered unit (often this is referred to using the term “hoarding”), and (2) whether they can evict the occupants. These questions raise a number of legal issues.
Human Rights: Excessive clutter can result from mental illness. The Human Rights Code obliges a housing provider to accommodate mental illness to the point of undue hardship. Undue hardship is a very high threshold, assessed on cost (including external funding), health and safety. Where there is a suspected or known mental illness, consult with a lawyer to find a way to satisfy the duty to accommodate. For example, providing the most appropriate help with fumigation preparation, often necessary in cluttered units, helps defend against allegations that you have not met the duty to accommodate.
Continue reading “The Responsible Housing Provider ‑‑ Excessive Clutter”
A few members from various co-ops came together recently to create the GTA Co-op Network, with a mission to create online and offline networking and education events.
This informal group came out of the realization that there is a gap in networking and promotion between Toronto & GTA co-ops, and a need to educate the general public about co‑ops.
The GTA Co-op Network’s first step was creating a Facebook group page.
The next step is to host some great events all over the GTA, to promote + educate.
Please feel free to email the GTA Co-op Network Facebook page for more information or/and, if you would like to volunteer, offer space, or have a great idea to spread the word about GTA Co-ops: [email protected]
If you’re not a fan of Facebook, the organizers have also set up a Google email group account. You can join the group here.
Please feel free to join even if you are outside of the GTA.
In November 2011, we posted a blog about cost effective strategies to promote better planning and development in your neighbourhood. As part of that post, we encouraged community groups who have appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) to seriously consider settlement as a way to achieve goals and avoid a costly hearing.
Recently, I became aware of a decision where a community group, Centretown Citizens in Ottawa, did just that, and is happy to brag about it. You can find their story here. Centretown notes, quite rightly, that not only is it costly for the citizens groups to proceed with an OMB hearing, but a massive drain on the municipality’s coffers — public money — too.
Congratulations to the Centretown Citizens on finding a satisfactory resolution, and saving the taxpayers of Ottawa and other engaged citizens valuable resources.
Canada’s human rights record has come under fire over the past several months. In December of 2012, Amnesty International released a highly critical report of the state of human rights in Canada. The report details abuses against vulnerable groups in Canada including indigenous peoples, women, migrant workers and refugees.
Amnesty International notes in its report that “support for strong advocacy and diverse, including dissenting, views in debates and discussion of important public policy issues is being dramatically undermined and rapidly dismantled [in Canada].”
This month, Human Rights Watch published a report detailing police abuses against indigenous women and girls in Northern British Columbia. The report found that Canada was not meeting its obligations under international law to address violence against indigenous women and girls.
With the Canadian government under fire for failing in protecting and promoting fundamental human rights in Canada, are there legal avenues that may be available to uphold the rights of marginalized persons, rights enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
On January 8, 2013, Frog Lake First Nation and Mikisew Cree First Nation, through their respective Chiefs, launched judicial review cases in the Federal Court. They are challenging the passage of the now infamous federal government omnibus budget bills, Bill C‑38 (Jobs, Growth and Long‑term Prosperity Act, S.C. 2012, c. 19); and Bill C‑45 (Jobs and Growth Act, 2012, S.C. c.31).
Other Canadians who may oppose these bills can only express their displeasure with them at the ballot box. With Canada’s first‑past‑the‑post electoral system, and a significant fracturing of the centre and centre‑left, it seems like an uphill battle for the rest of the country to challenge these laws, widely considered to be anti‑democratic. For all the efforts of multiple environmental organizations and the actions of the opposition in the House of Commons (perhaps most poignantly, member of Parliament Elizabeth May), there’s not a whole lot the rest of us can do.
Enter, First Nations.
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