Latest news with #CBCHamilton
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hamilton landlord fined $100K for illegal renovictions that had 'devastating' impacts on tenants, court hears
A Hamilton tenant says she's impressed with a "fantastic" judge's recent decision to fine her former landlord $100,000 for illegally renovicting her and three other tenants, even if they'll never get their homes back. "That's a good place to start to show the landlords of Ontario they can't just throw their tenants out," Darlene Wesley told CBC Hamilton. The senior had lived in her downtown apartment for nearly 20 years and never missed a rent payment when, in February 2023, the building's owner Kevin Moniz evicted her in order to carry out extensive renovations. Wesley informed him in writing and in person she intended to move back in after the work was done — as is her right under Ontario law. But within months, he'd rented it out to someone else. He did the same to three other tenants living in the five-unit building, including Wesley's daughter. The tenants testified during a trial against Moniz and property management company Cornerstone Select Properties at Hamilton's provincial offences courthouse on May 12. Justice of the Peace Linda Crawford found Moniz guilty on four counts of knowingly failing to give the tenants the right of first refusal for their units and fined him $25,000 for each. "A general deterrent in my view is very important in these kinds of circumstances, where there's a landlord with a small building that was once affordable for people," Crawford told the court. Moniz was not present for the trial and did not respond to requests for comment. Crawford gave him two weeks to pay the $100,000 — a high amount for Residential Tenancy Act violations. The charges against Moniz were laid last year by Ontario's Rental Housing Enforcement Unit (RHEU), which is mandated to uphold landlord and tenant rights and investigate complaints. It works independently from the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). By comparison, in all of 2022, fines stemming from charges laid by RHEU totalled $121,800. Tenant can't afford new place Crawford found Moniz acted deliberately and the impacts on the tenants have been "devastating." "In my view, there was quite a bit of foresight to renovate apartments and he made a decision to essentially flip them and rent them out more than double what he had been getting before," she said. Before being evicted, the four tenants said they each paid less than $700 a month in rent. A new tenant who moved into one of the units after the renovations told the court she currently pays $1,500. The eviction process began for the four tenants in March 2021, when they received N13 notices from Moniz. Their cases went to the LTB, which ruled in Moniz's favour that the units did need to be empty for him to complete renovations. Three of the tenants moved out before Wesley. They all testified they told Moniz in writing that they'd move back into their units when the work was done. Tenant Robert Jewel said he had no other option. He worked a minimum wage job and wanted to keep the unit he'd been able to afford for 25 years, he testified. But one night, when renovations were supposed to still be happening, he walked by the building and through a window saw someone in his unit's living room, watching TV. He later learned it was a new tenant. "And to be honest, I cried that night when I discovered my apartment had been taken away from me," Jewel said. "It's like I'm a second class citizen all of the sudden just because this greedy person comes along." Unable to afford to rent a new place, Jewel said he has been couch surfing at friends and family's homes since he was evicted. "I'm almost out on the street and I don't have my own place anymore and that loss of freedom, I really, keenly feel," Jewel said. Property management company fined Wesley and her daughter had no choice but to find a place together and now pay $2,000 a month, an arrangement Wesley described as a "nightmare." "Now I've got nothing because all my money goes to rent," she told the court. She said she left her place in 2023 thinking she'd definitely be coming back as she took all the steps she was supposed to. In the weeks before she moved, she had provided Moniz with several copies of a signed letter stating her intentions, and verbally told him the same thing in front of a representative from Cornerstone — the property management company Moniz had hired to find new tenants. Welsey testified that on another occasion somebody from Cornerstone was showing a unit to prospective tenants. She told that person, "'all of the apartments ... have the right of first refusal' and he said, 'I know, I know, I know.'" Company president Jeff Varcoe represented Cornerstone in court. He denied the allegations, saying nobody at his company knew about the "entire building being renovicted" and he hasn't been able to substantiate Wesley's account. Crawford said she did not find Varcoe's testimony credible and fined Cornerstone $25,000, plus a $6,250 victim surcharge, for not ensuring Wesley had the opportunity to move back into her unit. "That's not something we have the financial ability to cover at all," Varcoe said. "This will bankrupt us." Crawford gave the company a year to pay.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Ontario man recounts ordeal after being stuck in Dominican Republic on 'bogus' drug charges
