‘I’m scared to spend it,’ woman says of CERB
Resident of subsidized housing fears rent increase after payout
In a small apartment in Toronto’s east end, 77-year-old Janet McLeod is waiting on edge. McLeod — who was born in the city, and has lived in her subsidized seniors housing unit at Greenwood Towers for seven years — is one of millions of Canadians receiving the federal government’s emergency benefits. ffl ifeline But instead during of COVID- providing 19, a McLeod fears the payout may leave her in an even shakier financial position.
“It’s not doing one bit of good,” McLeod said. Toronto Community Housing has warned that her rent may now rise, as Ontario is considering payments under the Canada Emergency Response Benefit as income.
She’s been warned of clawbacks from the federal level too, since she also receives the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) as a low-income Canadian senior. But she doesn’t know yet how much money she may lose in total.
And she’s not alone. Toronto’s shelter, housing and support department says that, while most re-calculations of rentgeared-to-income have led to monthly payments being lowered, they’re also aware of “some cases” where households are facing increased rent because of the pandemic payouts.
As for the GIS, the federal government says a “preliminary estimate” compiled before the
CERB extension found that approximately seven per cent of GIS recipients would be eligible for pandemic pay — and that 0.4 per cent were thought to have income levels with CERB that would exceed eligibility limits ww for the income supplement. f The unsteady ground has left McLeod pinching dollars. Before the pandemic, she offered her experience as a retired guidance counsellor to students eyeing post-secondary slots, for a fee. She’s tried to pivot to providing services online from home. But without clarity on rent increases and future clawbacks, she hasn’t been able to bring herself to replace her computer — an “old gal” that she says shuts off, sporadically, once a day. “I’m scared to spend it,” she said, referring to CERB. “Because what if you claw it back? I’ll be in debt, and then I can’t pay my rent. None of us knows what’s going to happen. Am I ww scared? Hell, yes.” Community housing staff seemed to be doing their best to get her answers, McLeod said. Toronto Community Housing told the Star about 15 per cent of tenant calls to their client centre in the last two months about rent deferral have mentioned CERB, mostly inquiring whether it counted as income. But the situation has caused McLeod to consider whether she can afford to live in the city any more. “That (subsidy) makes it possible for me to live in Toronto,” she said. “The city I was born in, and can no longer ww afford.” She considered wheth- a er somewhere like Montreal would be cheaper, but, at her wa ge, she worries about the
harsh winters. The issue has attracted the attention of retired Ontario social services bureaucrat John Stapleton, who argues that raising rent and clawing back benefits from CERB recipients defeat the payment’s purpose. “It’s income that’s trying to get people to stay indoors,” Stapleton said, noting that seniors housing residents were at particular risk of COVID-19, and that things like delivery services came with extra costs. “Here’s this extra money, this $2,000 a month that’s here to help you do that,” he said, “and yet, we’re going to charge you yy rent on it.” The situation McLeod is facing is caused, in part, by the fact that Ontario is considering CERB as earned income — a designation that attracted attention earlier in the pandemic, when questions arose about ww how much Ontarians in social assistance programs like Ontario Works would be allowed to keep. Treating CERB as earned income allowed those receiving social assistance to keep a portion of the emergency pandemic pay. Since CERB is considered income in Ontario, Toronto community housing includes it when calculating rent-geared- ww to-income — though both the city and the province say they’ve urged social housing providers to be “flexible” during the pandemic. Including CERB in subsidized rent calculations is consistent with a directive from the Cana- ww da Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the feds say. But the decision whether to adhere to that instruction is ultimately up
to the provinces and territories. (Prince Edward Island’s government told the Star it wouldn’t raise rent in subsi- ww dized housing, even if CERB re- R cipients were making more than usual.) Federal officials also consider CERB as income for the purposes of the GIS,Stapleton said, meaning that McLeod and others could wind up seeing clawbacks. Federal seniors minister Deb Schulte’s office, in an email to the Star, confirmed that CERB payments would affect GIS entitlements, but said the maximum payment from the emer- mm gency program — $12,000 over 24 weeks — would not exceed annual exemption limits on its own. Currently, GIS recipients can earn up to $5,000 per year without reducing their benefits, ww and the next $10,000 of earn- a ings would be partially exempt, Schulte’s office said. McLeod, for now, is stuck in limbo. She says the amount she takes home from CERB is comparable to the amount she brought in last year from helping students with their postsecondary applications — but when she’s able to work, she can ww factor in business expenses. f Now on CERB, with her work stunted, she anticipates less from her usual supports as she tries to retool to work from home. “Those of us who are being honest, and trying to be upfront, are saying ‘Wait, don’t change the rules on me,’ ” McLeod said. “It’s going to destroy my little business — just because I’m being honest.”
Victoria Gibson’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.