Thread by @juliamusing

"Not now, not later, you won't evict our neighbours!"
Several hundred tenants are gathered at Queen's Park to demand no Covid-related evictions.
#topoli #onpoli #cdnpoli

Organizer Ashleigh from Parkdale says Bill 184 takes power away from the Landlord and Tenant Board and puts it into the hands of landlords, while tenant resources are being undermined. She says this is no coincidence.
#topoli #onpoli #housing

What does this mean? Ashleigh says it means "We are held to whatever conditions our landlords want to throw at us.... it means they are coming for our homes." Calls Toronto an "increasingly unlivable city."

"Landlords, politicians... they have picked this fight with us," says Ashleigh. What they don't realize is that "we have been preparing for this." Says it's time to turn to each other.
Calls of "Fuck landlords!" "Fuck Ford" and chants of "You won't evict our neighbours."
#housing

Bryan from Parkdale says organizers in Toronto said proposed solutions wouldn't work.
"CERB doesn't even cover the average rent for a one bedroom apartment in this city," he says.
#topoli #onpoli #housing #cdnpoli #parkhp

Bryan says negotiating with someone who can evict you is "negotiating with a gun to your head."
#topoli #onpoli #housing #cdnpoli

Bryan says the working class is vulnerable. "We have been living on a cliff for years, and they are trying to push us off it."
He says it's up to tenants to organize against any landlords, lawyers, and other officials who attempt to evict people during a pandemic.
#topoli #onpoli

An East York tenant organizer now talking about inequities in how #Covid is affecting different neighbourhoods, causing racialized working class neighbourhoods to have much higher case levels, partly due to inadequate housing.
#onpoli #housing

This organizer says that a building superintendent called the police on a group of tenants yesterday, but that their organizing efforts will continue. "We have no other option but to keep on going and to keep on fighting."
#onpoli #topoli #housing #covid19 #yyz

The rally is now moving up to Bloor Street. "Can't pay! Won't pay!" is one of the chants.
This video gives a sense of the numbers of tenants marchung against Bill 184 and Covid evictions.
At least six bike police officers lining the way.
#topoli #onpoli #housing

(My very rough estimate is 400 people marching at this point.)

"Whose city? Our city!" Is the chant now as tenants demand no #Covid evictions and protest Bill 184, which would allow landlords and tenants to negotiate outside of the Landlord Tenant Board.
Housing orgs have signed an open letter decrying Bill 184.
#topoli #onpoli #housing

Tenants are now holding the intersection of Avenue and Bloor, demanding no Covid evictions and an end to the "eviction bill" 184.
"Whose city? Our city!"
#topoli #onpoli #housing #yyz #cdnpoli

After about five minutes in the intersection they begin to march west along Bloor.
"This is how we win!" is now the chant.
Many honks, including several from a supportive transport truck.
#onpoli #topoli #housing #yyz #6ix

Hundreds of tenants are now at One Bedford, which an organizer says is @JohnTory's residence.
"Tenants don't have rent to give! Now we know where you live!" is the chant.
#topoli #onpoli #housing

Here's the scene. Hundreds of Toronto tenants are protesting Covid evictions outside the building, said to be Mayor John Tory's residence.
#topoli #housing
"John Tory, you can't hide! John Tory, come outside!" is one of the chants.

Tenants have just delivered an eviction notice to Mayor @JohnTory.

#topoli #onpoli #housing

"John Tory... we are here to tell you that your tenancy has been terminated."

#topoli #onpoli #housing

"While our neighbours are at risk of eviction, while our neighbourhoods are at risk of destruction... no one in this city who is complicit in these actions will be safe from us."