An Ontario man who was arrested in the Dominican Republic over accusations of smuggling drugs is recounting his 71-day ordeal in the Caribbean country. David Bennett, 57, returned home to Burlington on May 16 after weeks of intense lobbying by the Canadian government officials and others, led by his wife Jane Wilcox, saw his charges withdrawn. The couple had spent a week at a resort with two friends and were on their way home on March 7 when Bennett was denied entry at the automated customs gate at the Punta Cana airport and taken to an interrogation room. The two were shown a photo of a bag they didn't recognize, with a slightly different name on it: Davi Bennett instead of David R. Bennett — the name on Bennett's bag and all his travel documents. Wilcox told CBC News in March that the charges were "bogus." RCMP said this week it continues to investigate baggage tag switching schemes, and it has made arrests related to this particular case. Now back in Canada, Bennett told CBC Hamilton on Friday about his arrest. Following the interrogation at the airport, Bennett said officers took him, another male and female couple, who were facing similar accusations, to a pickup truck in the airport's parking lot. "[They] loaded us in the pickup truck and drove us at speeds in excess of 130 kilometres an hour, roughly half hour outside of the airport to a compound," Bennett said. "We were in the back of this vehicle with no seatbelts on. It was really scary." Bennett said there were between 15 to 20 people, some in uniform, at the compound where they were taken. "That's when they brought a translator — a lady that could translate a little bit in English to us — and that's when they told us the seriousness of what was in front of us." After a little more than an hour at the location, Bennett said they were whisked back to the airport where they were kept in the back of a hot and stuffy pickup for approximately two hours before being taken to a jail facility. 'Pitch black' and no room move in jail Bennett said he was placed in a "really small" cell with about 12 to 15 other men and more people were added throughout the night. "It was pitch black. We really couldn't see the faces of anyone coming in. We just saw body images of people coming in and we had no clue what we were dealing with," he said. "I literally sat in the corner for the whole time because it was standing room only. There was no room to lay down, there was no room to really move." Bennett said he tried to stay positive, telling himself the whole thing would be sorted out the following morning, and he would just need to "tough it out" that night. "My goal was to fall asleep and just sort of forget about it and not think about it." But the ordeal lasted much longer than one night. Bennett was charged with trafficking drugs. He was taken to court on March 8 and released on $5,000 bail. He could not leave the Dominican Republic because of a travel ban and his passport was held by local authorities. The charges against Bennett were withdrawn around mid-April, but the travel ban remained in place. "I moved nine times in 71 days [and] I had this black cloud over my head the whole time I was there," he said. Meanwhile, Wilcox worked around the clock, first to have the charges against her husband dropped and then to bring him home. On May 15, around 8 p.m. ET, the family got the news they spent more than 10 agonizing weeks pressing for. Global Affairs Canada advised the family by email the travel ban had officially been lifted and they were just waiting for the paperwork the next morning, Bennett said. He said his wife "booked a flight within 20 minutes" for him to travel home to Canada the following afternoon. "Landing back in Toronto was amazing. We had an amazing approach coming in over Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. It was a beautiful evening, so I had just an incredible view of the area and, you know, just touching down at the airport was just an amazing feeling," Bennett said. He said he missed a lot of things, including birthdays and anniversaries, while being stuck in the Dominican Republic — but he's happy to be back home. Bennett said getting back to his wife, family and friends has been a "saviour." He's also glad to be in his own bed again. "I wasn't sleeping at all very well down there.... I was tired for the first handful of days [upon return] and I still feel some residual kind of tiredness throughout the day. We have an amazing friend network that supported us through this, so it's been quite the week and I'm just so grateful to be home," he said. Wilcox is also relieved the ordeal is over. "I'm on Project Nourish Dave right now. He lost some weight while he was away, so I've got the zest for cooking and nourishing, and we're just soaking up every minute we can," Wilcox told CBC News. Wilcox said Canadians deserve better treatment from the country's embassies and Global Affairs Canada. "There were wires crossed. We received disinformation. They didn't answer our questions. People didn't seem to know what was happening. It was extremely frustrating," she said. CBC News has reached out to Global Affairs Canada for comment. The RCMP said its Toronto airport detachment members continue to actively investigate cases involving incidents of baggage tag switching in attempts to smuggle illegal drugs and contraband out of Canada. In addition to the recent arrests, RCMP say it is "also co-operating with any and all foreign police partners to provide evidence that may assist any files related to these investigations." For Wilcox, the "silver lining" in the experience is the community support they received through it all. Wilcox said it cost the family close to $85,000 to fight the charges. They were able to raise $55,000 and are "super grateful" for all the community support. "We've begun to talk about how we can help other people who are in traumatic situations, and are victims of crimes.... We're going to explore that as we continue to heal here ourselves."
