About the 2021 GTA Workshop Series
Throughout the spring, summer and fall of 2021, the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) and the Right to Housing Toronto (R2HTO) ran a 5-part virtual workshop series across Toronto and the GTA to address critical challenges in advancing the right to housing, and to build awareness of how to claim the right to housing under the National Housing Strategy Act and HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan.
Workshop Summaries
#1: Using the National Housing Strategy Act and HousingTO Plan
Participants at this workshop had a rich conversation about systemic housing issues and how people can claim their right to housing under the National Housing Strategy Act and the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan.
#2: Addressing Systemic Discrimination in Housing
Participants heard from people who have experienced discrimination in their housing and learned about the frameworks that protect communities from these issues. They also joined small groups to propose solutions to address these issues.
#3: Evictions and the Right to Housing
This workshop provided an overview of the international frameworks and provincial laws that protect renters from eviction and focused on trends in evictions during the pandemic. Participants learned about the National Housing Strategy Act and eviction prevention policies, and discussed how the right to housing can be realized over time.
#4: Addressing Maintenance & Repairs
This workshop provided an overview of the legal frameworks that protect renters’ right to adequate housing by ensuring that housing is habitable and in a good state of repair. Participants learned how maintenance and repairs in rental homes can be a systemic housing issue and discussed how communities can address these issues and claim their right to housing.
#5: Ways Forward in Claiming the Right to Housing in the GTA
The final workshop in our series provided an overview of the key issues we learned from our four previous workshops on the National Housing Strategy Act, discrimination in housing, evictions, and maintenance and repairs. A panel of advocates discussed solutions proposed in previous workshops and how to take collective action to claim the right to housing in the GTA.