Late at night Friday May 14th, just over a week ago, the tenants of 9 Laxton – a rooming house in Parkdale – were forced out of their homes by a fire. The Red Cross, contracted by the city to provide shelter, food, and provisions for tenants of rooming houses after emergencies, found them a
This week 470 workers walked off the job and stopped production at the Nestlé chocolate factory near Lansdowne and Dundas. Nestlé pays its temporary workers $6.57 less per hour than permanent employees, even though they do the same jobs, but it takes years of service to become permanent employees. A large number of Nestlé workers
Tenants are understandably confused by the latest orders from the province regarding evictions in Ontario. Yesterday, the Ontario government issued a temporary mandate banning most eviction enforcement during the state of emergency. This order expires in 14 days, at which time it must be renewed. But what does the ban really mean? Many Ontarians were
A dear friend and powerful tenant organizer in Parkdale has passed away. In Memory of Peter Madaka: Peter Madaka was a neighbor of mine at 1251 King Street West. I met him in 2018, the year our landlord applied to raise our rent above the legal guideline. People in our building responded by collectively withholding
Today organized tenants successfully stopped an eviction from being carried out in Little Portugal. Timbercreek/Hazelview took ownership of the building less than two months ago and while this eviction was started before they bought the building, they now have a clear decision to make: will they try to drag a single mom and her children
Yesterday flyers were posted in the neighbourhood of landlord Michael Lax of Nuspor Investments, owner of the high rise apartment building at 1251 King in Parkdale. Flyers were also posted in the area of the private school where Lax is a director. We hope Lax’s neighbours and the families who are part of his school
In wealthy neighbourhoods across Toronto, in-person enrollment sits at 80-95% for their elementary schools. In working class neighbourhoods like Parkdale, Jane and Finch, Markham and Eglinton and throughout Scarborough, 25-60% is the norm. So, what do they know that we don’t know? They know that when they keep their kid enrolled, they prevent classes from
Unionized public service workers (members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union) are required at every stage of the eviction process. Without those workers, mass evictions would not be possible. Participating in the eviction of struggling tenants during a health and housing crisis is not a public service. Your employer may demand you participate in
“It’s not fair to the neighbours. It’s not fair to the people in the neighbourhoods.” – Doug Ford on tenant protests and not impending mass evictions, July 7, 2020 Ford is now moving to end the eviction moratorium at the same time as pushing through Bill 184. This new law enables mass evictions through fast-tracked
On July 2, the Ontario government voted to amend Bill 184, the Eviction Bill, in a step towards ensuring mass evictions for Ontario tenants who have been unable to pay rent in full during the COVID-19 crisis. All tenants who have been unable to pay full rent, whether they have signed repayment plans or not,
Yesterday hundreds of working class people marched through downtown Toronto, rallying at Queen’s Park before marching to the Landlord and Tenant Board. Tenants from Malton, Etobicoke, Jane and Finch, Parkdale, East York, and Scarborough were united in their demands for a permanent ban on evictions and forced collection of unpaid rent during the months of
QUEEN’S PARK RALLY JUNE 9 at 2PM SHARP! This morning Parkdale tenants at 1475 King made the trip to Scarborough to deliver their demands to landlord Golden Equity. Tenants at 1475 King have been on rent strike since April 1 demanding Golden Equity negotiate with their committee regarding conditions at the building. Roger Steele of
On Tuesday, June 9 at 2:00 PM sharp, tenants from across the GTA will come together at Queen’s Park to demand that there be no evictions for unpaid rent during the COVID-19 crisis. Not now. Not ever. Join us at Queen’s Park and send a message to the government, landlords and our fellow tenants: we
We re-publish this report from People’s Defence Toronto. While organizing over the past two months, we have been horrified by news of mass COVID-19 outbreaks at long-term care homes. Recently, we found out that some of the worst hit homes are owned by the same person sending eviction notices and rent increases to hundreds of
