Toronto Community Housing

Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) is a municipally owned corporation which serves as the public housing agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the second-largest housing provider in North America (behind the New York City Housing Authority),^[1] with approximately 60,000 units of housing and an estimated 165,000 residents.^[1] TCHC owns more than 2,100 buildings, including high, mid, and low-rise apartments, townhomes and houses.^[2] It is wholly owned by the City of Toronto, with its operating funding coming from rental payments, subsidies from the City of Toronto, and other income. Tenants pay rent according to their income, with some buildings having a mix of tenants paying market-level rents while others pay subsidized rates.

History[]

Through the latter half of the 20th century, prior to the amalgamation of Toronto in 1998, there were three municipally owned and operated affordable housing providers, each operated by a different level of government under the former municipal federation of Metropolitan Toronto, including Metro itself, the former City of Toronto, and the Government of Ontario. These housing providers included the Metropolitan Toronto Housing Company Ltd. and the City of Toronto Non Profit Housing Corporation, also known then as Cityhome.

In 1998, as part of a sweeping re-organization of the provincial government under premier Mike Harris, housing was downloaded to local municipalities to administer. The Metropolitan Toronto Housing Corporation (MTHC) was formed to take over provincial public housing units in the municipality. The existing companies, including Cityhome and the Metro municipal housing authorities, were merged into the Toronto Housing Company (THC). The forced amalgamation of the federation of municipalities under Metropolitan Toronto, including its affordable housing providers, was also carried out with the forced downloading of operating and capital expenses for a number of public services, including affordable housing. The then provincial government under Harris promised that the downloading of expenses would be revenue neutral, but that turned out to be not true, which contributed a great deal to the existing repair backlog now faced by city housing.

In 2002, four years after the forced amalgamation of Toronto, MTHC merged with THC to form the new Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) to administer all public housing units within the merged City of Toronto.^[2] As the dust settled on amalgamation, focus shifted to creating the then newly amalgamated city's first official plan, which included identifying key areas in need of revitalization. These became known as the priority neighbourhoods, leading to among other things the unveiling of the suburban light rail plan Transit City, and the early stages of planning for Toronto Community Housing's first new development, the revitalization of Regent Park. On February 14, 2006, demolition work began on Regent Park, shortly followed by the completion of the new neighbourhood's first building in 2008.

In October 2008, TCHC was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and it was featured in Maclean's newsmagazine. Later that month, TCHC was also named one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers, which was announced by the Toronto Star newspaper.^[3]

On April 8, 2010, TCHC tenants between 14 and 28 years of age went to the polls to vote in the inaugural youth tenant election at locations across the city. Over a two-year term, elected youth tenant representatives will sit on youth councils that will have a say on capital priorities and planning in their communities. They will engage youth and work with staff to make things work better at the community level.

2011 Audit report controversy

Toronto Auditor General Jeffery Griffiths conducted audits of TCHC procurements and employee expenses from January 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010, reporting his findings in two separate reports on December 7, 2010. His report on employee expenses revealed a list of inappropriate expenses incurred by TCHC as a result of staff abusing the organization's funds for personal interest. Examples include a $1,850 boat cruise for "staff development", $1,925 for manicures and pedicures, $6,000 for a planning session in Muskoka, $53,500 for a 2008 staff party, $40,000 for a staff Christmas party in 2009, and $800 to provide massages at a staff picnic.^[4][5] Frequently deemed the most offensive of all the expenses by media figures, social advocates, and TCHC residents alike was the purchase of chocolates from luxury department store Holt Renfrew at a cost of $1,000.^[6]

The procurement audit found that procurement policy and procedures adopted by the TCHC board of directors were sometimes ignored. For instance, an open tendering process was sometimes not used when it should have been, the tendering process was not always transparent, and purchase orders were sometimes split to circumvent procurement procedures. Several cases of single tendering were deemed inappropriate, including one case of a potential conflict of interest not declared in writing and one case of nearly $25 million in work awarded to an unsolicited proposal without competition from other vendors. The report also criticized TCHC for bypassing the formal requirement that bidders make deposits—a requirement that protects the TCHC should a bidder fail to meet its contractual obligations—and for its documentation inadequately supporting some cases of single tendering.^[5][7]

