Dear Premier Ford and the Legislative Assembly of Ontario,
As food banks and food programs across Ontario, we are on the frontlines of the affordability crisis sweeping across this province, and we are writing to you to say that we are scared – terrified in fact – of the consequences that Bill 60 will have in the communities we serve.
Food bank use is at an all time high: more than one million people in Ontario are using a food bank and one third of them are children. Food banks are spending more and distributing less to try to keep up with demand. This is not sustainable.
The high cost of rent is the primary reason people come through our doors. Every year we call on the provincial government to provide some relief to renters: bring back rent control, stronger tenant protections and investment in social and rent-geared to income housing.
But every year our calls go unanswered.
At a time when people across this province are struggling with a housing and food security crisis, legislation has been proposed that would make things far worse for the millions of Ontario renters working as hard as they can just to keep a roof over their heads.
Bill 60 will make it easier and faster to evict tenants across the board: reducing the number of days to catch up on rent; seriously limiting the defenses a tenant can rely on at an eviction hearing; making it much harder to appeal an eviction order; eliminating the compensation to tenants for landlord’s own use evictions and creating a searchable evictions’ blacklist to make it impossible for an evicted tenant to get back on their feet and find a new place to name just a few.
These are very dangerous changes to bring in when so many are hungry and barely hanging onto their homes. Weakening tenant rights will increase rents and will undoubtedly drive more people to come to food banks. Just like the more than one million people in Ontario coming through our doors, we – the food banks and food programs across the province – are barely hanging on.
Food banks across Ontario have seen our numbers skyrocket to record breaking levels over the last five years. Our programs are at their limit, teetering at the very edge of what they can manage. We simply cannot afford more legislation that makes life harder for the people we serve because we cannot meet the need as it is. The risks are too high in the crisis we’re in to bring in legislation like this.
In the midst of unprecedented hunger and homelessness, we’re asking you for a little grace. Our communities and our programs cannot withstand the impact this legislation will bring.
We’re calling on this government to immediately withdraw Bill 60.
Sincerely,
- North York Harvest Food Bank (York South—Weston)
- Abode Community Service Centre (Humber River—Black Creek)
- Affordable Housing Coalition of York Region (Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill)
- Albion Library Community Food Space (Etobicoke North)
- ANIDA Food Bank (Humber River—Black Creek)
- Apostles Food Bank (Etobicoke North)
- Bathurst Finch Community Food Space (York Centre)
- Barrie Food Bank (Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound)
- Breakaway Community Services (Parkdale—High Park)
- Brockville and Area Food Bank (Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes)
- Burlington Food Bank (Burlington)
- Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples (York Centre)
- Christie Ossington Neighbourhood Centre (University—Rosedale)
- Church of St. Stephens, Downsview, Saints Cafe (York Centre)
- Church of The Redeemer, The Common Table (University—Rosedale)
- Community Share Food Bank (Don Valley East)
- Communities at Tamarack Institute (Waterloo)
- Deacon's Cupboard (Mississauga—Erin Mills)
- Delta Family Resource Centre (Etobicoke North)
- Eden Food for Change (Mississauga—Erin Mills)
- Evangel Hall Mission (Spadina—Fort York)
- Faith Community Outreach (Mississauga—Malton)
- Falstaff Foodbank (York South—Weston)
- Feed Halton (Oakville North—Burlington)
- Fred Victor (Toronto Centre)
- Friends of Ruby (Toronto Centre)
- Food Bank of Waterloo Region (Kitchener South—Hespeler)
- Food Banks Mississauga (Mississauga East—Cooksville)
- FoodShare Toronto (York South—Weston)
- Good Neighbours Drop-In (Scarborough—Guildwood)
- Island Breeze Seniors Day Program (Markham—Thornhill)
- Jane Finch Community Family Centre (Humber River—Black Creek)
- Kerr Street Mission (Oakville)
- Lawrence Heights Community Food Space (Eglinton—Lawrence)
- Let's Bee Connected Foundation (Scarborough Center)
- Little Trinity Church, Good Food Market (Toronto Centre)
- Living Water Arab Christian Centre (Mississauga Centre)
- Margarets Housing And Community Support Services (Toronto Centre)
- Mazon Canada (University—Rosedale)
- Mississauga Community Services (Mississauga East—Cooksville)
- MZAC Food Pantry (Mississauga—Malton)
- NeighbourLink North York (Willowdale)
- New Life Covenant Centre Community Food Program (Mississauga—Malton)
- North York Community House (Eglinton—Lawrence)
- Orangeville Food Bank (Dufferin—Caledon)
- Oriole Community Food Space (Don Valley North)
- Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre (Parkdale—High Park)
- Parkdale Community Food Bank (Parkdale—High Park)
- Partners in Mission Food Bank (Kingston and the Islands)
- People With Aids Foundation (Toronto Centre)
- Provisions By Valerie (Toronto Centre)
- Reachout Committee (Mississauga East—Cooksville)
- Room To Grow Food Bank (Etobicoke Centre)
- Saint Luke's United Church, Out of the Cold Meal Program (Toronto Centre)
- Sanctuary Ministries (Toronto Centre)
- Scott Mission (University—Rosedale)
- Second Harvest (Etobicoke—Lakeshore)
- Seva Food Bank (Mississauga—Malton)
- Services and Housing in the Province (Mississauga—Malton)
- SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health (York Centre)
- St. Felix Centre (Spadina—Fort York)
- St. John the Compassionate Mission (Toronto—Danforth)
- St. Philip Neri's Table (Humber River—Black Creek)
- The Compass Food Bank and Outreach Center (Mississauga—Lakeshore)
- The Dale Ministries (Parkdale—High Park)
- The Inn of the Good Shepherd (Sarnia—Lambton)
- The Indigenous Network-Urban Indigenous Food Security Program (Vaughan—Woodbridge)
- The Spot, Jane Finch Centre (Humber River—Black Creek)
- Thistletown Food Bank (Etobicoke North)
- Tobermory Food Bank (Humber River—Black Creek)
- United Chesed of Toronto & Vicinity (York Centre)
- Vita Centre (Mississauga—Malton)
- Weston Area Emergency Support (York South—Weston)
- Weston King Neighbourhood Centre (York South—Weston)
- Women & Children Social Networking WNC-SN (Mississauga East—Cooksville)
- Yonge Street Mission Evergreen Centre for Street-Involved Youth (University—Rosedale)
- Yonge Street Mission, Vulnerable Youth Services (University—Rosedale)
- York Federation of Students (Humber River—Black Creek)
- York Region Food Network (Newmarket—Aurora)
- YWCA Toronto (University—Rosedale)
- 2999 Jane Street Food Bank (Humber River—Black Creek)
- 4400 Milo Food Bank (Humber River—Black Creek)
