Ford vows changes after scathing TCHC ombudsman report
Posted June 7, 2013 9:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Mayor Rob Ford responded Friday to a scathing report that slammed the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) for how it treats seniors.
Toronto ombudsman Fiona Crean said there’s been a pattern of “callous and unfair treatment of many seniors, including at least one case in which a tenant died shortly after eviction.”
Ford vowed to protect the most vulnerable members of society.
“We now know that there were some of those allowed to slip through the cracks unfortunately,” Ford said Friday.
“I promise you we are not going to leave one person behind. I will give you my word, I will guarantee it — it will be fixed.”
Crean’s office investigated 79 tenant files of seniors evicted in 2011 and 2012 by Canada’s largest landlord. Crean said she was shocked to hear some of the stories.
“I just found it disgraceful,” she said.
“One person being evicted, when he or she doesn’t understand and is 88 years old, is unacceptable. I’m not in any way suggesting that people shouldn’t pay their rent. I am saying we have to take care of the most frail among us.”
Coun. Adam Vaughan said Ford was partly to blame.
“For the mayor here to say that he was unaware of this situation, it’s his fingerprints all over the turmoil and the new direction of TCHC. He has made it worse.”
Newly-hired TCHC CEO Gene Jones said he agrees with Crean’s 30 recommendations and is working to implement them.