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford demanded the resignation of the board of TCHC and although they were initially defiant, by March 3, 2011, all board members had resigned. The board was then replaced on a temporary basis by former city councillor Case Ootes.^[8] Ford demanded the resignation of TCHC CEO Keiko Nakamura who initially refused to step down.^[8] Toronto land development agency removed its CEO Derek Ballantyne who had been previously the CEO of TCHC.^[8] Ford called for the privatization of Toronto Community Housing Corporation. The feasibility of the privatization of TCHC was greeted with widespread scrutiny and skepticism; many housing and business experts felt that Ford underestimated the complexity of such a transition.^[9] TCHC CEO Nakamura resigned after a fire in a complex on Wellesley Street, and was replaced by Len Koroneos, selected by Ford.^[10]

Jones hiring

On June 18, 2012, Eugene Jones Jr. took over as president and CEO of TCHC. Jones has over 30 years of experience working in the U.S. public housing sector, most recently as the executive director of the Detroit Housing Commission.^[11]

Backlog of housing repairs

Since TCHC was formed in 2002, it has compiled a list of needed repairs to its buildings. By 2013, TCHC estimated it had a $751 million backlog of repairs to its buildings.^[12] In 2011, TCHC initiated a program of selling off units and other assets with the proceeds to be put towards needed repairs. 65 units were approved for sale by Ontario, and Toronto City Council approved the sale of a further 55 units in October 2012.^[12]

2013 Eviction scandals

In 2013, the City of Toronto Ombudsman released a report about TCHC eviction policy and evictions in 2011 and 2012. The report was sparked after the death of a senior evicted from TCHC in 2011, who died one month after being evicted. Len Koroneos, CEO during the period studied, focussed on rent collection, stating that “Good eviction prevention programs cannot be implemented at the expense of rent collection.”^[10] The TCHC Board adopted the recommendations of the Ombudsman.

2013 Fraudulent billing

Five employees were fired after an investigation into fraudulent billing found evidence of wrongdoing. The investigation involved a former subsidiary Housing Services Inc., and its work on the TCHC project at 200 Wellesley Street East, after it had been damaged by fire. The file was turned over to Toronto Police for further investigation.^[13]

Housing sites[]

TCH has various properties from individual sites (single dwelling to apartment complex) within existing neighbourhoods to housing projects. The two largest TCH housing project communities are:

Seniors/single family sites[]

