Business

Rally for rent control attracts crowd in downtown Halifax – CBC.ca

Published

4 years ago

November 7, 2020

Calls for rent control rang out across Halifax Saturday afternoon as a crowd of about 200 people gathered and marched through the downtown core.

The rally, organized by the advocacy group ACORN, started outside City Hall, where the wide-open Grand Parade allowed for physical distancing.

But the demands of the demonstrators were meant for the provincial government.

They want the province to adopt legislation that would cap rent increases at three per cent annually.

Organizer Hannah Wood said they want increases to require justification, maybe for major renovations or repairs.

“And not just willy-nilly the way it is now where they raise it whenever they want and they don’t have to justify it to anyone,” said organizer Hannah Wood.

In the past six months, CBC has reported on rent increases across HRM ranging from 17 per cent to as much as 90 per cent.

About 200 people gathered at Grand Parade outside Halifax City Hall on Saturday afternoon to demand a legislated cap on rent increases. (Taryn Grant/CBC)

With those kinds of rent increases, along with mass evictions and a record-low vacancy rate of one per cent, Premier Stephen McNeil told reporters last month that he recognized housing as a problem — one that his government is trying to address.

He was not, however, keen on rent control, saying it “does not work” because it discourages development. Housing Minister Chuck Porter has repeatedly made the same argument in recent months.

Wood was not satisfied with their response.

“When they say rent control doesn’t work, I think that they are thinking of the landlords and the developers and not of the average person. Rent control does help the situation for the average low-income renter.”

The demonstrators marched to Province House to close the event on Saturday. It’s there that two years ago the NDP tabled a bill to legislate rent control. The Liberal government has essentially rejected it by leaving it untouched on the floor of the legislature.

‘I’m angry,’ says tenant

Jennifer Ryan was among those who marched to the legislature.

She was recently served notice of a $130 rent increase on her bachelor apartment in Halifax’s west end. That’s a 19 per cent increase over the $695 she had been paying.

Ryan said her landlord threatened to hike the rent by more than 90 per cent if she chose to change the terms of her lease to month-to-month.

“I’m angry about the forced rental increases, the rent evictions, the reasons that so many people that are at or below the poverty line are still forced to pay exorbitant prices,” she said.

Ryan said she can afford to pay the new rent on her $30,000 salary, but just barely.

“What I can’t afford is if something goes wrong. Like if for some reason the pandemic comes back and I’m out of work and I don’t have money [coming in].”

Sharon Fernandez stands outside Province House in downtown Halifax holding a sign calling for rent control, and a guide on tenant rights from Dalhousie Legal Aid. (Taryn Grant/CBC)

Sharon Fernandez said she doesn’t think rent control would completely eliminate housing insecurity, but she thinks it’s part of the solution to the current housing crunch.

As a social worker, Fernandez said she sees people falling into homelessness every day. Helping people find and keep a place to live is a big part of her job.

“It’s heartbreaking to see,” she said. “Like, very disheartening.”

“Today it’s somebody [else], and tomorrow it could be me.”

Lawyer Tammy Wohler was also at the rally Saturday, and said she’s worried about the growing trends of rising rents and mass evictions.

In her work at Nova Scotia Legal Aid, Wohler said tenancy issues make up about half her caseload.

“We’re having a significant housing crisis in Nova Scotia,” said Wohler.

She said she’d like the province to reconsider legislating rent control.

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Carry On Canadian Business. Carry On!

Published

2 days ago

October 22, 2024

Steven Kaszab

Human Resources Officers must be very busy these days what with the general turnover of employees in our retail and business sectors. It is hard enough to find skilled people let alone potential employees willing to be trained. Then after the training, a few weeks go by then they come to you and ask for a raise. You refuse as there simply is no excess money in the budget and away they fly to wherever they come from, trained but not willing to put in the time to achieve that wanted raise.

I have had potentials come in and we give them a test to see if they do indeed know how to weld, polish or work with wood. 2-10 we hire, and one of those is gone in a week or two. Ask that they want overtime, and their laughter leaving the building is loud and unsettling. Housing starts are doing well but way behind because those trades needed to finish a project simply don’t come to the site, with delay after delay. Some people’s attitudes are just too funny. A recent graduate from a Ivy League university came in for an interview. The position was mid-management potential, but when we told them a three month period was needed and then they would make the big bucks they disappeared as fast as they arrived.