CBC
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
B.A. Johnston — 'Hamilton's grandmother' — lovingly celebrates the city in new season of YouTube show
Social Sharing Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was the new season of B.A. Johnston's Ham Jam a "love letter" to Hamilton, "the greatest city in the world... greater than Rome." That's how Hamilton musician B.A. Johnston describes the second season of his show, which launched on YouTube Thursday. It's been six years since the first season, which included episodes on sub sandwiches, arcades and waterfalls. The new season tackles topics including the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, gentrification and classic dining spots. Featuring candid interviews and scenes around the city, the comedy documentary is reminiscent of the Rick Mercer Report — if Rick Mercer really hated the Toronto Argonauts. Johnston is known for his funny, folksy songs about falling in love at Jackson Square Mall, working a crappy job, running into an ex at Swiss Chalet and going to a Tiger-Cats game with Jesus Christ. Like his music, the show balances sincerity with tongue-in-cheek humour. "You've got to walk a fine line," Johnston told CBC Hamilton, comparing his approach to teasing a family member. "I can make fun of Hamilton because I love it." "Hamilton gets shown in a certain light, but it doesn't get shown in this light," he said. "It's a loving light, but also judgmental and critical. It's like I'm Hamilton's grandmother." Johnston interviewed former Ticats kicker Paul Osbaldiston That method is on full display in a two-part Ticats episode in which Johnston attends a game and talks to fans about loving Hamilton's only major sports team, even when it lets you down. In that episode, he talks to Ticat legend Paul Osbaldiston. Johnston recounted walking out of a game in the 1998 Eastern Conference finals after the Ticats lost the lead, then running back as he heard cheers. Osbaldiston had kicked a 54-yard field goal for the win. Osbaldiston appeared emotional as he said he wished he could play just one more game. "It was a sweet moment," Johnston said, adding it was strange to be interviewing one of his heroes. Hamilton music promoter Lou Molinaro told CBC Hamilton he also had an emotional experience on the show. He said he's been Johnston's fan for "many years," describing the artist as the "punk rock version of Stompin' Tom Connors." Johnston is one of his favourite Canadian performers, Molinaro said, because he makes art that's amusing but does serious topics justice. For an episode about gentrification and how Hamilton has changed, Johnston took Molinaro to the restaurant that used to be Miolinaro's music venue This Ain't Hollywood on James Street N. It closed in 2020 and going back left Molinaro with a lump in his throat, he said, adding sometimes he feels guilty about moving on when he did. At one point, the pair locked eyes and Molinaro could see Johnston was sad too, he said, adding it was probably the most sincere moment they've had together and he was "honoured" to take part in the series. Ham Jam was directed by Douglas Nayler Jr. of Quiet Ghost Inc. In a message, he told CBC Hamilton Johnston's ability to balance light and dark elements is a big part of why Nayler wanted to work with him. "I really love when we can make that turn and really land it, because I think it can really disarm the viewer and connect emotionally. You're laughing, you're laughing, then all of a sudden it's like 'Oh damn, I'm actually feeling something.'" The premise of one of the new episodes is Johnston pitching a food show in which he and his cousin try to tour multiple classic Hamilton food spots in 24 hours, including Hutch's and Grandad's Donuts. As the episode continues, Johnston starts to transform into food TV personality Guy Fieri. Things get psychedelic as the viewer is transported into Johnston's subconscious, where he fights a wrestler. Johnston said he didn't manage to eat all the food in 24 hours, but said he ate more than he thinks Guy Fieri would have. While getting body slammed by a wrestler hurt more than he expected, Johnston said it was nice to showcase local spots that might not get their flowers when people discuss Hamilton's restaurant scene. That's a big part of Johnston's music too, which highlights places throughout the province. Johnston working on 'miserable' new record "Just because something's only big in one small place doesn't mean it doesn't have value," he said. "You just need that one person who recognizes the location of the Tim Hortons in North Bay to make the song worthwhile." Johnston will be doing backyard shows this summer and said he'll be releasing a new album soon. "It's a huge bummer. I feel bad for people listening to it," he said. "It's going to be called I Don't Know Who Needs to Hear This Right Now, But They're Never Coming Back and You're Going to Die Alone. And all the songs are just miserable."
