Mississauga council tries to help seniors losing retirement home

Mississauga city council is trying to help about 200 seniors who are being evicted from their retirement residence to make way for a private housing development.

Residents of 188 units at Chartwell Heritage Glen Retirement Residence received eviction notices in March, telling them the residence was permanently closing and they would have to move out by the end of July.

The retirement residence offers seniors a variety of living arrangements, from independent living to assisted living, with staff providing regular care. The building is being sold to a private developer.

In a motion that passed unanimously on Wednesday, the city decided Mississauga's acting mayor will write a letter to Chartwell asking them to do more for the seniors losing their homes. The city will also ask the provincial government to change the Retirement Homes Act so that retirement home tenants would receive more notice before being evicted, from 120 days to 180 days. 

On Saturday, tenants and advocates held a rally at the building. Joyce Dodge was among those in attendance. The 92-year-old has lived in the home for two decades.

"I haven't had a good night's sleep since we've had that [eviction notice] delivered to us," Dodge said. "I wake up at five in the morning and first thing I think of is, 'oh gosh, we have to move.'" 

The rally was organized by Peel ACORN, a tenants' rights group, who are calling on all levels of government to help the seniors.

For their part, Mississauga council is going to ask Chartwell to provide the tenants with six months' rent, an increase from the three months they are being provided. The city is also asking the company to extend the eviction notice to 180 days, as well as offer the seniors a unit of comparable size at the same rate in another Chartwell property. 

Karen Santaguida, Dodge's daughter, said it was meaningful to see the city step up on behalf of tenants at the building. 

"That's the first step. But there's a lot more to do," she said. "Because no one deserves this." 

Chartwell said it provided tenants with four months of notice as opposed to the three months required by law. The company said it regrets the impact of the closure but the home had been operating at less than 60 per cent capacity. 

"That combined with the aging infrastructure of the buildings, made it unsustainable to continue operations as a retirement residence," said Mary Perrone Lisi, senior director of communications for the company. 

Lisi said the company has found accommodation for more than 80 impacted residents. She added Chartwell is covering moving expenses and offering discounted accommodation at its other residences.

But Santaguida worries her mother won't be able to find anything similarly affordable, because her unit has been under rent control for 20 years.