Government agencies are really no help, sending us people unsuited or unwilling to carry out the jobs we offer. Handing money over to staffing firms whose referrals are weak and ineffectual. Perhaps with the Fall and Winter upon us, these folks will have to find work and stop playing on the golf course or cottaging away. Tried to hire new arrivals in Canada but it is truly difficult to find someone who has a real identity card and is approved to live and work here. Who do we hire? Several years ago my father’s firm was rocking and rolling with all sorts of work. It was a summer day when the immigration officers arrived and 30+ employees hit the bricks almost immediately. The investigation that followed had threats of fines thrown at us by the officials. Good thing we kept excellent records, photos and digital copies. We had to prove the illegal documents given to us were as good as the real McCoy.

Restauranteurs, builders, manufacturers, finishers, trades-based firms, and warehousing are all suspect in hiring illegals, yet that becomes secondary as Toronto increases its minimum wage again bringing our payroll up another $120,000. Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many. Good luck Chuck!. at least your carbon tax refund check should be arriving soon.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

Business

Imperial to cut prices in NWT community after low river prevented resupply by barges

Published

2 days ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

NORMAN WELLS, N.W.T. – Imperial Oil says it will temporarily reduce its fuel prices in a Northwest Territories community that has seen costs skyrocket due to low water on the Mackenzie River forcing the cancellation of the summer barge resupply season.

Imperial says in a Facebook post it will cut the air transportation portion that’s included in its wholesale price in Norman Wells for diesel fuel, or heating oil, from $3.38 per litre to $1.69 per litre, starting Tuesday.

The air transportation increase, it further states, will be implemented over a longer period.

It says Imperial is closely monitoring how much fuel needs to be airlifted to the Norman Wells area to prevent runouts until the winter road season begins and supplies can be replenished.

Gasoline and heating fuel prices approached $5 a litre at the start of this month.

Norman Wells’ town council declared a local emergency on humanitarian grounds last week as some of its 700 residents said they were facing monthly fuel bills coming to more than $5,000.

“The wholesale price increase that Imperial has applied is strictly to cover the air transportation costs. There is no Imperial profit margin included on the wholesale price. Imperial does not set prices at the retail level,” Imperial’s statement on Monday said.

The statement further said Imperial is working closely with the Northwest Territories government on ways to help residents in the near term.

“Imperial Oil’s decision to lower the price of home heating fuel offers immediate relief to residents facing financial pressures. This step reflects a swift response by Imperial Oil to discussions with the GNWT and will help ease short-term financial burdens on residents,” Caroline Wawzonek, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, said in a news release Monday.

Wawzonek also noted the Territories government has supported the community with implementation of a fund supporting businesses and communities impacted by barge cancellations. She said there have also been increases to the Senior Home Heating Subsidy in Norman Wells, and continued support for heating costs for eligible Income Assistance recipients.

Additionally, she said the government has donated $150,000 to the Norman Wells food bank.

In its declaration of a state of emergency, the town said the mayor and council recognized the recent hike in fuel prices has strained household budgets, raised transportation costs, and affected local businesses.

It added that for the next three months, water and sewer service fees will be waived for all residents and businesses.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

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U.S. vote has Canadian business leaders worried about protectionist policies: KPMG

Published

2 days ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – A new report says many Canadian business leaders are worried about economic uncertainties related to the looming U.S. election.

The survey by KPMG in Canada of 735 small- and medium-sized businesses says 87 per cent fear the Canadian economy could become “collateral damage” from American protectionist policies that lead to less favourable trade deals and increased tariffs

It says that due to those concerns, 85 per cent of business leaders in Canada polled are reviewing their business strategies to prepare for a change in leadership.

The concerns are primarily being felt by larger Canadian companies and sectors that are highly integrated with the U.S. economy, such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation and warehousing, energy and natural resources, as well as technology, media and telecommunications.

Shaira Nanji, a KPMG Law partner in its tax practice, says the prospect of further changes to economic and trade policies in the U.S. means some Canadian firms will need to look for ways to mitigate added costs and take advantage of potential trade relief provisions to remain competitive.

Both presidential candidates have campaigned on protectionist policies that could cause uncertainty for Canadian trade, and whoever takes the White House will be in charge during the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

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