Speaking at city hall, Mayor Olivia Chow lauded the new bylaw and took aim at the provincial government’s controversial decision to roll back rent controls on all units built or occupied after Nov. 15 of 2018.
“If we had real rent control for all buildings, not just the ones that are built before 2018, we probably wouldn’t need to do this. That would end renovictions overnight — but that’s a provincial responsibility,” Chow said.
“But we have to act, because we are seeing a lot of problems, and we need to protect tenants from senseless or bogus evictions.”
The sole dissenting voice on the vote was Coun. Stephen Holyday, who bemoaned the move as tough for landlords while unfurling a roll of red tape as a prop.
“Here’s council stepping into the space of the work of the provincial government,” he said.
“This is literally the manufacturing of red tape once again.”
