Does lack of housing mean increase in discrimination? Fair accommodation practices in Ontario

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

The Toronto housing crisis is putting a strain on living conditions. It is simple; the demand for new housing in Toronto far outweighs the supply, and the pandemic, as we know, has wreaked havoc on every part of our lives.

In a report authorized by The Canadian Urban Institute, City of Toronto and Canadian Centre of Economic Analysis some upset information was discovered. The average rent for a home in Toronto is $2,385 per month. The average salary in Toronto is $63,000. Given the average rent, it would take up almost 50% of the average income (October, 2021 https://precondo.ca/toronto-housing-crisis/).

What does this all mean? It means that there is a definite lack of affordable housing in Toronto. With this comes a significant issue; in both Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) many renters are now forced to put up with discrimination. This is not new, and when I did a little research, I found an important piece of information that both renters, and property owners should be aware of.

The Fair Accommodations Practices Act was first introduced in April of 1954. It was a time when: Black people, Indigenous peoples, newcomers, those living on lower incomes, single mothers, young people, seniors, and families with children were facing high levels of discrimination in housing. This discrimination was a lot more covert at the time, but with the introduction of non-discrimination acts, it has become somewhat overt.

The entrenched prejudice that defined Canada as a White, Anglo-Saxon, and Christian country had deep roots going back more than a century. J.S. Woodsworth, one of the founders of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation believed that in order to prosper, new immigrants should assimilate the values and customs of Canadian society.

From Woodsworth’s perspective, British, Scandinavian, German, and French immigrants made much better Canadians than Jews, Eastern Europeans or Asians. You can imagine what they thought about Black and First Nations people. Foreigners were viewed as undesirable, impoverished, uncivilized, and immoral — in short, a danger to the health and future of Canadian society.

Caribbean, Africans, and First Nation people were segregated, excluded from, or denied equal access to opportunities and services such as education, employment, housing, transportation, immigration, health care and commercial establishments. The racial segregation of Black people in Canada was historically enforced through laws, court decisions and social norms.

It is discomforting to know that not much has changed. Only now, it can be very subtle and difficult to identify. For example, a property manager requiring co-signers or guarantors for a newcomer renter makes renting difficult because most newcomers will not have a community or family to support them on that front. This form of discrimination is referred to as constructive discrimination. It is when a policy or rule indirectly creates barriers for particular groups of people.

Sometimes things happen, and you can’t really put a finger on it, but you are absolutely sure that you have faced discrimination. Here are some examples of discrimination that you may not have thought of:

• A property manager harassing renters because of the type of cuisine they cook in their home
• A property manager evicting a renter because their disability causes them to make noise at night
• A property manager imposing a strict noise limit policy on renters with young children
• A property manager putting renters into a unit that needs repairs because they do not expect younger renters to make a complaint or to know their legal rights

The low vacancy rate of affordable rental housing means that property managers have access to a larger pool of renters to choose from and may base their choice on discriminatory grounds. Unfortunately, when rental housing is scarce, renters are more willing to stay in housing situations where they are being discriminated against.

I think that there needs to be a refresher course for new property managers, and those who continue to discriminate. As a renter, become aware of your rights, and take note of how you are treated when you go to look at properties. Document everything, and report any covert or overt discrimination that you experience.

If you need human rights legal advice or help filing an application with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, contact the Ontario Human Rights Legal Support Centre at: 416-597-4900 or 1-866-625-5179 and speak with a Human Rights Advisor.

To file an application directly with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, visit their website and follow the instructions for how to file an application.