Since the story below was written the Licensing by-law went to the full Council for a vote but it was referred back to the City Legal Department for 3 months to examine comments gathered at the March 30th closer. The opposition to the by-law from landlords continued long after the public meeting and the City chose to take the cautious route and examine it once more. We'll see what happens when it returns to Council.
I really hoped to skip the public participation meeting on the Proposed Licensing of Landlords By-law which goes for a final vote on March 30th before the full Council. I find these meetings upsetting. So much of what is said is just simply nasty at these open forums as the Chair usually does their best to let everyone have their say while maintaining order but it is an incredibly difficult task.
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Chair of the Planning Committee Councillor Nancy Branscombe did a masterful job of balancing all the opinions and other mayhem at the meeting but you could see that the nastiness in the audience was wearing on Planning Committee members and City staff.
A few friends suggested I make a short presentation on behalf of tenants. Ultimately I agreed and I supported the proposal to license landlords who rent units with 6 or less units. I would have preferred to see all rental units included including high rises but I recognized that many of London's poorest tenants live in small converted houses with small numbers of units. I was glad to have the chance to speak. Many politicians will tell you that they indeed do listen and are affected by what ordinary citizens tell them when they meet on the sidewalk or at meetings. They rely on casual conversations to guage the public mood on issues.
I was shocked at the pure nastiness which grown adults, many of them seniors showed to speakers, Councillors, City staff and those they disagreed with. After five years of advocating for tenants and speaking at Queen's Park in 2006 to promote the Residential Tenancies Act I intentionally made my presentation short, positive and devoid of any nastiness to those I disagree with. I learned a long time ago that landlords are not my enemies. I can disagree strongly with them and shake my head in frustration over their actions but I won't call them names at a public meeting.
I even threw in a joke to lighten the mood as my turn to speak came near the end of the evening. You don't have to be a tenant's advocate to speak at public meetings held by the City or Province. All they want to hear is how you feel about the topic of the meeting. You don't even have to have a speech. You can talk directly to the Committee members.
Meetings are held so EVERYONE can have their say. If you prefer to come and submit your presentation in writing to the Committee they will gladly accept it. You can then sit down and listen. The point is for tenants to participate. Landlords usually work in the property rental business for a living. They aren't shy about speaking.
Please, Please, Please tenants, if you have anything to say about the landlord licensing by-law or anything at all please email, phone, write a letter, fax or even go to City Hall and visit your Councillor in person. I've met most of Council and they would love to meet you. You don't have to be an expert. In fact, they rely on you to make their decisions more than you will ever know.
The meeting I attended on March 24th on the Landlord Licensing By-law became somewhat nasty but the occasional rude comments were nothing Chair Nancy Branscombe couldn't handle. The meeting flowed smoothly and everyone had their say on both sides. If you want to hear the final debates on this by-law and watch the final debate and vote, go down to City Hall at about 5 pm next Monday night and ask to sit in the public gallery. You are more than welcome. Councillors love to see a full house.
