Local group hosts day of action to shine a light on affordable housing concerns

Around 15 people rallied in Uptown Waterloo Monday afternoon as part of a nationwide day of action bringing awareness to concerns surrounding affordable housing.

The events were organization byThe Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN).

“At our last national day of action back in the summer, we collected over 400 tenant testimonies across Canada from tenants living in financialized housing and we provided that to the national housing council’s review panel on the financialization of housing and they’re releasing their findings today,” said Acer Bonaparte, chair of Waterloo Region ACORN. “So we’re across Canada having rallies and marches to CMHC offices and Liberal MP offices to deliver the findings to pressure them to act on the report’s findings because having a report and a review panel is great but if we don’t act on it, then it’s for nothing.”

ACORN held rallies across the country, including in Waterloo’s Uptown Square.

“We’ve seen that there’s a lot of disregarded buildings,” Bonaparte said. “A lot of tenants living in too small of spaces, like very over housed. A lot of renovictions happening and as everybody knows, the prices of housing has skyrocketed especially in Ontario where above guideline increases have become the norm.”

Advocatessay they are calling on the federal government to consider the tenants being affected when making future housing legislation.

Protestors made their way to MP Bardish Chaggar’s nearby office to deliver tenant testimonies and share their own experiences as renters.