Mayor Olivia Chow is criticizing the “uncaring” culture of Toronto’s public service, after an accountability watchdog found the city failed to act while tenants in a rooming house went without basic utilities for six months.
At a council meeting on Wednesday, the mayor and other members grilled city officials over the investigation ombudsman Kwame Addo released last week, which found bylaw officers failed to enforce rules that are supposed to protect tenants after a minor fire in a rooming house in 2023 led to an extended shut-off of its heat, water and power.
As the residents resorted to sleeping in coats and boiling water in order to bathe, bylaw officers didn’t visit the property until more than two weeks after tenants submitted a request, according to the report. When they did arrive, they failed to collect evidence or use their authority to restore the utilities.
