It's getting hot in here

Just as a cool snap hits, this story about extreme heat came to my attention:

Air-conditioning fees probed [London Free Press]

Suzanne Young, 49, who couldn't afford a $50 monthly fee to run an air-conditioner was found dead earlier this month in her sweltering apartment. Another Sarnia resident, Stanley Scott, 58, was found dead in his basement apartment three days later.

Bradley had asked [Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, John] Gerretsen to protect tenants from being gouged by landlords for extra air conditioning fees.

In a reply, Gerretsen said he has asked ministry staff to consider changes to legislation to help residents remain cool in their rental housing during the summer. [read more]

Our current building has the same fee (a generic $50/month fee for 'large applicances'), but I know for a fact that it's not levied on everyone. It would be nice if the law acknowledged the necessity of climate control - or at least the depravity of denying it to those at risk.

Sticker campaign for $10 wage - "The campaign will give stickers to small businesses who pay employees more than the minimum $8 an hour." [The Star]

Gilding abysmal housing record - "Judging by the sod-turnings, ribbon-cuttings and new projects announced regularly by the Ministry of Housing, you'd think the provincial Liberals were well on their way to creating the 20,000 units of affordable housing they promised in the last election...Since [McGuinty] became premier, just 2,894 new units of affordable housing have been built. Another 2,446 are under construction and 1,304 are in the planning and approval stages." [Toronto Star]

Reason #1,700 to raise the rates!

Mom took kids on coin laundry crime spree - "A Kitchener mother brought along two of her children while she and her boyfriend broke into apartment laundry rooms to steal money, a judge heard yesterday... The mother mainly played the role of lookout for the boyfriend who stole hundreds of dollars in coins from laundry rooms and vending machines last fall, court heard. All the mother got was money for groceries. She also has a 15-year-old daughter who is developmentally handicapped. The woman lives on a disability pension of about $1,700 a month for her and her three children." [KW Record]

That's about $20k each year for one adult and three children, one of whom is seriously handicapped. When push comes to shove, they'll have to raise money to live in just a fraction of human dignity somehow - so why not raise the rates, already!

NDP leader wants $10 wage vote - "'New Democrats will not sleep, we will not slumber, we will not rest until Ontario has a $10-an-hour minimum wage and every working person in this province gets a fair day's pay for a hard day's work,' Hampton said yesterday in his keynote address at the provincial NDP convention in Toronto." [Toronto Star]

Review minimum wage, Tory urges - "He proposed a commission that would consult broadly with business and social justice groups annually and decide whether the minimum wage, which rises 25 cents to $8 an hour next week, should be changed to reflect economic conditions." [Toronto Star]

Homeless shelters overloaded, critics say - "The hidden-camera operation is the latest move by the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, a veteran group of homelessness activists critical of Mayor David Miller's strategy on the homeless." [Globe and Mail]