The following community solidarity letter was started by Weston King Neighbourhood Centre. If you represent a nonprofit or community organization and would like to sign the letter, you can add your organization here.
To: Dream Unlimited
CC: Michael Cooper, CEO of Dream Unlimited
Krystal Koo, Chair Dream Community Foundation
We, the undersigned community organizations, stand with our neighbours in 33 King St and 22 John St as they seek fair rent increases of no more than the provincial guideline.
Despite being a rent controlled building, rent at 33 King has increased 3 times higher than rent control and 3 times higher than wages have increased in the last 5 years. Even in 2021, Dream Unlimited ignored the pandemic rent freeze and increased rents by 3 percent.
At 22 John, on average Dream Unlimited is increasing monthly rents $100-$300 every year just because they can. This building is not protected by rent control, despite being built on public land with millions of dollars of public funding.
Stable housing is a key component of a healthy community. Our whole community suffers when our neighbours – who support our local economy, who are members of our churches, mosques and other places of worship, who contribute to the social fabric of our community and whose children go to school with our children – are under constant threat of losing their homes because of excessive rent increases.
There is no amount of charitable programming that can address this affordable housing crisis, but you can make rent fair at 33 King and 22 John. With more than 50 percent of the rent Dream Unlimited collects as profit, we are looking to Dream Unlimited to show leadership by following rent control.
The rent strikes at 33 King and 22 John have our full support, and we urge you to come to a fair agreement with their tenant union, the York South Weston Tenant Union, as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Davenport Perth Neighbourhood & Community Health Centre
Ethno Racial Disability Coalition ON (ERDCO)
Falstaff Foodbank Food For You
Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations
FoodShare Toronto
For Youth Initiative
Hadi Islamic Association
Jane and Alliance Neighbourhood Services
Jane Finch Action Against Poverty (JFAAP)
Jane Finch Housing Coalition
Learning Enrichment Foundation
Mount Dennis Community Association
Mount Dennis Neighbourhood Centre
MPP Jessica Bell, Housing Critic, Ontario New Democratic Party
North York Community House
North York Harvest Food Bank
North York Women's Centre
Oakwood Vaughan Community Organization
Oakwood Vaughan Tenant Union
ODSP Action Coalition
Parkdale Activity Recreation Centre (PARC)
Ralph Thornton Community Centre
Right to Housing Toronto
Social Planning Toronto
Society For the Living Food Bank
South Asian Women's Centre
St. Bernard de Clairvaux Parish
St. Philip's Anglican Church - Etobicoke
Syme Woolner Neighbourhood & Family Centre
The Neighbourhood Group Community Services
Thistletown Food Bank
Toronto Drop-in Network
Toronto Neighbourhood Centres
Toronto Youth Cabinet
Unified We Grow
Unison Health and Community Services
Weston ACORN Chapter
Weston Area Emergency Support (WAES) Foodbank
Weston Presbyterian Church
Working Women Community Centre
York Hispanic Centre
Youth Without Shelter
YWCA Toronto
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