#topoli #onpoli #housing #yyz

Ashleigh says landlords are using this tragedy as an opportunity to remove struggling tenants from their homes. She says that Premier Ford said no one would be evicted because they had to choose between housing and food. "Fuck Doug Ford" from the crowd.
#onpoli #housing

Ashleigh says tenants will organize in their buildings and neighbourhoods. A new speaker now saying this is "class war. It's the violence of 60, 60, 70 per cent of somebody's paycheck being sucked away on the first of every month."
"Fight back!" is now the chant.
#TOpoli #housing

This speaker says that the city can't say housing is not a municipal issue. That tenants organizing - not politicians, not officials - is what makes things better for them. That Toronto cannot become "a dystopian playground for the rich" with the working class warehoused. #topoli

"We need to be organized. We need to be political. Politics is not reserved for the clowns in this fucking condo."

Chants of "hands off our homes."
#topoli #onpoli #housing #cdnpoli #parkhp

Bryan's back on the bullhorn, saying "There is more power in this city than they could possibly imagine."
#housing #topoli #onpoli

A few of the signs at today's protest against Bill 184 and #Covid-related evictions in Toronto.
#TOpoli #onpoli #housing #yyz #cdnpoli

"John Tory, 11th floor! You can't hide from class war!" is the chant now outside what tenants say is Tory's residence.
#topoli #onpoli #housing

#BREAKING this has turned into a physical confrontation between police and tenants. I had left for five minutes but have now returned. I believe tear gas has been used as my eyes are stinging.
#topoli

Lots of sirens and chants of Fuck the police.

A protester has told me that people have been tear gassed here at One Bedford where a tenants' protest against Covid-related evictions has become a physical confrontation with the police.
#breaking #TOpoli

An organizer now saying they will leave when people who have been taken inside by the police are released. Until then tenants will not step back to the curb. She says they are happy to deescalate and that "Police are escalating the situation."

About 30 policd vehicles here plus a lot of bikes. Still more than 100 tenants present.

Organizer now saying the police arrested a man's Personal Support Worker.

Police officer has just said that no one here is under arrest and everyone has been released without charge. Protesters now heading to the curb and chanting "The people united will never be defeated."

A police officer just said that no tear gas was used here today and that Toronto police don't use that unless it's "signed off on". No explanation given for why my eyes stung when I arrived on scene, why I saw people crying, or why tenants told me people had been teargassed.

Update: I spoke with a tenant who says they were sprayed in the face with something that made her eyes burn. She was still very red-eyed. Possibly pepper spray (not tear gas, my bad on nomenclature there). I did not see what occurred but sill upload her audio shortly.

Final recap from tonight: Unfortunately I was not present to get footage while pepper spray was being released so I cannot confirm directly who sprayed it. Will continue updating w new info/footage as I find it.
(Lesson learned: never leave before the protest is fully over.)

I literally left the fairly quiet protest at 7 to make it to my dinner plans (here is me walking away in my new media mask) and then had to SPRINT back as a line of police cars, sirens blazing, careened around the corner towards the protest. Sorry for the gap in coverage 😬

This appears to be photos of police officers spraying tenant protesters today. I haven't spoken with the photographer.

https://twitter.com/TorontoCommies/status/1280318158176468994?s=19

And another from the same photog:

https://twitter.com/TorontoCommies/status/1280326337375412225?s=19

Here's a video of that same moment.

https://twitter.com/mneunite/status/1280480950720385025?s=19

Some more photos from yesterday. Here are Bryan and Ashleigh, tenant organizers from Parkdale, speaking outside Mayor Tory's condo. Ashleigh holds up the eviction notice served to Tory by Toronto tenants.
#topoli #onpoli #housing

And here are some of the signs held by Toronto tenants as they protest "eviction bill" 184 and demand no #covid-related evictions in the city.
#topoli #onpoli #housing

BIG update: @TorontoPolice now saying their spokesperson incorrectly said no pepper spray was used on tenant protesters yesterday due to "a delay in communication."
I wonder if the mistake would have been corrected without this photo evidence?

https://twitter.com/TorontoPolice/status/1280610450879774720?s=19

Photo evidence provided by @TorontoCommies, should have mentioned that in the tweet above!

Mayor Tory has now come out against parts of Bill 184, such as the streamlined eviction process, after protesters delivered an eviction notice to his condo building Monday.
#topoli

https://twitter.com/colefwebber/status/1280869838269952002?s=19