• East
  • 176 Bain Ave.
  • 144 Balsam Ave.
  • Beaches Lions Centennial 50 Norway Ave.
  • Blair Court 266 Donlands Ave.
  • Brimley Acres 2950 Lawrence Ave. E.
  • 400/410 McCowan Road
  • Broadview Manor 80 Danforth Ave.
  • Byng Towers 3330 Danforth Ave.
  • Cedarbrae Manor 65 Greencrest Circuit
  • Cliffwood Manor 4000 Don Mills Rd.
  • Collegeview Apts. 423 Yonge St.
  • Donvale Manor 330 Gerrard St. E.
  • East York Acres 9 Haldon Ave.
  • Edna Dixon Apts. 540 Queen St. E.
  • Frances Beavis Manor 369 Pape Ave.
  • George Barker Manor 384 Mount Pleasant Rd.
  • Glen Stewart Acres 828 Kingston Rd.
  • Glenyan Manor 10 Deauville La.
  • Greenwood Towers 145 Strathmore Bvld.
  • Gus Harris Place 120 Townhaven Pl.
  • Hanson House 7 Coatsworth Cres.
  • Janet Magee Manor 71 Merton Ave.
  • Joseph Brown Manor 3179 Yonge St.
  • Kinsmen Manor 2287 Gerrard St. E.
  • May Birchard Apts. 859 Dundas St. E.
  • Montgomery Place 130 Eglinton Ave. E.
  • Moore Place 801 Mount Pleasant Rd.
  • Neilson Hall Apts. 1315 Neilson Rd.
  • Riverdale Acres 230 River St.
  • Sanderling Place 20 Sanderling Pl.
  • Scarborough Acres 575 Danforth Rd.
  • Seneca Towers 1700 Finch Ave. E.
  • St. George Manor 17 Brimley Rd.
  • Sunrise Towers 1420 Victoria Park Ave.
  • Tam O'Shanter Towers 3825 Sheppard Ave. E.
  • Overlea 12 Thorncliffe Park Dr.
  • The Sherwood 2565-7 Yonge St.
  • William Dennison Apts. 310 Dundas St. E
  • 237 Sherbourne St.
  • Willowdale Manor 175 Cummer Ave.
  • Winchester Square 55 Bleecker St.
  • Wishing Well Manor 2008 Pharmacy Ave.
  • Woodbine Acres 133 Merrill Ave.
• West
  • Alexandra Park Apts. 91 Augusta Ave.
  • Arleta Manor 7-11 Arleta Ave.
  • Bathurst Place 3036 Bathurst St.
  • Beecroft Manor 35 Park Home Ave.
  • Beverley Manor 168 John St.
  • Doug Saunders Apts. 1775 Eglinton Ave. W.
  • Edgeley Apts. 35 Shoreham Dr.
  • Edwards Manor 340 Royal York Rd.
  • Griggs Manor 1 100 Cavell Ave.
  • Griggs Manor 2 98 Cavell Ave.
  • Islington Manor 41 Mabelle Ave.
  • Kensington Manor 34 Oxford St.
  • King High Acres 12 King High Ave.
  • Leonardo Ct. 72 Clinton St.
  • Lerette Manor 250 Twelfth St.
  • Louise Towers 130 Vaughan Rd.
  • Marjory Carton Apts. 193 Wilson Ave.
  • May Robinson Apts. 20,25 West Lodge Ave.
  • McMurrich Place 18 Davenport Rd.
  • Outlook Manor 55 Outlook Ave.
  • Saranac Apts. 3174 Bathurst St.
  • Sheppard Place 4455 Bathurst St.
  • Silverthorn Place 600 Rogers Rd.
  • Springhurst Manor 1447 King St. W.
  • The Kempford 5430 Yonge St.
  • West Don Apts. 6250 Bathurst St.
  • Woods Manor 2835 Lake Shore Blvd.W.

Community Safety Unit[]

The Community Safety Unit (CSU) is the Law Enforcement agency of Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), a nonprofit housing provider in Toronto, Canada. TCHC first established a protective service as contracted security guards in the early 1990s. Soon after, the security firm was taken in-house and adopted a corporate security model. In the year 2000 the City of Toronto launched a pilot project to create Special Constables in TCHC. These Special Constables were sponsored and sworn in by the Toronto Police Service. The pilot project was deemed a success and most in-house security guards became sworn peace officers (Special Constables)..^[14] In 2015 the CSU launched a new deployment model creating faster response times and greater community engagement. This was the first step taken towards a more policing model in the community to combat the increasing violent crime and drug trafficking taking place within and in relation to TCHC properties. In 2017 the Toronto Police Services board approved the expansion of the Community Safety Unit (CSU) ^[15]

Currently the CSU consists of approximately 192 (and approved for a complement of 300) special constables making it the largest (independent) special constable agency in Canada. ^[16] The CSU is larger than some police services in Canada and statistically deals with more investigative and criminal code enforcement than many rural police services in the province of Ontario. ^[17] The CSU went under a rapid progression to a law enforcement model under their new Chief Special Constable William (Bill) Anderson (a former Peel Regional Police and Hamilton Police Service Staff Sergeant) in 2018. Many initiatives were brought in such as the Violence Reduction Program (VRP). ^[18] The VRP was introduced as a tool to counteract the extreme increase in violent crime in the city of Toronto. This project was backed and applauded by both Toronto City Council and the Toronto Police Service^{[19] [20] [21]}

TCHC special constables have police powers bestowed to them under the Police Services Act by Toronto Police Service on or in relation to Toronto Community Housing property and have the ability to enforce legislation from the: Criminal Code of Canada, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Mental Health Act, Liquor Licence Act, Trespass to Property Act, and Provincial Offences Act.

Multi-housing projects[]

• Lawrence Heights
• Regent Park

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Housing Connections
• Fiona Crean (June 2013). "Housing at Risk: An Investigation into the Toronto Community Housing Corporation's Eviction of Seniors on the Basis of Rent Arrears" (PDF).