Emergency Action: Text Doug Ford now at 416-805-2156 or email him at doug.fordco@pc.ola.org to ask why he is making it easier for landlords to evict tenants in the midst of a global pandemic that has made paying rent impossible for tens of thousands of tenants across Ontario. Ford Goes Behind Tenants’ Backs To Weaken Tenant
Today tenants from Scarborough, Mississauga, and Parkdale visited the homes of their landlords as the (virtual) annual general meeting of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) was being held. No longer willing to endure landlords’ threats of evictions and demands of rent repayment, tenants took every safety precaution to collectively voice their demands
DOWNLOAD THE FACT SHEET CONTACT KEEP YOUR RENT 1. Gives you an N4 Don’t move out. The notice is a threat but it is only the first step of the eviction process. Threats of eviction against tenants are unacceptable, especially during a global pandemic. You’re not alone. Contact your neighbours and Keep Your Rent to
Tenants are stronger when we organize and refuse individual deals with the landlord. Thousands of tenants who have not paid rent this month were contacted by their landlords. Some landlords have issued eviction notices, many others have attempted to pressure tenants into agreeing to repay rent. These landlords have the same goal in mind: keep
The CERB going out under conditions in which rent payment is due just means relief for landlords and crumbs for tenants. There is no avoiding or ignoring the double-crisis tenants will face every month that the COVID-19 crisis goes on while rent is expected. The setup here is that individual tenants are being required to
Lost jobs. Hours cut. Bills to pay. Families to feed. CONNECT WITH YOUR NEIGHBOURS! DOWNLOAD THE POSTER DOWNLOAD THE FACT SHEET keepyourrent.com torontokeepyourrent@gmail.com 647-874-8793 There is a reason Divide and Conquer is a phrase everyone knows. It’s a strategy used against people every time we come together in support of one another. We can’t allow
Keep Your Rent, Toronto! On April 1 we are keeping our rent. Some of us have run out of money or don’t have much left. Some of us are hoping things don’t get worse. Some of us may be ok right now, telling ourselves things will work out. But none of us knows for sure.
KEEP YOUR RENT – TORONTO (Facebook organizing group) Some of us have run out of money or don’t have much left. Some of us may have barely enough and are hoping things don’t get worse. Some of us may be okay right now and are telling ourselves things will work out. But none of us
1. Eviction Stoppage Read the story in the Toronto Star It’s unclear how long outstanding eviction orders will be postponed but they are, for the moment, being halted. Behind most evictions lies a crisis. Whether a tenant’s spouse has died or they lost their job, whether they can’t work without affordable childcare or are unable
Today our neighbours at 40 Beaty traveled to the affluent Hoggs Hollow neighbourhood in North York to the home of landlord Shaffik Kassam. Their purpose was to demand he drop the above guideline increase and do the repairs in tenants’ units now. Kassam is a real estate investor who has bought up two Parkdale buildings,
FACEBOOK EVENT Friday, Feb. 7, 11:15am, corner of Queen St. West and Lansdowne Ave. Apparently the government didn’t hear us! Last Monday, over 100 Parkdale tenants, families and teachers showed up to demand quality schools. Next week, we’ll make sure they can’t ignore us. Join Parkdale teachers on the picket line on Friday February 7th
FACEBOOK EVENT Parkdale Supports Teachers!Monday, January 20, 11:15am Corner of Queen St. West and Jameson Ave. Bring your kids! On Monday, elementary school teachers will be out on strike. Let’s show teachers and the government that Parkdale demands smaller classes, more classroom support and better schools for our kids. Parkdale supports teachers fighting back! Bring your
Last night our neighbours at 1475 King formed a building committee for the defense of their homes. The building was recently purchased by Montreal-based Golden Equity Properties. The new landlord has since issued bogus eviction notices to some tenants and is neglecting serious disrepair in tenants’ units. Members of Parkdale Organize attended the meeting. We
Yesterday Hannah beat the eviction! The Landlord and Tenant Board dismissed the eviction because the landlord failed to pay compensation to the tenant before the eviction date. At the hearing landlord Patrick Anderson was clearly shaken up and feeling the pressure from yesterday’s phone and email zap. We intend to escalate action against Anderson in
