This is a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas demolition evictions are becoming commonplace across Ontario in the middle of an affordability crisis, this practice displaces tenants from their communities, diminishes the supply of affordable housing, causes environmental waste, contributes to the growing number of people experiencing homelessness province-wide, and disrupts the lives of fixed-income seniors, families, and low-to-middle-income tenants;

“Whereas displacing tenants from their homes has a negative effect on their livelihood, social supports, sense of community, and mental health, the protection of housing as a human right in the middle of an affordability crisis is vital to guaranteeing their quality of life;

“Whereas development is important to build the stock of housing of Ontario, the practice of needlessly demolishing buildings is counterintuitive to this goal and does not consider the long-term ramifications for current tenants, the broader community, or the environment;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to stop the needless demolition of rent-controlled buildings across Ontario, reinstate universal rent control, ensure rental housing replacement protections for all tenants, ensure that people are housed in the middle of an affordability crisis, and that Ontario is growing the stock of affordable housing, not destroying it.”

I couldn’t agree more. Thank you to the residents of 55 Brownlow and across St. Paul’s and other ridings for signing this petition. I’ve affixed my signature and will hand it to Ethan for tabling.

I table this petition and stand in solidarity with the tenants of 55 Brownlow and also tenants from all buildings in Toronto that are soon to be demovicted. It reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas demolition evictions are becoming commonplace across Ontario in the middle of an affordability crisis, this practice displaces tenants from their communities, diminishes the supply of affordable housing, causes environmental waste, contributes to the growing number of people experiencing homelessness province-wide, and disrupts the lives of fixed-income seniors, families, and low-to-middle-income tenants;

“Whereas displacing tenants from their homes has a negative impact on their livelihood, social supports, sense of community, and mental health, the protection of housing as a human right in the middle of an affordability crisis is vital to guaranteeing their quality of life;

“Whereas development is important to build the stock of housing in Ontario, the practice of needlessly demolishing buildings is counterintuitive to this goal and does not consider the long-term ramifications for current tenants, the broader community, or the environment;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to stop the needless demolition of rent-controlled buildings across Ontario, reinstate universal rent control, ensure rental housing replacement protections for all tenants, ensure that people are housed in the middle of an affordable crisis, and that Ontario is growing the stock of affordable housing, not destroying it.”

I couldn’t agree more with this petition and affix my signature to it.