Tenant Rights Front and Centre at Final Toronto Centre Talks of 2025

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In a city where over 70% of Toronto Centre residents are renters — many of them in Regent Park — housing issues continue to take centre stage. On June 10, 2025, the final Toronto Centre Talks (TC Talks) event of the year brought community members together at the Wellesley Community Centre for an evening focused on tenant rights and housing justice. TC Talks is a community engagement series launched by Councillor Chris Moise to bring residents into direct conversation with policy makers, frontline workers, and advocates on issues impacting everyday life — from public safety to housing, transit, and affordability. Each session focuses on a pressing topic, offering residents both information and a platform for their voices to be heard. This final session featured presentations from RentSafeTO, ACORN Canada, Neighbourhood Legal Services, and the Neighbourhood Information Post. Each speaker shared practical tools to help tenants protect their rights, fight against displacement, and stay housed. Alana Ruiz, from RentSafeTO, gave an overview of how the city inspects buildings and enforces repair standards, urging tenants to report issues and concerns through the appropriate city channels. ACORN leader Stacey Semple shared victories from tenant organizing efforts. Legal expert Suchana Sundararajan spoke to the challenges low-income renters face navigating the legal system. And Drew Dyce presented a supportive approach to housing stability through trusteeship.The evening wrapped with a panel discussion where residents raised real concerns — proving that civic dialogue, when community-led, is a vital tool for housing justice.

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