Today our neighbours at 295 Dufferin visited the offices of landlord Starlight Investments to demand they drop the above guideline rent increase at the building and do the repairs in units now. Tenants delivered work order forms from 60 units in longstanding disrepair. When tenants arrived at the Starlight office they were greeted by landlord
Last night our neighbours at 295 Dufferin held a meeting in their building lobby. The meeting was called for tenants to decide on next steps in their struggle against a rent increase above the guideline sought by their landlord, Starlight Investments. Starlight applied to raise rent at the building by nearly 6% above the guideline
Dave (@dsherwoodb), a member of Parkdale Organize, writes about his experience facing the threat of eviction in Parkdale. Eviction isn’t just ‘moving’, and it’s rarely an acute event. It’s months or years of stress and anxiety, of disempowerment, of not feeling secure in the most basic ways. And for those of us in recovery —
Today our neighbours at 2 Laxton visited their landlord, Gojko Kuzmanovic at his residence off Royal York Road. Tenants put him on notice to do long neglected repairs in their units and common areas in the building. “When I moved in the unit was filthy and I had to stay with a friend while I cleaned it
Today our neighbours from 116 Spencer blocked their landlord from stealing their patio furniture and barbeque. “We sat here having coffee and donuts while he tried to throw out our stuff. He says he has the authority, but he’s not in the right, and he can’t make us leave,” said Sadie, a tenant at the building.
@dsherwoodb reports on LAO Board Chair’s real estate connections… Last week Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) made front page news when it announced a major attack on Parkdale, cutting 45% of its funding to Parkdale Community Legal Services (PCLS). What wasn’t reported was LAO’s Board Chair Charles Harnick’s connections to Toronto real estate interests. We think
This morning at 8:00am, in the midst of our daily grind, over 300 Parkdale parents, students, teachers and workers met on Jameson. We came together to demonstrate our strength in the face of attacks on our neighbourhood. We made a commitment to stand together in the struggles ahead. We committed to defending our homes, our
At 8 AM on June 5 Parkdale tenants, students, teachers and workers will stand together on Jameson Avenue to demonstrate our power and unity against threats to our jobs, schools, services and homes. The Parkdale Community Legal Clinic is facing closure. Our schools are facing cutbacks. Refugees no longer have access to legal support. The
THIS IS PARKDALE Volume 2, Issue 4 – May 2019 ONE DAMN THING AFTER ANOTHER It can sometimes feel like we’re surrounded. It feels like we’re under attack. In a lot of ways we are. Every week (even every day) brings a new threat to our homes, our schools, our jobs or the services we
On Saturday, March 30, our neighbours at 1 Springhurst and their supporters delivered a letter to landlord Ryan Rakowski at his Forrest Hill home. Rakowski is trying raise tenants’ rents by more than 8% to pay for repair work that was needed after years of neglect. Our neighbours can’t afford this huge increase. When our
The struggle against displacement in Parkdale continues… Today our neighbours at 103 and 105 West Lodge occupied the head offices of Timbercreek Asset Management. Joined by Parkdale teachers whose students live at the buildings, tenants delivered more than 150 work orders detailing disrepair in units. Today West Lodge tenants put Timbercreek on notice: we will
Deborah Savage is a working-class organizer and long-time friend of Parkdale Organize. She and her neighbours made news this week when they occupied their homes in response to their landlord locking them out. You can read their story in the Toronto Star. In light of their recent struggle we are re-posting this interview with Deborah
Today our neighbours from 109 Jameson along with members of Parkdale Organize visited the Forest Hill home of landlords Angelo and Linda Scioscia. We delivered a letter and twenty repair orders and demanded they do the repairs and stop threats of eviction against our neighbours now. 109 Jameson is one of the few remaining mid-rise
Today tenants at 1340 King along with members of Parkdale Organize delivered a letter to landlord Evan Johnsen at his Parkdale home. Johnsen is trying to evict 1340 King tenant Stanislav, a masonry worker who has lived in the building for twenty years. In summer 2018 Stanislav transferred to a new unit in the building.
