Written by: Aidan Jonah

On Monday, Justin Trudeau railed against those who “choose” not to self-isolate, and therefore increase the risk of community spread. His Liberal government’s $107 billion aid-package would seemingly back up his strong words, upon first glance. However, this bill lacks the most crucial element to helping working class people avoid financial ruin, when they lose or are unable to attain employment. Even for those who meet the stringent requirements of the $2000 per month “basic income”, the cost of rent will suck up most of their finances, leaving little money for other survival needs. To truly help working class renters, the Canadian government must institute an immediate rent moratorium, in addition to making the “basic income program” truly universal, so no one is left behind.

Homeless people, and those who are on the Ontario Welfare and Ontario Disability Support Programs are ignored by the aid package, leaving the most vulnerable people of society out in the cold. The program also leaves out university students, many of whom need a summer job, in an attempt to pay the staggeringly high costs of post-secondary education. The emergency basic income program is incredibly exclusionary, leaving millions of Canadians with aid that is limited at best, in the middle of a devastating pandemic.

In an recent Angus Reid poll, 44 per cent of Canadian households said they have lost work through the COVID-19 pandemic, while an analysis of employment data from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that up to 1.5 million people could be laid off by the end of the month. Meanwhile, more than one million people applied for Employment Insurance (EI) last week. EI now has a massive shortfall due to its pilfering by Liberal and Conservative governments throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Some $60-billion of surplus premiums were used to reduce the federal deficit as the proportion of the unemployed eligible to collect benefits fell to less than four in 10. As a result, the system is drastically overburdened, and very likely incapable of handling the surge of recipients. For those who are eligible for new programs, and fortunate enough to have their application accepted, even they will not receive payments until Apr. 19.

More than 18 million Canadians (53%) live paycheque to paycheque, making the loss of employment so devastating when Canadians are struggling with the expensive rental market. In pandemic-free times this reality leaves more than 200,000 Canadians living on the street, while so many rely on food banks to avoid starvation. In Toronto, the average renter pays more than $2000 for a one-bedroom space. “Good during the “good times” the sky-high cost of housing forces people to work long hours, at a severe harm to their health, just so they can survive. That only applies for those who are fortunate enough to make a living wage in Toronto, which is $22.08, while those who make $14 an hour struggle on the margins.

Landlords across the country have openly shown their disdain for working-class renters, making it clear that they expect their rent payments at the beginning of the month. During the middle of a pandemic, landlords are telling workers to get jobs in the few industries which have been deemed essential, such as residential construction, despite government calls for physical distancing. As a result, workers have been forced to continue traveling to essential jobs, many through public transit, which contributes to the community spread of COVID-19. Yet, due to the failure of the provincial and federal governments to institute a rent moratorium, these workers are left to choose between homelessness and potentially spreading the novel coronavirus.

In times of crisis, people tend to band together. This has stayed true through the COVID-19 pandemic. In mid-March, the first rent strike was announced in the Parkside area of Toronto, for Apr. 1. A formal Facebook group, Keep Your Rent, is leading the charge in Toronto.

Rent strikes are being planned all across Ontario, with working-class renters unifying against the landlords. In apartments where a rent strike is occurring, each participating tenant will refuse to send in their rent payment at the beginning of the month; in this case, on April 1st. With a moratorium having been placed on evictions, a unified rent strike would leave the building’s landlord powerless. The money could go to the basic survival needs of the people, ensuring that they could do their part in fighting COVID-19, by staying home.

Not only is a rent strike a key survival mechanism and a builder of class consciousness, it also serves the crucial purpose of making it possible for working-class renters to physically isolate. When out of touch political leaders shame working class people for doing what they must to survive in a time of crisis, they are showing that their loyalty lies with the corporate elites of this country.

There is also a rank hypocrisy among those who oppose the rent strike; their unwillingness to acknowledge the mortgage payment deferrals being offered by Canada’s big banks. So, in many cases, landlords who are able to avoid paying their mortgage, will greedily prey upon working-class renters, demanding that they put themselves in harm's way, just to help the landlords rake in the cash. A new development, which further showcases the depraved nature of the landlord class, is the push for renovations, in an apparent attempt to flout the anti-eviction measures Ontario has put in place.