To: The Legislative Assembly of Ontario and Premier of Ontario

We, the undersigned residents of Ontario, are calling for the immediate resignation of Doug Downey, the Attorney General of Ontario. His continued mismanagement of the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) has caused severe delays in access to justice, disproportionately affecting housing providers, tenants, and those in desperate need of housing stability.

Under Doug Downey's leadership:

Landlord and Tenant Board Backlog: The LTB has accumulated an overwhelming backlog of cases, leaving housing providers and tenants waiting months—sometimes over a year—for resolution. This has caused unnecessary and significant hardship and immense stress for tenants and landlords awaiting fair hearings.

Poor Treatment of Housing Providers: Landlords seeking justice for legitimate applications, such as non-payment of rent and access to the property for personal use, face delays that defy the processes outlined in Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act. Cases that should require 60 days’ notice are delayed for six months or more, creating false expectations for tenants and unjust outcomes for landlords.

Exodus of Private Housing Providers: The lack of negligent and inefficient processes has discouraged private landlords from participating in Ontario’s rental housing market. Many are selling properties or leaving units vacant, further exacerbating the housing supply crisis and leading to significant unrecoverable costs for landlords, including lost rental income, legal fees, and property maintenance expenses caused by prolonged vacancies or tenant disputes.

Impact on the Homeless Crisis: The mismanagement of the Landlord and Tenant Board under Doug Downey's leadership has destabilized housing in Ontario, overburdened government and nonprofit housing systems, and hindered private sector investment in new supply. This dysfunction has worsened the homelessness crisis, leaving many without stable housing.

Failure to Act: Despite ongoing public outcry, Doug Downey has failed to implement meaningful reforms to address the dysfunction at the LTB. While more adjudicators have been hired, he has neglected to address the underlying process issues, leaving the backlog and delays unresolved.

The role of Attorney General requires strong leadership and a commitment to justice for all Ontarians. Doug Downey has demonstrated neither. His inability to address the systemic issues at the LTB has undermined public confidence in the Ontario tribunal system.

Despite the Ontario Ombudsman’s investigation and 61 recommendations for improving the Landlord and Tenant Board, along with a $6.5 million government investment to hire 40 adjudicators and additional staff, significant delays and inefficiencies persist

The longstanding issues at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) began long before COVID-19 and can no longer be blamed on the pandemic. These delays are the result of systemic mismanagement and a failure to implement effective solutions. Both landlords and tenants continue to bear the burden of a broken system, facing frequent adjournments, unjust judgments, and excessive delays that disrupt lives and livelihoods. 

For over 15 years, we have tirelessly advocated for meaningful changes to Ontario’s rental housing system. We have reached out to elected officials, the Minister of Housing, assistants to the Minister of Housing, the Attorney General, the Ontario Ombudsman, and staff at the Landlord and Tenant Board. We have organized protests, shared our struggles with the media, and even seen individuals take their battles to court. Despite these extensive efforts, the real concerns of landlords and tenants remain unaddressed. The system continues to fail, and one thing stands in the way of progress: leadership. It is time to call for the resignation of Attorney General Doug Downey, whose continued inaction perpetuates this broken system.

We respectfully request :  

• The immediate resignation of Doug Downey as Attorney General of Ontario.
• The appointment of a new Attorney General who will prioritize an efficient, impartial and timely access to justice at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Ontario deserves a housing tribunal system that works for everyone, without prejudice— Justice delayed is justice denied, and we cannot wait any longer for meaningful change.

Please sign this petition and share it with your friends and local MPP. Your support is crucial in helping us spread this message and push for the change our community desperately needs.