‘It’s devastating,’ Ontario housing advocates are furious over Bill 60, but not backing down on improving tenant rights

The Ontario government has passed a controversial bill that affects tenants and landlords in the province, but advocates say they will keep fighting to support tenants.  

Bill 60 – Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 passed its third reading at Queen’s Park, on Monday. The proposal is now expected to receive royal assent later this week and become law in the province. 

Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack announced the proposal earlier this year, saying that it aims to reduce delays and backlogs at the LTB, by “cracking down on abuse of the system.” 

The bill has received backlash from various groups and housing advocates who say it could make it easier for tenants to be evicted, reduce their access to protections, and even drive up homelessness in the province. 

GROUPS REACT TO BILL 60 PASSING 

The passing of the bill happened amid loud protests from local advocates, who were cleared off Queen’s Park public gallery after chanting sentences “people over profit” while the bill was being passed. 

Director of Policy and Law Reform at the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR), Margaret Flynn tells Now Toronto the decision feels “devastating,” especially considering that the province is facing a housing crisis, with over 80,000 experiencing homelessness last year alone, according to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). 

“It’s devastating. We are in the midst of a severe housing crisis in Ontario. Nearly a quarter of all renters have housing that is unaffordable, in need of major repairs, or overcrowded. Many people are losing the inadequate housing that they do have,” she said. 

“We need our government to meet this moment and treat it like the human crisis that it is. Instead, they have gone in the exact opposite direction. Bill 60 makes it easier to evict renters and removes key protections that helped renters maintain stability. It was passed without any real opportunity for consultation or feedback.” 

Meanwhile, Lindsay Blackwell, an organizer with No Demovictions, says she has also been hearing from tenants across the province, who are feeling both upset with the news, and anxious about what that means for their future. 

According to her, especially for those who are in rent-controlled housing, the bill could have adverse effects, making it easier for landlords to drive up prices or evict tenants. 

“There’s also extreme disappointment and sadness and anxiety unseen. People are like, ‘What’s going to happen to me?’” she said. 

“People have asked me if it’s even worse staying in Ontario. And I’ve said, ‘If you have an opportunity to go to a province with better protections for tenants, like Quebec, for example, even B.C., you [should] consider that.’ I’m certainly considering it on my end.” 

ADVOCATES SAY THEY WILL CONTINUE FIGHTING

Even though the bill will soon become a law, groups say they still have plans to oppose the bill, and invest in alternatives that could help protect tenants. 

Flynn says CCHR is part of “a large network of organizations” that have been pushing against the bill, taking actions such as signing open letters and statements, and sending “detailed submissions to the government” about their concerns. 

The organization is also encouraging Ontarians and advocates to utilize their materials and reach out to government officials about the bill, including addressing MPPs, Flack, and Premier Doug Ford to share their concerns. 

“Remember that advocacy works! When the government first announced Bill 60, they proposed going even further, including removing the automatic conversion of fixed-term leases into ongoing month-to-month leases. Significant public outcry led the government to reverse that proposal, showing they can reverse other measures as well if there’s enough pushback,” Flynn added. 

Blackwell said that besides continuing to speak out against the bill, other organizations and legal clinics across the country could also mobilize to bring the matter to the federal government, and consider challenging the bill legally. 

“I think that there are some some organizations interested in pursuing kind of like federal intervention, because there are obscure but still legal powers constitutionally that the federal government and or representative of the Crown has in instances where provinces are basically, for lack of a better term, they’re ‘acting up.’” she said. 

Besides growing frustration with the bill’s passing, the organizer also says she has seen more tenant groups coming together across the province to push for tenant protections, which could lead to further action related to Bill 60 and other legislation. 

“We’re coming together, and we’re looking beyond Bill 60, and we’re thinking about ‘How do we strategize? How do we build our own platform? How do we continue on this momentum to ensure that tenants are protected across Ontario?’” she said. “We’re not taking anything for granted that we’ve built so far, we’re using it to move into the next phase.”