We are asking the City of Toronto to increase emergency rent assistance for Weston/Mount Dennis residents who are at eligible risk of losing their housing. When people are on a fixed income they may be torn to pay rent or other mandatory expenses such as food and utilities.  The pressures of housing costs leave residents less able to manage emergencies.

Providing assistance could help prevent locals losing connections from schools, resources, family, and other supports they’ve accessed in the past. Expanding emergency rent assistance in Weston/Mount Dennis can prevent displacement for those experiencing temporary financial difficulties. As well as becoming part of other marginalized groups such as homelessness or furthering current disabilities tenants already struggle with. Even in spite of there being emergency rent assistance there are still restrictions to getting the government funded help. Such as when we look closely at emergency rent guidelines, they specify that people who are under ODSP or OW are not eligible for the aid. This brings conflict to how accessible the funding is as 57% of people are under ODSP and 48% people are under OW, meaning close to nobody can access this help. With landlords increasing rent and evictions happening tenants are at a fast pace of losing their housing without the extra aid. On average rent in the community is $1,500 - $2,300 per month meaning even with the aid it’s still hard to afford rent. With Mount Dennis being known as more of a renters friendly area for low income people especially for people who lived there for years it’s unjust to displace them and remove them from the community they are known as home. 

References

Affordable Housing in Mount Dennis. (2026, July 3). thegreenline.to. https://thegreenline.to/stories/mount-dennis-pmtsa/

Rent estimates for Weston. (2026). FairRent Canada. https://fairrent.ca/toronto/weston

Weston Tenants Protest Above Guideline Rent Increase Toronto. (n.d.). https://nowtoronto.com​ https://nowtoronto.com/news/weston-tenants-protest-above-guideline-rent-increase-toronto/

Ontario - Maytree. (n.d.). Https://Maytree.Com/ Retrieved November 6, 2026, from Ontario 

Rates and asset levels - Simcoe County. (2024, January 15). Simcoe County. https://simcoe.ca/residents/ontario-works/rates/

Government of Ontario. (n.d.-a). Ontario Disability Support Program. https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-disability-support-program

Government of Ontario. (n.d.-b). Ontario Works. https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-works​

REALTOR.ca. (n.d.). Mount Dennis, Toronto rentals. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://www.realtor.ca/on/toronto/mount-dennis/rentals