Demand that Toronto City Council vote to expropriate vacant properties, use existing habitable spaces and create new housing.
Why? Because the housing crisis is severe. Skyrocketing rents are driving working class families, communities of color, seniors, and students out of the GTA, into debt, into unsafe or deplorable living situations, into the shelter system or on to the streets. Those who can’t pay inflated rents are being exploited. The housing market is dominated by real estate and development speculators. The establishment is completely unwilling to fight for the solutions we need. The ‘inclusionary zoning’ bylaw is woefully inadequate. It’s time to build rent-geared-to-income, publicly-owned and cooperatively run accessible housing. Landlord licensing is needed so that landlords who fail to keep units in good repair and meet basic standards would have their rental properties converted into cooperatives. Orders and judgments against landlords must be enforced. Join the Campaign for a Labour City Hall, for a Workers’ Government at the municipal level. Let’s form a Coalition of socialists, labour unionists, community organizations and social justice activists to present a team of candidates to fight for the interests of workers, tenants, women, LGBTQI folks, racialized people, seniors and all who seek a city and a world without exploitation and oppression. Join us!
Sign the petition here: https://chng.it/7gpZnVk4G7