Chair Update

In January 2025, HRAC members were invited to a consultation on the City's Rental Replacement Policy, of which five HRAC members attended. The consultation was one of many led by City Planning and was focused on the components of the policy including, tenant relocation and assistance plan, replacement of existing rental housing, and the rental replacement process. In addition, Ombudsman Toronto presented "An Investigation into the City's Decision to Stop Allowing Refugee Claimants into Base Shelter System Beds - Ombudsman Toronto" at the December meeting of City Council. The report was received by Council, which meant that it was not debated, nor was further action taken at that time. The issues raised in the report require thoughtful discussion and at the end of the Council meeting the Mayor committed to further consideration. I have been working closely with Councillor Perks who has been in touch with the Mayor's office. The Mayor is committed to taking action, and I have been told that there will be an opportunity for our committee to consider the fundamental right to housing in the context of the Ombudsman's report and the impact of current international events on the shelter system going forward. Lastly, I want to share that representatives from the Right2HousingTO have reached out to the Committee and shared their plans to develop an evaluation framework to track the City's progress on employing a rights-based approach to its housing policies and programs through the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan, which is up for its mid-point review this year. The Right2HousingTO has expressed interest in providing a presentation of this framework at our next HRAC meeting. Given our mandate to provide advice to City Council by independently monitoring the progress of the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan's implementation, I recommend the Housing Rights Advisory Committee: 1. Invite representative(s) from Right2HousingTO to present at the next HRAC meeting on June 3, 2025.