Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow and Deputy Mayor of Scarborough Paul Ainslie met on Friday, March 27 with tenants of at 3434 Eglinton Avenue East after being confronted by the the East Scarborough Tenants Union multiple times over the last few months.
Tenants in the building have been complaining of substandard living conditions for at least five years. They face water shutoffs almost on a weekly basis, often without adequate notice, poor heating in the winter months, pest issues, and overall disrepair in their units and mismanagement in the building.
“We have inferior living conditions,” Sandy, a member of the East Scarborough Tenants Union, told The North Star. “Imagine you work so much and you come home and you can’t get the rest you deserve because you’re cold. It makes you depressed…We have a right to health. We are working-class people. We have a right to life and dignity.”
Another tenant in the building who asked not to be named told The North Star that she is unable to shower on many days because she does not have access to hot water. Her only option is to wipe herself down with a damp cloth instead. Others reported having to boil water constantly on their stoves to take a hot shower.
Tenants were hopeful that the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor would provide tenants with real, tangible solutions, including pushing for legislative change that would compel landlords to conduct necessary repairs in residential buildings.
However, when the Mayor did show up, much later than the agreed upon meeting time, she failed to provide tenants with permanent solutions to their problems. Tenants raised concerns about the persistent lack of heat and regular water shut offs, and the impact of these problems on their health. The Mayor acknowledged that many tenants in the city have complained about similar problems.
Tenants reminded Chow and Ainslie that the issues they are facing are human rights abuses. Both Chow and Ainslie focused on reminding tenants about calling 311 and filing complaints, contacting RentSafeTO, bringing in a medical officer of health, and engaging in other bureaucratic processes that have been tried and tested by tenants to no avail.
Dozens of tenants have called 311, filed complaints, told RentSafeTo about their issues, and yet there is no hot water, nor is there adequate heat in the coldest winter months. MetCap Management has consistently failed to address tenant complaints and has only reached out to tenants recently after the tenant union organized the building.
Mayor defers legislative change to provincial government
At a community hall meeting in fall of 2025, Mayor Chow stated that she would consider legislative change to address the persistent issues faced by working class tenants in the building. When tenants asked her about this potential legislative change at the meeting, she provided no clear answer. Instead, she pointed out that the Residential Tenancies Act is a provincial legislation, making it the provincial government’s responsibility to enact change. She insisted that the muncipality is the ‘lowest’ level of government.
Many tenants refused this answer that pitted different levels of government against one another and absolved the municipal government of responsiblity. “She can push them, she can create change!” one tenant exclaimed, with others chanting along in agreement. The City of Toronto has the authority to pass bylaws covering the maintenance of properties under the Building Code Act.
Silence on demand for rent rebate
One member of the tenants’ union told the Mayor and Deputy Mayor that the building management has to enter her unit to turn off a valve connected to the boiler room every time they want to conduct repairs. On one occassion, they entered her unit three times. “You should charge them money [for entering your unit],” remarked Mayor Chow.
However, the Mayor remained silent when tenants pressed her on whether she supports a rent rebate for all the days they have spent without hot water and heat.
Tenants told The North Star they were dissatisfied with Mayor Chow’s responses to their questions. She maintained that tenants need to file complaints and that enough complaints could prompt the City to send in medical officers and building inspectors.
Ultimately, Chow placed the burden on tenants to continue requesting the City to take action against landlords who are ignoring the needs of working people. “She has a duty to work for us,” said one tenant union leader, “but what she talked about was us working for her.”
The North Star asked Deputy Mayor Ainslie about what the City will be doing for the tenants beyond reminding them about complaint processes. He refused to comment.
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