CBC
13-05-2025
- CBC
Hamilton woman thanks community for support after husbands death on the job
Lina El Ali's husband Nabil El Ahmed died on April 4, 2025 when a driver struck him and a co-worker as they were working on a road in Hamilton's Ancaster area. In May, El Ali told CBC Hamilton she's grateful for the support her community and wants to raise money to help others in El Ahmed's honour.
CBC
06-05-2025
- CBC
GFL facing 10 provincial charges over stinky Stoney Creek dump
GFL Environmental has been charged with 10 violations under the Environmental Protection Act related to its stinky dump in Stoney Creek. Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) spokesperson Gary Wheeler said the charges were laid on April 11, after an investigation by the ministry. The alleged offences happened between August 17, 2021 and November 24, 2023, he said. "The charges relate to the alleged discharge of a contaminant, namely odour and total reduced sulphur compounds, into the environment causing an adverse effect, and failing to comply with a ministry approval by failing to operate a waste management site as required," Wheeler told CBC Hamilton in an email. An appearance at the Ontario Court of Justice related to the case is expected on May 15, he added. If convicted, the company would face fines under the act. 'Exceeding the standard' Starting in 2023, residents around the GFL Stoney Creek Regional Facility have been reporting strong, at times overwhelming, "rotten fish-like," "sulphuric," and "chemical" smells. Residents previously told CBC Hamilton the smells have had negative impacts not only on neighbours' ability to enjoy outdoor spaces in the area around the 65 Green Mountain Rd. W. dump, but also on their health, with some reporting headaches and nausea. The MECP said previously the smell is due to leachate, a chemical stew of potentially toxic liquid, that came up while building a new landfill cell. Wheeler said the 10 violations are: One count each of discharging, causing or allowing the discharge of: odour and total reduced sulphur compounds into the environment that caused or was likely to cause an adverse effect. One count each of failing to comply with an Environmental Compliance Approval by: allowing odour to become a nuisance, allowing leachate to exceed legal limits and allowing waste to be dumped higher than the legal limit. Five counts of causing or allowing the emission of total reduced sulfur compounds "exceeding the standard," where and when people frequent. "Environmental compliance officers continue to attend the GFL Stoney Creek Regional Facility site and surrounding residential areas regularly in response to odour complaints," Wheeler said. "The ministry continues to engage with GFL to ensure that they are taking all possible steps to minimize odour impacts." GFL also facing fines, provincial officer's orders The MECP also issued an "environmental penalty" to GFL on April 28 for three events in August and September of last year where "landfill operations were confirmed as the source of odour impacts in the surrounding community." The penalty is $5,000 for each event, for a total of $15,000, said Wheeler. The Stoney Creek facility is also under two provincial officer's orders. One to reduce leachate levels and conduct air monitoring and another to "take actions" to lower waste piles currently above the maximum legal heights. "Most of the waste piles, including those that are most visible from the surrounding community, were addressed by the end of 2024. The remaining historical waste piles above the maximum permitted height will be relocated to new waste cells by December 2025," said Wheeler. Council to look into giving tax breaks to neighbours In late February, councillors voted unanimously at general issues committee to have staff look into providing area rating relief or any other tax relief to Upper Stoney Creek residents living within a three kilometre radius of the dump. Tenysha Graham, a neighbour of the area, delegated then and said the stench is "causing unmistakable harm to our community." "We are unable to use our backyards and children are unable to use community playgrounds," Graham said at the committee meeting. Councillors also voted unanimously to look into "legal options available to the city" in relation to residents' concerns, including a possible temporary closure of the site. Both motions were put forward by Ward 9 councillor Brad Clark, who said since November 2023, when the province strengthened penalties to landfills that contravene environmental laws, GFL has responded to odours by saying they're not at fault.
