Ford set up thousands of tenants to face evictions, starting this weekend

NDP calls for evictions ban to be extended, easy evictions bill to be repealed

QUEEN’S PARK — Doug Ford has created a perfect storm for thousands of evictions to begin this weekend, and NDP Tenant Rights critic Suze Morrison is calling on him to reverse course today, before people end up on the streets during a pandemic.

"Millions of people have lost jobs and wages as a result of COVID-19, and for so many, the struggle is far from over," Morrison said. "Yet the Ford government has orchestrated this perfect storm – a way for landlords to easily toss people onto the street, despite the ongoing pandemic."

The Ford government ended the state of emergency on July 24, allowing evictions to begin as of Saturday, Aug. 1. And earlier this month, Ford rammed through Bill 184, legislation that makes it easier for landlords to evict tenants. The new law allows landlords to bully tenants into bad payment plans, and allows them to evict people without a hearing for falling behind on that plan – even in the tenant is short on rent because of the pandemic.

"Ford let tenants down by refusing to provide rent relief during the pandemic, putting so many families into desperately tight situations," Morrison said. "Now, he's helping landlords push them out of their homes.

“The NDP is urging Ford to extend the ban on evictions immediately. And, ultimately, to repeal the easy-evictions law. It’s the eleventh-hour for people who have already been hit hard by the pandemic. What Ford is doing to them is wrong, and he needs to step in today to stop it — or the evictions start tomorrow.”