Sun attacks Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations

32 posts / 0 new

Fri, 2010-11-19 17:17

aka Mycroft

The Sun's Sue-Anne Levy, landlord lobby in tow, is already hot to trot to try to get the city's tenant advocay programmes defunded, chief among them the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations tenant hotline and outreach and organizing service which helps tenants fight above guideline increases.

In a full page attack, Levy quotes landlord advocate Harry Fine (a paralegal and former Landlord Tenant Board adjudicator who now represents landords in cases) who calls for the FMTA and the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) to be defunded claiming they're not needed. Kind of reminds me of pro-management lawyers who claim unions aren't needed anymore.

She also quotes an anonymous "tenant activist" who is anti-FMTA.

Ford's not even mayor yet and the attacks on the poor and even not so poor who can't afford to own their homes has already begun.

Sat, 2010-11-20 06:54

mahmud

And of course, as the ideologically biased article would have trouble flying as a real concern and the sums talked about are mere chicken feeds, a dash of witch hunting was deemed necessary to propel it into 'concernability' and worthiness: "radical left affiliations", "anti-Israel sentiments" and "advocated for the G20 protesters".

Sat, 2010-11-20 11:12

Jacob Richter

F*** the Sun newspaper. If anything else, the tenant associations need to be more assertive.

Sat, 2010-11-20 11:30

aka Mycroft

Levy's pretty awful. I think QUAIA has a press council complaint against her for her smear job against them last summer (in which she claimed a crossed out swastika is a "nazi symbol" when it's an anti-nazi symbol and other half-truths). Maybe the FMTA should file a complaint about her hatchet job on them?

Sat, 2010-11-20 12:14

Stockholm

I think Levy is still in the throes of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - after election night produced a major personal fiasco for her - Kristyn Wong-Tam was elected. Levy literally devoted half a dozen entire columns during the campaign to trying to discredit Kristyn. She lobbed false accusations about election spending, she relentlessly tried to claim she was anti-semitic over the QAIA issue (totally absurd) etc... it was as if her entire life depended on making sure Kristyn lost. But she won and has anyone noticed that Levy has had NOTHING to say about that. I think she is still getting ove the shock and may have injured herself bouncing off the walls when she heard the news.

Sat, 2010-11-20 12:27

aka Mycroft

Reading Levy's hatchet job or the right wing attack websites that target the FMTA you'd never know that there are Tories on the FMTA's board (along with NDPers and Liberals).

Sun, 2010-11-21 21:38

Sunday Hat

Regardless of the factual inaccuracies and the fairness of this attack, the FMTA is going to lose their public subsidy.

The Left on Council may be able to preserve similar services for tenants but the days where FMTA gets to be the sole-source provider are ending. It's an easy target.

Mon, 2010-11-22 02:08

milo204

Insane. In winnipeg we have the residential tenancies board, who routinely allows higher than usual rent increases,etc.

And with the amount of apartments being turned into condos it's only going to get worse as rents go up and service declines. Renters need more protection and advocacy every year, putting up barriers to that is going to disproportionally affect those with lower incomes.

Mon, 2011-01-17 14:05

ganou

The FMTA is just a repeat organization (its already free at the LTB...Landlord & Tenant baord)....plus you get free Legal Aid (aka Duty Council).

The FMTA really needs to worry about the cuts with the Tenand Defence Fund in the city.....soon they will be on the chopping block.

Waste of taxpayers money in my opinion.

Mon, 2011-01-17 14:27

#10

Le T

Duty Council at the LTB varies depending on who is working and how busy they are. Community Legal Clinics (funded by Legal Aid Ontario but governed by a local board) are also endagered these days. Often it is these lawyers/paralegals who work Duty Council (one of the ways that they make up for underfunding by LAO) and we will see the loss of committed Duty Council lawyers and representation for more complex tenant cases if legal clinics get defunded.

It will always suck to be a tenant. Not until we put users' rights on the level of owners' rights will there be anything different.

Mon, 2011-01-17 15:15

#11

ganou

Le T wrote:

Not until we put users' rights on the level of owners' rights will there be anything different.

User's rights and owners right are very different. If someone wants the same rights, then buy your own property...thats how I see it.

Unless someone who is a tenant has ever been in the shoes of a landlord, I completely disagree with this comment. Being both a tenant and a landlord all at once myself, I finally saw the differences between the two. A line that is quite obscur.

If you are a non-paying tenant, what rights should they have? Non-paying tenants are not users, they are abusers of a system which can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months to evict.

Mon, 2011-01-17 16:59

#12

aka Mycroft

Ganou, the LTB duty counsels only deal with matters before the LTB and they aren't familiar with city bylaws so for day to day advice they aren't an option for tenants.

They also don't do things like go into buildings and help tenants organise against Above Guideline Increases or conduct on site tenant education which are the two FMTA programmes facing funding reductions by city hall.

