Important Developments re: Balcony Closures at 255 Glenlake Avenue

June 15, 2022 | For Immediate Release

Important Developments re: Balcony Closures at 255 Glenlake Avenue

Residents of 255 Glenlake, supporters and allies, we have been working tirelessly and taking actionable steps, but we’ve had to hold some cards close to our chests for strategic reasons. We promised to share more details as soon as we were able to, and we’re happy to inform you of some very important developments.

Consultation with HPTA and Legal Counsel

After meeting with key contacts at the High Park Tenants’ Association (HPTA) on June 13, we were invited to join a meeting with HPTA’s legal council, which took place this morning, June 14, at 11:00 a.m. At this meeting, we were advised that Minto’s November 18, 2021 communication does not constitute proper notice under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA). This gave us the confirmation we needed to take critical next steps.

Cease and Desist to Minto

After receiving this confirmation, we delivered a cease and desist letter to Minto High Park Village (MintoHPV), cc’ing senior executives at Minto Apartment REIT, our MPP Bhutila Karpoche, and our Toronto City Councillor Gord Perks, among others. The letter clearly outlines how Minto has failed in its legal and ethical responsibilities to tenants, outlining our “Six Asks” and bringing forward a summary of residents’ concerns, based on our engagement with you, the residents of 255 Glenlake Avenue.

We have advised MintoHPV to cease and desist with the commencement of work on the balcony waterproofing project, until legal notice, consultation, communication and adequate accommodations are in place.

We encourage you to read the full text of our letter here:

http://rohpv.com/cease-and-desist

We have asked Minto to provide a written response confirming that they will cease commencement of this work, and providing a response to our “Six Asks”, by no later than Thursday, June 16 at 5:00 p.m., and we will update you following that deadline on any response we receive.

Support from Bhutila Karpoche, MPP, Parkdale-High Park

We now have the support of Bhutila Karpoche, MPP, Parkdale-High Park and her staff, who are aware of what’s happening and have been hearing from you (thank you!).

Shortly following the delivery of our cease and desist letter, MPP Karpoche delivered a letter to Minto High Park Village and senior executives at Minto Apartment REIT.

In this letter, MPP Karpoche made a strong show of support, expressing significant concerns about MintoHPV’s failures in planning this project and its impacts on you, echoing our asks, and advising Minto that the project should be immediately put on hold.

We are extremely grateful for MPP Karpoche’s swift and strong support, and we encourage you to read her letter at the link below:

http://rohpv.com/letter-from-mpp

Coordination with the High Parks Tenants’ Association (HPTA)

The HPTA is actively pursuing additional options and working to determine what steps may be taken to ensure the health and safety of residents and uphold our rights to reasonable and peaceful enjoyment of our homes.

We’re confident in HPTA’s leadership on any legal actions, and we will work closely with the HPTA to assist their efforts in any way possible, to strengthen what we believe is already a strong case against Minto’s handling of this project. This may include additional surveys or consultation with residents to gather critical information and documentation that would strengthen HPTA’s case.

The HPTA will be delivering a letter to Minto very soon, and we’ll share that with you as soon as it’s available.

In the meantime, we encourage you to sign up for the HPTA newsletter to stay informed on their actions, and how you can participate in advocacy in our neighbourhood.

www.hpta.ca/mailchimp-signup

You can also visit our Communications Archive at any time, where you will find a record of all official communications from RoHPV (including this letter), the HPTA, the Office of Bhutila Karpoche, MPP, as well as a record of public communications from Minto on the balcony waterproofing project.

https://rohpv.com/communications-archive

Priority #1

Over the past 14 days, our first and foremost priority has been to mobilize and take action to stop this project in its tracks. Like you, we strongly want the balcony closures to be put on hold immediately. If this work is to be completed, Minto needs to start from square one, and plan in advance to minimize impacts to residents, and to provide proper notice, consultation, communication and accommodation.

While many have raised the idea of pursuing legal recourse through the Landlord and Tenant and Board (LTB), we want to clarify that a T2 and/or T3 application through the LTB would be the best course of action if/when Minto begins work on the project as scheduled, and without legal notice. It is not an effective route for delaying the start of the project — which is priority #1. With a 19-day timeline and a ticking clock, we’ve made a strategic decision to concentrate our initial efforts on achieving this primary goal.

Next Steps

While we’ve had to be a bit on the quiet side up to this point, please know that we are proceeding strategically and thoughtfully to achieve our goals. Here’s what’s next:

  1. Wait for and assess Minto’s reply
    In order to proceed in good faith, we will wait until our deadline for Minto’s reply (Thursday, June 16 at 5 p.m.) before pursuing additional action. This is critical to strengthening our case down the road, as it will demonstrate our commitment to first pursuing a resolution directly with our landlord.
  2. Increase pressure through possible media outreach
    If Minto fails to reply or fails to provide a satisfactory response, we are prepared and ready to proceed with media outreach to increase the pressure on Minto to immediately halt the project.

    A note on media outreach (!): Media outreach can be an effective tactic, but as a first step, it can be used even more effectively as a crucial bargaining chip. We are ready to move forward on this to increase the pressure on Minto, but it’s important that we hold off until Minto has a chance to respond to our asks. If pursued too early, it could significantly undermine our ability to achieve a stop to the balcony lockouts on June 26.

    If you are approached by anyone other than Lisa Timoshenko, or myself Jordan Wan, to join or participate in any media event or action, please know that this is not a part of our plan and it may serve to significantly undermine our efforts.

    Information on media initiatives from RoHPV will come by way of this newsletter and/or on our Facebook in a post by Lisa or Jordan (C.H.).
  3. Pursue and support additional legal action
    Should this work proceed as scheduled on the building’s north side, we will work quickly and closely with the High Park Tenants’ Association to support them in pursuing a T2 and T3 application to the Landlord and Tenant Board on behalf of residents, to secure proper compensation through a rent abatement.

    If we reach this point, these actions will be led by the HPTA, but our group can be a key means of support by providing information, documentation and evidence to strengthen the case.

Thank You

Lastly, and most importantly, thank you! With your efforts, support and positive energy, we have been able to build a real community of activated residents, and to quickly gain the support of key allies, including the High Park Tenants’ Association (thank you!) and MPP Bhutila Karpoche (thank you!).

From day one, we have received nothing but support and encouragement, and real hands-on help from all of our neighbours and the small group of volunteers working in the background to make our response fast, strong and focused. You are the reason we have made so much progress with so little time, and Minto knows it. ✊