By Staff
May 19th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
Wow – the Premier laid it on the line.
He was addressing what he called “greedy landlords” and said they needed to begin to cooperate with their tenants and find a compromise.
If they don’t he said, he was going to come down on them very hard. He was going to hammer them
He wasn’t smiling when he was speaking.
Premier threatening to hammer the “greedy landlords.”
Will it make a difference to the small business operators that are renting from large property owners?
While the Premier was speaking in a media Q&A that was running live Deputy Premier Christine Elliott was smiling in the background. We thought we could hear her saying: Go get em Dougie.
Sheri and Stephen.
The covid 19 virus was not created by Landlords. Therefore it is not their problem to fix. If the Government wants to subsidize commercial tenants by paying for all or part of their legal agreed upon rents. That is theirs to fix not the Landlords. Not all landlords are big and rich, some of them have put their life savings or have taken mortgages to buy small store fronts as investments. The rent they collect has to go to pay off their expenses. Mortgage payments, taxes, etc. Also to feed their families. If they fail to make their payments the bank forecloses on their properties. What are you suggesting that they have done wrong, by the tenants not paying them the rent that is owed? Premier Ford is looking like a thug. Is he going to force the Grocery stores, Gas stations, Utilities, to cut there prices because people are out of work? Will Government employees be asked to slash their wages to cut taxes we pay? I hope not. Rent controls were what destroyed the construction of rental housing units in Ontario. Creating such a shortage. When people look to were to invest their money things like this shoot up a red flag. Perhaps this is why so many people are investing and moving their business interests-manufacturing jobs to China. O yes that is were the whole covid problem is alleged to have come from. That is pathetic.
Rather than give tenants a break on their rent, or at least defer payments till things open, commercial landlords persist in trying to get their pound of flesh. Most businesses are cash strapped, and many businesses are dipping into savings or taking loans just to try and stay afloat. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has been pleading for weeks for rent relief.
Word tonight on the CBC’s The National is that most commercial landlords are actively balking at participating in the federal government’s Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (“CECRA”) program that opens up next week as they perceive it will be too cumbersome. They would rather push businesses into bankruptcy rather than seek a compromise solution that promotes long-term survival.
Pathetic.
Doug Ford removed rent control from new residential buildings to make his developer pals happy.
Cities and municipalities tax commercial properties with exceptional greed.
Commercial landlords need to stop being greedy?