Cynthia Black (she/her)

Ottawa lawyer says eviction plan for Little Italy apartment building sidesteps tenants’ rights An Ottawa lawyer says a proposed mass eviction at a Little Italy apartment building sidesteps the legal protections Ontario tenants are entitled to and is being brought before the wrong court.

I lived in here briefly while it was still under construction. Its target market was students & it placed tenants in shared units w/others.

I recall informing mgmt that they were obligated to deliver the cleaning services *that were included* in lease agreements 🫠

www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...

👏
Another great quote from the Judge’s overview of the reasons for judgement (re: “fear of opening the floodgate” argument):

“Rights claims are not denied because others may make a similar claim or because it is administratively inconvenient to comply with the Charter.”

Arms Embargo Now! Canada’s secret arms trade with Israel, exposed: This hard-hitting report exposes the damning data—hundreds of shipments, hundreds of thousands of bullets—and the Canadian government’s web of lies tha...

A groundbreaking new report has just revealed a pipeline of hundreds of ongoing arms shipments from Canada to Israel and the government's web of lies over the last 21 months. Read it and act now - we can’t let a single MP off the hook. #ArmsEmbargoNow armsembargonow.ca/report

Report Reveals Canada's Lies + Complicity - Leadnow

I just wrote a letter: Report reveals Canada's Lies + Complicity: Demand an Arms Embargo. Write one here: leadnow.ca/campaigns/ar...

Can’t believe it finally passed. We tried this year ago and if not for some of the same opposition, it could have lowered rents across the board and forced millions in repairs during both COVID and now

Harvard-linked study finds Israel ‘disappeared’ nearly 400,000 Palestinians in Gaza, half of them children: Report The study by a Ben Gurion University professor uses data-driven analysis and spatial mapping to highlight a severe decline in Gaza’s population since October 2023

thecradle.co/articles-id/... ‘The report was written by Israeli professor Yaakov Garb, who used data-driven analysis and spatial mapping to show how the Israeli army’s siege of Gaza and indiscriminate attacks on civilians in the enclave have led to a serious drop in its population.’

Stop Bill C-2 - Migrant Rights Network Send an Email Now! Bill C-2 is a cruel and violent law that aims to create a mass deportation machine: One-Year Refugee Deadline: Bill C-2 blocks anyone in Canada over one year from claiming refugee s...

I just wrote to PM @mark-carney.bsky.social‬ Ministers Anandasangaree & Diab demanding that Bill C-2 be rescinded. This law gives dangerous unchecked powers to the government to deport people, including permanent residents and attacks refugees. Add your name:

migrantrights.ca/take-action/...

How Canada’s ‘Condo Class’ Has Disrupted Political Organizing The rise of condos is making door-to-door political campaigning obsolete.

How Canada’s ‘Condo Class’ Has Disrupted Political Organizing www.readthemaple.com/how-canadas-...

By @emmapaling.bsky.social 👏

Thrilled to join the Annual Community BBQ in the High Park buildings!

It’s always heartening to see neighbours come together and build community over great food & conversations.

Thank you Livmore High Park Tenants' Association for hosting, and for your continued advocacy & community leadership!

We were thrilled to have
@alexagilmour.bsky.social attend our Annual Community BBQ last weekend!

Thank you, Alexa, for speaking in support of rent control ✊

A home…a home…a home is with the fight!

No more greedy landlords.
Housing justice NOW.
@230fightback.bsky.social @nodemovictions.bsky.social @springmagca.bsky.social @demsocialistsca.bsky.social

F*ck Bill 5 ✊🏻

This is unbelievable. The government is silencing debate and skipping public hearings to push through their plan to politicize Ontario’s courts.

First Bill 5. Now this. How far are they willing to go?

“We must see this as an opportunity to break the grip of the developers and speculators and defeat the established political orthodoxy that holds that housing provision requires the incentivization of these parasitic interests.”

👏💯

Financialization, housing rents, and affordability in Toronto - Martine August, Cloé St-Hilaire, 2025 This article examines the links between financialization, rent increases, and spatial inequality in Toronto, Canada. By drawing on qualitative data from the gre...

Research by @uwaterloo.ca on #Toronto rents:

“GWL (insurance company Great West Life), which charged a 45% (or $841) premium to neighbourhood rents, was the first Canadian firm to adopt YieldStar software.”

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Financialization, housing rents, and affordability in Toronto - Martine August, Cloé St-Hilaire, 2025 This article examines the links between financialization, rent increases, and spatial inequality in Toronto, Canada. By drawing on qualitative data from the gre...

Research by @uwaterloo.ca on #Toronto rents:

“Dream was one of top rent increasers in our study, raising rents by 13% ($204) per quarter across its Toronto-based properties (equivalent to 52% or $816 per year).”

