This is the fourth article in a four part series by Maria Waston CanLII and the Ontario Landlord
When I read a news article referencing the Landlord Tenant Board (LTB) I often check the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) online site to see if the decision regarding the story has been published there. Human interest stories garner a lot of readership. I read this human interest news story about an eviction that led to the tenant moving to a camper for accommodation .
One of the tenets of good journalism is balanced reporting. However that “Camper” article has a slant. The inference is that the eviction was unfair. The writer gives the tenant’s viewpoint, yet the reporter does not quote the landlord, nor even say if he tried to contact the landlord. The article supports the narrative of the “greedy landlord” who evicts tenants just to re-rent the unit at a higher price. This narrative is getting tiresome.
The reporter does interview a paralegal about the housing crisis and one of the things the paralegal said was that only 20 percent of tenants show up for their hearings. The CANLII decision states that the tenant, Steve Bondy did not show up for his hearing. If I were the reporter I would have asked the tenant why he did not attend the hearing. Additionally, the decision states the landlord filed for damages for which the tenant was responsible for and that the tenant says he had offered to pay for the damage. Why would the landlord file for damages if the tenant had offered to pay?
If I was the reporter, I would ask these questions.
There appears to be more to this story. One wonders if the reporter did his due diligence by checking the CanLII database. If the landlord could not be reached for comment, the writer could ask for the court transcript to get more information. The journalist does interview the president of a local landlords’ association, who states that is “anti-bad landlord”. Was this a bad landlord?
A citizen journalist can access CANLII quickly and easily. Why aren’t more professional journalists doing so? A good journalist is always after a good story. Previously, SOLO published an article I wrote about the problems created by LTB delays: landlords have not been able to collect on arrears that exceed the $35,000 cap set by the LTB. . This is a huge story, yet no mainstream journalist has reported on it to my knowledge.
The public deserves better and more balanced reporting. SOLO has many articles posted about landlords’ struggles and has reached out to mainstream media. We want fairness. We want our stories to be heard and published too.
By Maria Watson
Follow this series of articles by clicking the links
- How the LTB is making a mockery of Canada’s Open Court system
- Surprising information which a Landlord can find on CanLII
- CanLII: a valuable, yet imperfect tool for Ontario Landlords
The opinion expressed does not reflect the official position of Small Ownership Landlords Ontario Inc. They are to be construed as the opinion of the author only.
