Chatham-Kent Employment and Social Services is hosting two live Facebook events to offer some solutions for those that may need help participating in Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) hearings, which are only held online.
The informational events take place at noon on March 21, and at 7 p.m. March 27.
Phillip Mock, executive director of Vision Us, will be moderating a discussion with Douglas Kwan, director of advocacy and legal services for the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, and Jeff Wilkins, paralegal/housing stability worker with the Chatham-Kent Legal Clinic.
Each event will be live streamed on the municipality’s Facebook and YouTube channels.
Local tenants, especially those with lower incomes, are facing challenges with attending Landlord and Tenant Board hearings that are being conducted on Zoom. There are Chatham-Kent residents that do not have the technology or the technological skills to attend these Zoom hearings, as reported in The Voice. In one instance, a man tried to call into the hearing via payphone.
When a tenant does not attend an LTB hearing, the judgment is made in favour of the landlord, resulting in unnecessary evictions. These remote hearings have created a “digital divide” for many tenants since being implemented in 2020.
No links to the events?