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Financialization, housing rents, and affordability in Toronto - Martine August, Cloé St-Hilaire, 2025 This article examines the links between financialization, rent increases, and spatial inequality in Toronto, Canada. By drawing on qualitative data from the gre...

🎯 “…financial firms are more aggressive in pursuing rent increases because they say that they are: the firm themselves state that their growth is driven by raising rents, and that they pursue more aggressive increases...”

👏 Fantastic research by @uwaterloo.ca

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

“Most notable of these is the erosion of rent control. After all, even if the REITs were to control 100 percent of the market their capacity to exploit renters could be curtailed by effective rent control legislation.”

#RentControlNow

@canadiandimension.bsky.social

“The Federal Housing Advocate points to three major policy drivers: the retreat of the welfare state in Canada (especially the cancellation of social housing), the removal of rent control and tenant protections, and financial liberalization and deregulation.”
@canadiandimension.bsky.social

“The places we live have become sites of exploitation…No amount of new construction or anti-immigration policies will change that reality. The emerging oligopolies of financialized landlords will raise rents and fees regardless of the opinions of the invisible hand.”
@canadiandimension.bsky.social

It’s *not* immigrants.

It’s *not* lack of supply.

It’s $$$ firms that are making housing unaffordable.

“Census data shows that the supply of housing has been greater than population growth almost every year since 2010, yet housing price increases consistently outstrip inflation every year.”

The REIT-ification of housing The financialization of housing is a result of policy choices made by successive federal and provincial governments over decades. The Federal Housing Advocate points to three major policy drivers: the...

The rapid evaporation of affordable housing has created a dire situation for working Canadians. Since financialized firms entered the housing market average home prices have risen 318%. Two-thirds of tenants are now being charged unaffordable rents.

Agreed:

Financialized landlords…

(like GWL Realty Advisors, Dream Ultd, Starlight, Minto, Brookfield, etc)

…should NOT be accessing supports when they are literally pricing people out of their homes.

@mark-carney.bsky.social @gregorrobertson.bsky.social @ontariopc.bsky.social

Financial landlords are leading Toronto rent hikes | Waterloo News Financial landlords in Toronto charge monthly rents 44 per cent higher than the average neighbourhood price, according to a groundbreaking new study. The increase translates to $670 more on average. A...

A @uwaterloo.ca researcher:

“We don't think that they should be accessing support from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation or Canada's National Housing Strategy.” 💯

Now fix it, @mark-carney.bsky.social @gregorrobertson.bsky.social @ontariopc.bsky.social
uwaterloo.ca/news/financi...

Financial landlords are leading Toronto rent hikes | Waterloo News Financial landlords in Toronto charge monthly rents 44 per cent higher than the average neighbourhood price, according to a groundbreaking new study. The increase translates to $670 more on average. A...

A @uwaterloo.ca researcher:

👉“The  government  has goals to improve housing affordability, but their programs give funding to organizations who eviscerate housing affordability…”

@mark-carney.bsky.social @gregorrobertson.bsky.social @ontariopc.bsky.social

uwaterloo.ca/news/financi...

Amnesty International presses Ottawa to take action against U.S. on human rights Organization calls on Ottawa to appoint a human-rights ambassador, withdraw from the Safe Third Country Agreement and address human-rights issues abroad

Amnesty International is urging Canada to take action against the United States, in its strongest warning ever against the rise of authoritarian practices south of the border and around the world.

www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...

Amnesty is urging Canada to take action against the US, in its strongest warning ever against the rise of authoritarian practices south of the border & around the world

🔗theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-amnesty-international-presses-ottawa-to-take-action-against-us-on/?intcmp=gift_share

I cannot emphasize enough how amazing Bhutila’s solidarity & support has been for my community & so many others in #TaiaiakonParkdaleHighPark when it comes to making life better for people.

Go vote for @bhutilakarpoche.bsky.social so she can continue to hold gov’t to account!
🍊✊🏻🧡

This shareable reads “Cynthia Black endorses Bhutila Karpoche”. Underneath reads “My neighbours and I know Bhutila as a badass who has supported us in the fight for fair rent. Whether she’s protesting with us against out-of-control rent increases or calling for a national investigation into price-fixing by landlords, we can count on Bhutila to call out bad actors in positions of power. There’s no threat of a Conservative win here, so choosing an effective and proven leader is simple: I wholeheartedly support Bhutila. Cynthia Black. Organizer, Livmore High Park Tenants’ Association”. Underneath is a photo of Cynthia Black and Bhutila Karpoche.

Cynthia Black is a leader in our community. Organizing with tenants in the High Park area against unfair rent hikes and rent price fixing. She knows the importance of having an MP you can trust.

Thank you, Cynthia, for your support! I'm honoured to fight alongside you.

✊🏻