Details

Written by Gordon Prentice

Published: 10 September 2025

Background: Tomorrow (Thursday (11 September 2025) York Region's Housing and Homelessness Committee will consider a new report on the characteristics of homeless people living in the Region. Who are they? Where do they come from? How did they become homeless in the first place? 

The Region in partnership with United Way Greater Toronto conducted a "point-in-time" count of the homeless over a 24 hour period between 26-27 November 2024. The staff commentary is here.

The Count found that 878 people in York Region were experiencing homelessness - a 166% increase compared with the 329 in 2021. Covid is likely to have depressed the count in that year.

Voluntary Survey

Of the 878, just under half (428) completed a voluntary survey which tells us, amongst other things:

60% of the survey respondents are male

75% are single

42% say they have always lived in York region

56% say they have mental health issues

and 15% had been in foster care or in a youth group home at some point in their lives.

600 homeless people in Barrie alone

The number of homeless people  in relation to the population of the Region (1.25M) is growing but is likely to be a gross underestimate. To the north of us, the city authorities In Barrie estimate there are around 600 homeless people.

Barrie licenses and regulates lodging or rooming houses but demand for such accommodation clearly outstrips supply. 

Here in York Region there is only one lodging house regulated and licensed by the Region and it is only listed as such because they give it some kind of funding.

In Toronto, which is grappling with its own homelessness crisis, there are any number of lodging houses but, clearly, more are needed.

Kicked into the long grass

In Newmarket the Town is considering regulating and licensing lodging houses but this could take forever. It was first mentioned as a possibility 14 years ago and it was kicked into the long grass. Nothing happened.

The Town tells me it is aware that Toronto, Mississagua, Kitchener, Brampton, Peterborough, Windsor, Oshawa and Barrie license lodging or rooming houses.

No-one pretends that more lodging houses across the Province can solve the problem of homelessness on their own - but, surely, they can be part of the solution.

Seems to me there is no reason why Newmarket cannot follow other municipalities and take steps now to incorporate policies in its Official Plan and Zoning By Laws.

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Details

Written by Gordon Prentice

Published: 20 August 2025

Background: The Town of Newmarket should license and regulate lodging/rooming houses and make reference to them in its Official Plan which is currently being revised and updated. The Town is looking at housing and housing affordability but there is no mention of lodging houses and the role, if any, they could play.  Unregulated and unlicensed lodging (or rooming) houses currently fly under the municipal radar and can be a fire hazard.

The 2021 Census tells us Newmarket has the highest percentage of renter households in York Region. And 2,470 people in Town are living only with non-relatives. (See table below)

Weekend "Pastor"

Until recently, “Pastor” Saeid Rezaei was a near neighbour of mine who in 2020 purchased a single detached dwelling in the street where I live along with another one not far from Southlake Hospital. He was based in Richmond Hill where he was a “Pastor” on Sundays but during the week he operated a home renovation business.

I soon discovered there was more to the Pastor than meets the eye. His property was regularly visited by the Fire Service - and the Police.

Invisible Landlord

Rezaei was convicted of sexual assault at Newmarket Courthouse in June but had been held in custody for many months beforehand, waiting for his trial to come up. 

I don’t recall ever seeing him out and about in the neighbourhood. But Rezaei, the invisible landlord, was allowing huge numbers of people to stay in his property. Last year, when I first knocked on the door and introduced myself to the residents, I was told there were seven people living there. But the numbers seemed to fluctuate with as many as ten people coming and going.

Mountains of Garbage 

Rezaei’s property started to become a serious problem around July last year. Garbage was being generated on an industrial scale every week. The Town operates a three-bag limit for residential properties and anything in excess is uncollected and is left on the curb. Unbelievably, the solution for Rezaei’s tenants was to dump garbage bags around the neighbourhood.

Despite Town officials – as individuals - bending over backwards to help (and our Ward Councillor, Trevor Morrison, going the extra mile) I got the clear impression the Town’s hands were tied. Apart from sending in the Property Standards people (who had a difficult job with the landlord in custody) the Town appeared reluctant to do anything which might encroach on the owner’s property rights. No-one at the Town Hall could tell me anything about the status of the people living under Rezaei’s roof. Were they tenants or guests or squatters?

If there was anti-social behaviour it was a matter for the Police not for them.

Who is Rezaei? 

