Tenant/Hollyburn Harassment Hearing As Seen from the Back of the Room

We have not been in this building very long, but hear lots of rumors about bullying and harassment of tenants and so forth -- along with suspicions that tenants with older leases are being targeted in hopes that they will leave so the units can be re-rented at higher rates. We have not PERSONALLY observed any such behaviour, but when we heard that there was to be a harassment hearing on a complaint against Hollyburn filed by a long-time resident, we took the time to go over to the LTB (Landlord Tenant Board) office to WATCH and LISTEN.

In case anybody else is ever moved to go to an LTB hearing to observe, here is what to expect.

Complaint cases are not scheduled at precise times, but are instead lumped together in groups and called based on the order of the file folders on the hearing officer's desk. So, there is a lot of waiting. It is not required that one refrain from reading and so forth while waiting -- as it is in some courts -- and instead we saw people reading, working on computers, and in one case SORTING a huge pile of paperwork onto a group of chairs.

There are microphones hanging from the ceiling at the front of the room, presumably for the recording devices, but it is difficult to HEAR much beyond the first couple of rows of chairs.

We did not know the 20 Prince Arthur tenant by sight, but when the Hollyburn manager started talking to her, we figured out that she was the complainant. She was accompanied by a lawyer, the manager was not. There was a man WITH him, but that person clearly was not a lawyer.

The Hollyburn manager came to the back of the room to ask us what we were DOING there. It is a public place and hearings are open, so we truthfully replied that we were interested in the process and wanted to observe.

When the 20 Prince Arthur case was called, the Hollyburn manager insisted on mediation instead of an open hearing, and while the complainant wanted a public hearing, she went along with mediation. The result was that the hearing officer declared a three-month waiting period -- Probation? Cooling off? -- and the parties are to return at the end of that time.

While sitting through multiple case hearings at an LTB office may not be everybody's idea of a good time -- we found it very interesting. There were cases from all over the city, with multiple cultures and personalities represented. One woman was there to help a friend, and put on such an impressive performance that we congratulated her on her way out and asked if she were a lawyer. She replied that No, she was not a lawyer -- but had watched lots of LAW and ORDER programs!

So, I guess the bottom line of our observations is that the light of day is a good thing and transparency is to be valued and encouraged We work at home, so are not bound by office time schedules, and the LTB office is near where we pick up our business mail. Since one can read or do analysis in the back of the room while waiting for cases of interest, we may do this again if there are more 20 Prince Arthur cases.

M. Welles