BTW, are you a landlord by any chance.

Mon, 2011-01-17 17:18

#13

aka Mycroft

And Ganou, like it or not, tenants pay taxes too and there are far more of them then there are landlords so why shouldn't the city provide them with services? It always amuses me how people who talk about taxpayers talk as if they and people like them are the only ones who pay taxes.

Tue, 2011-01-18 10:19

#14

ganou

aka Mycroft wrote:
And Ganou, like it or not, tenants pay taxes too and there are far more of them then there are landlords so why shouldn't the city provide them with services? It always amuses me how people who talk about taxpayers talk as if they and people like them are the only ones who pay taxes.

Everyone pays taxes..and I am not questioning this at all.

Why should the city provide any select group with funding.

Should the city provide special services to those who are able bodied? Because they pay taxes too and there are far more able bodied than physically challenged?

Your comment is full of empowerment that makes me sick. More is better, so screw everyone else.

Imagine if a certain group such as __________(insert gender/race/religion) were to recive funding because they were a majority, and all other minorities got none.

Tue, 2011-01-18 10:27

#15

Maysie

Um, hi ganou.

Groups that have been historically marginalized, and have had limited access to services, such as health services delivered in their first language, have some opportunities to have specialized services to meet their needs. Anyone who speaks English or French as a first language in Canada doesn't require such services. As an English speaker I think that's a great idea. You apparently do not.

It's about being a numerical minority, yes, in some ways. It's more about being a group whose interests aren't being served by a community in which said numerical minorities pay the same taxes, etc as everyone else.

This is one of a few first principles here on babble. That said, babble might not be the place for you.

Tue, 2011-01-18 10:34

#16

aka Mycroft

Ganou, I am going to assume based on your posts here and elsewhere (such as in the Toronto Sun's comment section) that you are a landlord, particularly as you didn't answer the question.

The fact that the Ontario Landlords Association and landlord agents such as Harry Fine hate the FMTA so much makes me think they must be doing something right.

Tue, 2011-01-18 10:43

#17

aka Mycroft

And Ganou, your article about entitlement ignores the fact that a landlord has a lot of power over his or her tenant and also tends to have many more resources. By your argument the Employment Standards branch of the ministry of labour (and perhaps the ministry itself) should be dismanteld because employers are a small minority compared to workers.

On the one hand, by invoking "taxpayer rights" you imply wrongly that most taxpayers in Toronto aren't tenants and then when that fallacy is pointed out you cry that it's unfair for the city to provide tenants with services because tenants are the majority and landlords are an oppressed minority.

Tue, 2011-01-18 11:37

#18

aka Mycroft

Indeed Ganou, given by your 1105 posts to the Ontario Landlord Association's forum you are most certainly not only a landlord but a landlord activist.

Tue, 2011-01-18 12:06

#19

ganou

aka Mycroft wrote:
And Ganou, your article about entitlement ignores the fact that a landlord has a lot of power over his or her tenant and also tends to have many more resources. By your argument the Employment Standards branch of the ministry of labour (and perhaps the ministry itself) should be dismanteld because employers are a small minority compared to workers. On the one hand, by invoking "taxpayer rights" you imply wrongly that most taxpayers in Toronto aren't tenants and then when that fallacy is pointed out you cry that it's unfair for the city to provide tenants with services because tenants are the majority and landlords are an oppressed minority.

As for power over a tenant, what powers does a landlord have over any tenant. Please give me an explanation and examples of this?

The only thing that a small landlord has different than any tenant is that they own property.

They both have bills, they both have taxes, they both have rent/mortgage.

Tue, 2011-01-18 12:21

#20

ganou

aka Mycroft wrote:

Indeed Ganou, given by your 1105 posts to the Ontario Landlord Association's forum you are most certainly not only a landlord but a landlord activist.

Isn't it awesome that you can do a little research on the internet?

To be completely honest, I'm looking out for the small man in this whole scenario, who are getting abused repeatedly by many tenants due to the system in place. And one such group, the FMTA, does teach those how to abuse the system.

Ironically enough I have called them in the past, and when their response was teaching someone how to not pay rent for months on end and get away with it. Yet, when I bring this up, their response was "do you have a recording of that conversation". If this doesn't show guilt I don't know what does.

Same as the G20, police won't get charged unless its on film or in a photo...guess what...its guilt unless concrete evidence is there. Yet everyone seems to still fight without the "concrete evidence".

Tue, 2011-01-18 12:32

#21

Maysie

Okay, that's enough.

ganou you're banned.

Tue, 2011-01-18 12:32

#22

aka Mycroft

ganou wrote:

aka Mycroft wrote:

Indeed Ganou, given by your 1105 posts to the Ontario Landlord Association's forum you are most certainly not only a landlord but a landlord activist.

