COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on their lives and finances over the last year.A Toronto mother said she struggled to keep up with bills after losing work in the restaurant industry.
A Hamilton man behind on rent payments said he was staying in touch with his landlord about his financial situation after being laid off.“It’s COVID, people struggle,” he appealed to Landlord and Tenant Board member John Mazzilli during the Dec.
18 block of hearings — all of which involved non-payment of rent.Similar scenes playing out over the last several weeks have raised concern among Ontario advocates who say the pickup of evictions in the pandemic’s second wave coincides with a shift to online-only hearings that stack the deck against tenants.