Today is #InternationalDayForPersonsWithDisabilities. Housing inadequacy disproportionately affects persons with disabilities. Compared to the total population, Canadians with disabilities are more likely to live in unaffordable rental housing & housing in need of major repairs.
Renters with disabilities may also face discrimination and illegal behaviour from some landlords when applying for rental housing, or while they are living in their unit – with limited recourse available to them to protect themselves and their rights.
The dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities includes access to adequate, affordable and secure housing. Housing insecurity among our disabled population is just one of the many reasons that we need #SecureHomes now.
Renters across Canada urgently need housing that is affordable, and they need basic legal protections.
Ontario's #Bill23 may create housing supply, but not the affordable kind that lower-income households need. It also threatens the little affordable housing that still exists.
We urge Ontario to remove #Bill23's provisions to control municipalities’ ability to regulate the demolition and conversion of rental housing. Municipalities need this tool to preserve affordable housing, and without it thousands of low-income renters could be displaced. #ONpoli
Instead, Ontario should support local investments to preserve, maintain and retrofit existing affordable housing. This would cost significantly less than financing emergency relief initiatives if renters are displaced due to limited rental housing protections. #ONpoli#Bill23