Isn't it awesome that you can do a little research on the internet?

To be completely honest, I'm looking out for the small man in this whole scenario, who are getting abused repeatedly by many tenants due to the system in place. And one such group, the FMTA, does teach those how to abuse the system.

Ironically enough I have called them in the past, and when their response was teaching someone how to not pay rent for months on end and get away with it. Yet, when I bring this up, their response was "do you have a recording of that conversation". If this doesn't show guilt I don't know what does.

Same as the G20, police won't get charged unless its on film or in a photo...guess what...its guilt unless concrete evidence is there. Yet everyone seems to still fight without the "concrete evidence".

Well, do you have a recording of the conversation because I doubt that your version of events. Asking for evidence isn't proof of guilt. On the contrary, the fact that you tried to engage in a sting against a group by phoning them and pretending to be someone you're not yet don't have any evidence to back up your claim of what happened gives cause to any objective observer to doubt the accuracy of your claim.

And you're not looking out for the "small man", you're looking out for yourself and other landlords who, objectively, have a lot more power than tenants. Again, if the FMTA weren't effective you and the OLA wouldn't be so determined to get rid of it.

Wed, 2011-01-19 10:44

#23

A political

Ganou is banned-so I will make this short. I had a friend who worked at the FMTA for 2 and half years on the hotline. The FMTA does not counsel tenants on not paying rent. He is full of it!

Fri, 2011-01-21 12:13

#24

TCHC-Tenant

Does anybody have Ganou's email or what building that slumlord owns?

I am sure he is deserving of a visit from OCAP!

Fri, 2011-01-21 16:38

#25

Bacchus

Thats evidence? Geez Im a member of the NDP and Im a mason, does that mean the NDP are involved in a Mason conspiracy?

These people are nuts Mycroft

Fri, 2011-01-21 22:08

#26

Le T

Wait...you're a member of the NDP?

Sat, 2011-01-22 00:57

#27

Bacchus

Yup, why?

Sat, 2011-01-22 07:10

#28

Maysie

TCHC-Tenant wrote:

Does anybody have Ganou's email or what building that slumlord owns?

I am sure he is deserving of a visit from OCAP!

After doing a bit of poking around, while I can't definitively say that TCHC and ganou are the same person, the info I was able to find about both their IP addresses in combination with aka Mycroft's superior detective work, has led me to believe they are the same person. He's outta here. Thanks aka.

Sat, 2011-01-22 09:52

#29

Le T

Quote:
Yup, why?

My attempt at humour. I am as paranoid of political parties as secret societies.

Sat, 2011-01-22 15:13

#30

Bacchus

LOL well we control them all Le T.

I joined rabble and the NDP at the same time, after reading Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenrich. It so appalled me that I broke out of myself and worked on bettering myself and helping out in the world. A rather steep learning curve, especially here at babble but a necessary one I feel for me. Its taken a lot to advance but Im working on it

Fri, 2012-03-16 00:09

#31

aka Mycroft

TCHC-Tenant wrote:

Does anybody have Ganou's email or what building that slumlord owns?

I am sure he is deserving of a visit from OCAP!

I suspect "TCHC Tenant" is actually one of a pair of anti-FMTA activists practicing one of their famous "black op" manouvres where they pretend to be tenant activists and make over the top comments in an attempt to discredit the tenant movement. These sorts of fake posts usually end up on their website as "evidence". The most famous example of this are posts by "Svetlana Kremko" or "S. Kremko". Long time babblers may remember "S. Kremko" being banned after posting anti-Semitic posts - which subsequently ended up on their website. Svetlana has made a come back, she now has a Facebook profile and is posting "anti-Levitt" posts on Facebook and in the Toronto Sun comments section which have ended up being used on their anti-FMTA page as fake evidence (along with a false claim by them that "Svetlana" is an FMTA volunteer or possibly even an employee when, in fact, the FMTA has no record of any such person volunteering let alone being employed by the organization).

It's all reminiscent of politicians who would fake assassination attempts against themselves in a desperate attempt to bolster their credibility and sympathy for them. "Svetlana" posts over the top attacks on themselves, when "she" isn't posting anti-Semitic drivel aimed at discrediting either the FMTA or pro-Palestinian activists.

Fri, 2012-03-16 00:11

#32

aka Mycroft

One of his favourite ploys is trumping up links between OCAP and FMTA and I believe the above post is an attempt to provide him with further "proof". He claims the FMTA uses city money to fund OCAP when, in fact, FMTA gives OCAP no money whatsoever, nor does FMTA organize anything with OCAP. His "evidence" is the fact that one or two former OCAP members work for FMTA (he also claims a few people who have no connection with OCAP are OCAP members) and the fact that someone posted a pro-OCAP message on FMTA's public message board.