‘We are not for sale,’ say TCHC residents
Posted March 7, 2011 1:49 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A group of residents at Toronto Community Housing Corp. held a news conference Monday to let Mayor Rob Ford know they don’t like his idea of turning public housing private.
The comments came a week after the city’s auditor general released reports citing improper spending at the TCHC and as much as $6 million lost in untendered contracts.
In the aftermath, Ford asked the organization’s board members to resign and told a Newstalk 1010 radio host he would “absolutely” consider contracting out the TCHC’s services.
But at Monday’s presser, tenants said while they were concerned about the money, they don’t believe privatizing is the solution.
“We have seen examples of privatization and it is a grim future,” said TCHC tenant Munira Abukar.
“We want to protect Toronto’s social housing,” added Susan Gapka. “Let’s put tenants at the centre of that conversation.”
The residents also argued only they, not Ford, have the authority to ask their elected representatives to resign.
To date, the TCHC’s seven civilian board members have stepped down, but CEO Keiko Nakamura, two tenant directors and four from the city have kept their posts.
The tenants are planning to organize at City Hall on Tuesday when council is expected to vote on a motion to dissolve the board.
