Stay home and suck it up
So the government has announced $2,000 a month for “workers” affected by COVID-19 (NOW Online, March 25).
But what about those of us who were already unemployed and job hunting after the EI ran out, scraping by on social assistance, paying rent and one step from homelessness? I guess we can’t get sick and don’t need help. We’re supposed to just sit home, get nothing and do nothing.
Employees who lose income already have a social safety net: it’s called EI. As for the rest of us, I guess we just suck it up.
Greg Kokko
From nowtoronto.com
Space for rent
I’ve been a renter most of my life. (Calls To Suspend Rent In Toronto Get Louder, NOW Online, March 21). I have always found the monthly cost of renting to be much lower than the monthly cost of owning in the places I’ve lived, and I’ve been diligent at saving and investing the difference.
As a result, I have enough money to keep paying rent even though I’ve been laid off. My landlords are good people who have been attentive to my needs any time there has been a problem. They have not been aggressive in raising rent and I have been diligently paying on time every time, never late, keeping their property in pristine shape and having gotten their permission have turned the yard into a fruit and vegetable-producing oasis.
The world owes me nothing. For those without the means to pay rent, perhaps have a real discussion with your landlord. Surely they rely on the rent just as much as you rely on the roof over your head.
Alex H.
From nowtoronto.com
Potty-mouth podcast
I started to listen to the first NOW What podcast, (NOW Online, March 28), however, I was very disappointed to hear so much swearing in just the first five minutes. I would ask that you consider changing this podcast to be more G-rated and cut out the swearing. Some people seem to think these words are a normal part of our everyday language. IMHO they shouldn’t be used so freely, they should be reserved for rare occasions. As one small voice in Toronto, I ask that you please consider this request seriously.
Marg Boutilier
Toronto
Tough times for both landlords and tenants
Mortgage payments are not on hold. The big banks will defer payments and add the missed payment to the overall balance of the mortgage, with interest. But the majority of rental housing is financed through alternative lenders that do not offer this option. If rent is not paid, there will simply be one less rental home available. We must come together and work collaboratively to get through these times that are tough on everyone.
Steven Douglas
From nowtoronto.com
Seniors depend on rental income, too
It seems that the government is willing to assist corporations to stay afloat, but not small landlords. As a senior I have very little chance of finding a job to support myself, and depend upon my rental income to survive. Why am I any different than a tenant?
Bruce Beauchamp
From nowtoronto.com
New real estate rules put clients at risk
The Ford government has deemed real estate an essential service, allowing realtors and clients access to tenant’s dwellings for real estate showings.
This puts tenants and their families at a risk. The Real Estate Council of Ontario’s COVID-19 declaration form required by agents and clients for showings does not protect tenants. Clients may be asymptomatic. People do not always tell the truth about health. Some people do not take the virus and its dangers seriously. The sale of rental property could continue without access to dwellings, until the crisis has abated.
D. Barrett
From nowtoronto.com
Food security plans need a jump start
COVID-19 measures have closed 200 meal programs and dozens of food banks across the city, but what is the government doing to replace those meal programs and food banks? Thousands of people, some of them in frail health, depend on these programs for their food security. With irregular or uncertain meals, some will get ill. They will enter the health care system and end up in hospitals. Our governments need to jump-start a recovery of these programs or provide alternative food security.
Morgan Harris
Daily Bread Food Bank
Life in the fast lane in a time of COVID-19
While car sales plummet, some brands continue to push their products as if that was the single most important thing they could do right now. Does anyone think that consumers worried about rent and toilet paper and food have the slightest interest in buying an overpriced, over-hyped, recklessly driven fire-engine red sports car piloted by some calm god-like actor with a beard?
Geoff Rytell
Toronto
Restaurant takeout regs fail to deliver
RE Restaurants Can Now Sell Delivery, Takeout In Ontario (NOW Online, March 26). This story looked promising until I read all the conditions involved.
Delivery people must have Smart Serve certification (huh?), be somebody other than a restaurant/bar employee, and the person who actually ordered the booze must prove that they’re sober and of age. In other words, psych! Only in Ontario.
Drew Hirwin
Toronto