Today our neighbours at 1251 King defeated their landlord’s eviction case against rent strike organizers Mark and Pratussa. Respect to Mark and Pratussa for standing their ground and again demonstrating that working-class people in Parkdale can and should refuse to back down under threat of eviction. Harassment, pay-offs, legal tricks and high-priced lawyers can’t beat
Today our neighbours at 1336 King, along with members of Parkdale Organize, visited the Mississauga home of their landlord, Marina Grmusa. Grmusa is evicting our neighbours Melissa, Cesar, and Marco. We made it clear that our neighbours are here to stay. In August, Grmusa tried to strong-armed Melissa and Cesar into signing forms which would
A LOT CAN CHANGE IN A YEAR Last May 1 saw something new in Parkdale: the MetCap Rent Strike. It started on May 1, 2017 but began months, if not years, before. Thousands of people in Parkdale have been struggling for years as tenants, as workers, as parents, as indigenous people, as immigrants and the
The rent strike at 1251 King has ended in victory. Nuspor has withdrawn the above guideline rent increase at our building. Seven months ago the MetCap rent strikers declared victory. Their victory inspired us and made our rent strike possible. Like them we organized, took direct action and won. We organized under different conditions. MetCap
Late last week rent strikers at 1251 King received notice from their landlord, Nuspor Investments, requesting a meeting to settle the strike. Last night rent strikers met to elect their committee. Rent strikers will meet representatives from Nuspor to make their demands clear: drop the above guideline rent increase and do the repairs now. They have agreed
Over the long weekend flyers were delivered to Michael and Marsha Lax’s neighbours in their Bathurst and Sheppard-area neighbourhood. More flyers appeared in the area of Bnei Akiva schools where Michael Lax sits on the Board of Directors. Today Metro Newspaper profiles three rent strikers from 1251 King. These are three of the dozens of
Michael Lax, landlord and director of Nuspor Investments, has sent eviction notices to the rent strikers at 1251 King. On Sunday night rent strikers met and unanimously agreed to continue to withhold their rent until Michael Lax drops his application for a rent increase above the guideline at the building. The rent strikers are not
In press coverage of our struggle, you’ll often see that predatory landlords, poor living conditions and hardship are the focus. Reporters interview talking heads from government-funded organizations that have nothing to do with our organizing. In this and other videos from Sub.Media you will see what the story of Parkdale is really about. This is
Tenants from 1251 King held firm on their demand that Nuspor drop an above guideline rent increase that aims to pass off the costs of a $296,935 lobby renovation, as well as over $35,000 of other costs, on to the tenants. A trial date will be set as a result. Today was in no way
Teachers at Queen Victoria Public School in Parkdale will protest in support of rent strikers at 1251 King on Thursday morning. Many students at Queen Vic live at 1251 King. Their teachers support them and their parents on rent strike. Teachers demand Nuspor drop the above guideline rent increase and do the repairs now! What: Parkdale Teachers’ Protest
Nuspor Investments: Drop the rent increase now! Tonight, at a meeting called by the building committee at 1251 King, tenants committed in numbers to going on rent strike February 1. The tenants demand their landlord, Nuspor Investments, drop the above guideline rent increase at the building now. In an attempt to intimidate tenants, Nuspor hired
This morning a group of our neighbours from 1251 King, along with members of Parkdale Organize, travelled together from Parkdale to the uptown offices of the landlord, Nuspor Investments. We came to demand Nuspor drop the above guideline rent increase at the building. We also brought a stack of requests for repairs that have gone
Our neighbours at 1251 King are beginning to organize against an above guideline rent increase at their building. Their landlord, Nuspor Investments, is trying to raise the rent way above the guideline to make tenants pay for cosmetic renovations to the lobby and hallways. Meanwhile, the landlord ignores problems in units and expects our neighbours
Download PDF here “GENTRIFICATION” IS THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG It seems like everyone nowadays is talking about ‘gentrification’ in the neighbourhood, especially now that two condo towers are slated to go up at King and Dufferin. Parkdale Organize agrees that gentrification is a real problem. We don’t necessarily agree with everyone about what gentrification
From our neighbours who work at the Ontario Food Terminal: We have just returned from signing the contract. All of us voted yes on the proposals. Everyone is happy with what we have and we are looking forward to returning to work tomorrow, after almost two weeks on strike. For all of us, this is
