Councillor wants ‘zero tolerance’ for criminals in TCHC buildings

As all levels of government look for solutions to Toronto’s gun and gangs problem, one councillor says the city could start by doing more to evict criminals from its public housing.

After a Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) meeting on Wednesday morning, board member Frances Nunziata told reporters the city’s tenants want better security, and they want the criminals out.

“I believe that we should be very aggressive — zero tolerance,” she said.

“It’s not fair to tenants that are living in these buildings that have to live with this every day. They’re pleading with Toronto housing to evict these tenants and bring security in. In the past, nothing’s been done. It’s time that we did something.”

Nunziata said the previous TCHC administration didn’t care or listen to the tenants, who were “very frustrated.”

Gene Jones, who took over as head of the TCHC in June, said evicting drug dealers and prostitutes is nothing new, but there is now a push to escalate the process under the landlord and tenant act.

“We evict people who don’t abide by the lease,” he said.

“It could be any criminal activity, non-payment of rent or safety and health issues … We don’t focus just on criminals. If they’re causing friction with our residents … they have to go — plain and simple.”

Jones also said that the around-the-clock security that some residents are calling for is prohibitively expensive, creates a false sense of security and leaves residents unaccountable for their own communities.