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The "digital first" system of landlords and tenant boards harms vulnerable lessors.

The Ontario State Court adopted a variety of digital tools in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Canadian Press

Canadian Press

A construction crane sits atop a highrise building in Toronto.
A construction crane is on top of a skyscraper in Toronto. Photo: Pawel Dwulit/Canadian news agency

Ontario tenant advocacy group applies for human rights Complaints from the province's landlords and tenant committees alleging a switch to a "digital-first" strategy centered on virtual hearings during a pandemic discriminate against vulnerable lessees.

The Ontario Tenant Advocacy Center said a complaint was filed with the Ontario Human Rights Court on behalf of a 77-year-old woman in North Bay, Ontario. She rejected her application after she experienced problems with the new digital system.

Lorraine Peever, she lives alone in public housing, she does not have a computer or cell phone, and she seeks to attend a hearing with the board, primarily through landlines. The organization said it had tried. The group added that the board did not respond to Peaver's request for a face-to-face hearing.

Advocates said they also plan to submit several more applications on behalf of other tenants who claim their rights have been infringed due to the change.

The Ontario State Court, including the Landlord and Tenant Commission, will respond to the COVID-19 pandemic with a variety of digital tools such as virtual hearings and online document filing in 2020. Was adopted.

Later, the court moved to a new digital case management system at the end of last year to deal with the delays and litigation delinquency exacerbated by the pandemic.

A spokesperson for the Ontario Court confirmed that the Ontario Human Rights Court had received the application from the advocacy group, but refused to comment further, citing the arbitrage process.

In a court application, Peaver said her building had bedbug problems and she began seeking compensation for the loss of her belongings due to intrusion in 2019.

Peaver has been dismissed several times, partly due to problems with her access to the online system, and for years she tried to bring her proceedings to the board of directors. I spent "a considerable amount of time and energy" over the course. Document claim.

"The access to justice by the elderly should not be so many trials," the application states.

Prior to the pandemic, board hearings were usually held directly or by phone without eviction of peasants or for low-priority applicants in remote areas of northern Ontario. , Said ACTO Staff Attorney Ryan Hardy.

The Board also had regional offices throughout the state where applicants could go to ask questions and talk to lawyers, Hardy said.

The "digital first" approach assumes that the applicant has a computer with a webcam. If you don't have one, you are expected to make a call. "Then they are only partially participating because they can't see what other participants can see in the video," he said.

"Then you can do these things, you have the technical know-how to do it, and you are never hindered by obstacles. It's a prerequisite, "Hardy said.

There are other issues with the current system. For example, it may be difficult for applicants to submit their version of the event in a cross-examination, or to submit and view supplementary documents.

Organizations are seeking many systematic reforms to improve accessibility. This includes making face-to-face hearings an equivalent option to remote hearings, and resuming physical locations to allow face-to-face document submission.

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