Statement
Yesterday, the Ontario Legislature unanimously passed Motion 125, which included:
- Reinstating the temporary moratorium on residential evictions until the province has entered a post-pandemic recovery period
- Prohibiting evictions for non-payment of rent for the period of the COVID-19 pandemic
Feed Ontario and its network of food banks are pleased to see that all Members of Provincial Parliament recognize the need for immediate action to prevent thousands of people across the province from losing their homes. However, this does not guarantee that the motion will be implemented.
Feed Ontario is urging Premier Ford to move quickly and sign an emergency order to implement the eviction moratorium as soon as possible.
Feed Ontario believes that reinstating the eviction moratorium is an urgent temporary measure. As revealed in the 2020 Hunger Report, surveying in September found that 48% of Ontario food bank visitors are worried about facing eviction or defaulting on their mortgage within the next 2-6 months.
With eviction hearings already taking place, the moratorium an urgent temporary measure to prevent a potential surge in homelessness during the height of the pandemic, especially during the cold winter months.
Alongside the temporary eviction moratorium, Feed Ontario recommends the development of a rent relief program for people facing large rent arrears as a result of COVID-19, to further prevent evictions once the new moratorium has been lifted.
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- Ontario’s eviction ban ended in the summer, as did many of the supports that were available to Ontarians to help them through the financial difficulties created by COVID-19
- Toronto and Peel region are in lockdown, and many other regions in Ontario are under significant restrictions that limit job opportunities
- The unemployment rate in Ontario in November 2020 was 9.1%, which is nearly twice as high as in 2019 (source Link opens a new window)
- 48% of Ontario food bank visitors surveyed in September said they were worried about eviction or defaulting on their mortgage within the next 2-6 months
- An eviction moratorium is a public health measure: Research in the United States found that lifting their eviction ban led to thousands of additional COVID-19 cases (source Link opens a new window)