I was soon on a mission to find out as much as I could about the “Pastor”. I checked the valuation roll at Newmarket Town Hall to see who was paying the property taxes. I went to Richmond Hill to speak to the people at Rezaei’s forwarding address. I consulted the Land Registry to see who owned the property. He had a mortgage with the Royal Bank of Canada. I read reams of Court documents about the man. And I spent a huge amount of time at Newmarket Courthouse where his case was endlessly delayed and rescheduled, orchestrated by his slippery lawyer, Bobby Vakili whose main skill, it seemed to me, was in gaming the system, constantly requesting adjournments and gumming up the work of the Court. For what purpose I do not know.

I could write a book about Saeid Rezaei but can’t. The Court has ordered a publication ban on information that would allow any victim of his to be identified.

Fire Hazard

With Rezaei in custody, his property became a complete wreck and a real eyesore. And a fire hazard. 

Central York Fire Service first inspected the property on 1 November 2023 with a follow-up visit the next day. An inspection order was posted on 24 November 2023.

There was another property re-inspection on 9 May 2024. 

On 25 July 2024, there was a kitchen fire. 

An inspection order was posted again on 24 November 2024 with a property re-inspection on 25 March 2025. Another new inspection order was posted on 31 March 2025. There was a further property re-inspection on 5 May 2025 and a new order posted on 23 May 2025. Clearly, no remedial work was undertaken.

The multitude of people living in Pastor Rezaei’s property were evicted by the Police on 3 June 2025. The Royal Bank has now repossessed the property.

Accessory Dwelling Units

By contrast, the Town licenses and regulates so-called Accessory Residential Units which are often basement apartments which must comply with all the fire regulations – such as having more than one entrance/exit. Their location across Town is a matter of public record. 

But, paradoxically, no-one knows where the lodging/rooming houses are because the Town chooses not to regulate or license them.

For its part, York Region does license Lodging Houses (By-Law 2014-71) but, curiously, there is only one - in Whitchurch Stouffville with 10 residents - in a region whose population is close to 1.25 million.

Go figure.

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Note 1: The definition of a Lodging or Rooming House varies. Our neighbour, Aurora, for example, defines a Boarding or Rooming House as a dwelling in which lodging with or without meals is provided for gain to five or more persons other than the lessee, tenant, or owner and which is not open to the general public. In King, a Boarding or Rooming House means a dwelling in which lodging with or without meals is supplied for gain to four or more persons other than the lessee, tenant, or owner or any member of his family and which is not open to the general public.

Note 2: According to the 2021 Census Newmarket has the highest percentage of renter households in York Region.

Note 3: A census family is a couple, married or in a Common Law relationship, with or without children, or a one-parent family. Non-census-family households are either one person living alone or a group of two or more persons who live together but do not constitute a census family. (Statistics Canada)

Details

Written by Gordon Prentice

Published: 12 August 2025

Next month, on 11 September, a report to York Region’s new Housing and Homelessness Committee will paint a picture of homeless people who were living in the Region late last year.  

This “point-in-time” survey captures the characteristics of the homeless in a single 24-hour period in November 2024. As with previous counts (2016, 2018 and 2021) the survey was voluntary. And though the numbers participating were modest, the responses will still give us valuable insights. Who are the homeless? Are they from York Region or are they moving here from other places? What is their average age, ethnicity, gender and previous or current occupation? Are they single or do they have a partner? How many have mental health issues? How did they fall into homelessness in the first place?

These are intrusive questions but we need to know.

The last count in 2021 took place during the Covid pandemic which clearly impacted the number of responses. The count found 329 people were homeless in York Region (a molecular fraction of the Region's 1.25 million population). Of these 53% self-identified as chronically homeless – that is, homeless for longer than 6 months in the past year. (Photo right: at Davis Drive and George Street. 29 June 2025)

Surge in homelessness

By 2024 Regional officials were reporting that 2,525 people were known to have experienced homelessness – a 35% increase from 2023. 

“Chronic homelessness more than doubled with 986 people accessing homelessness services. Despite funding nine emergency and transitional housing programs with 293 year-round beds, demand continues to exceed available capacity.”

We are not alone. In June, Toronto’s homeless population – estimated at 15,400 – was described as being at “crisis level” with the number doubling in three years. But these figures – though shocking and alarming – probably represent the tip of the iceberg.

Invisible

To most people the homeless are largely invisible. So they are not given a second thought.

But the moment we start seeing them, our perception changes overnight. 

Visible homelessness is a relatively new phenomenon in Newmarket, generally seen as a well-off Town which regularly receives accolades celebrating its liveability. But times change.

The Chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee, Newmarket Mayor John Taylor, has been warning for years of an exponential growth in people experiencing homelessness.

Noticeable increase

In 2022 Taylor told Newmarket Today the rise in homelessness was noticeable.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we just experienced a summer with the highest level of homelessness in our community.” 

And in March 2024, he warned:

“This issue with people experiencing homelessness in our communities is going to hit us extremely quickly and hard… We all know in a few years we're going to have significant encampments if we don't get ahead of this.” 

Neighbour in a Tent

The Mayor's predictions didn't take long to materialise. Last winter, for the first time, I noticed a tent pitched alongside the boulevard in Kingston Road, a ten minute walk from where I live. The tent appeared with all the usual baggage, the shopping cart overflowing with tattered belongings.

Some street people live that way because they want to – and there are no mental health issues clouding their judgement. But the overwhelming number of homeless people end up there because they don’t have enough money to put a roof over their head.  (Photo right: Outside Newmarket public Library)

The latest quarterly figures for Newmarket from the Toronto Region Real Estate Board show a miniscule number of rental properties offered at daunting rents.  Other non TRREB realtors work in Town but their figures, I suspect, are likely to mirror those from the TRREB which represents the overwhelming majority of realtors. (see tables below)

Eye-watering

A one-bedroom apartment is rented at $2,317 pm or $27,804 annually. At York Region’s own affordability guidelines (which recommends that no more than 30% of gross income should go on housing) this would imply a renter with a gross income of at least $92,680. Who knows?

In 2021, about 13% of York Region households (47,850 low-and-moderate income households including over 18,000 renter households) were in “core housing need”. This includes households that spend 30% or more on housing costs and live in inadequate housing.

Housing affordability crisis

York Region is one of the fastest growing regions in Canada with house prices increasingly beyond the reach of those even on above average incomes. The Region has been wrestling with the housing affordability crisis for years. 

We live in an attractive Town in one of the wealthiest regions of a rich country. So how on earth did it come to this?

York Region’s recently retired Commissioner of Community and Health Services, Katherine Chislett, put it this way on 7 March 2024.

“We are doing a lot of really excellent work but it really is a drop in the bucket. We've been in this situation now for a good three decades. We’ve seen it coming. (There was) the cessation of some very, very significant federally and provincially funded construction programs for social housing that were ended in the 1990's. The end of rent controls on buildings. The locking in of social assistance rates which are well below the poverty line. We’ve had an increase of 25% year over year in the number of people on Ontario Works so it is an issue… We are looking at a continued steady and very rapid growth (of homelessness) in this Region.”

What needs to be done

We know what needs to be done. Katherine Chislett has just reminded us.

Municipalities need to start building social housing again, rapidly and at scale. The private sector on its own is not willing to do this.

This is not just the bleating of lefty liberals. Conservatives like Richmond Hill's Joe DiPaolo say as much.

We also need to revisit social assistance rates to give people the support they need when they need it most.

And don't tell me there isn't any money.

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Update on 17 August 2025: The Barrie Encampment 

Note: York Region’s 2021 homeless count

“York Region’s 2021 homeless count was conducted June 1 and 2, 2021. As part of the Point-in-Time (PiT) count, homelessness services sector staff across York Region conducted a count and voluntary survey of people in emergency housing (shelters), COVID-19 transitional shelters, Violence Against Women (VAW) shelters, transitional housing, substance use beds, and people living outdoors. A PiT count provides a snapshot of people experiencing homelessness over a single 24-hour period. It focuses on people staying in sheltered and unsheltered conditions.

“Over half (53%) of respondents reported experiencing long term or chronic homelessness, up from 45% in 2018 and 33% in 2016. Eighty-two percent (82%) of people experiencing long-term or chronic homelessness were single or did not have other family members staying with them on the night of the count and 60% were men. This is similar to 2018 when 84% were single or had no family members staying with them that night and 63% were men. People experiencing chronic homelessness were more likely to report multiple health issues (70%) than respondents who were not experiencing chronic homelessness (59%).

“Count 2021 identified 238 people (72%) staying in an emergency housing (shelter) or shelter for Violence Against Women, 17 people (5%) who were unsheltered (including sleeping outdoors, places not designed for human habitation, and encampments), and 74 (23%) who were provisionally accommodated. In York Region, like many communities, most experiences of homelessness are hidden. People living temporarily with others (hidden), who have largely not been counted through I Count 2021, are likely the largest group of people experiencing homelessness in York Region. Estimates suggest that up to 80% of homelessness is hidden in Canada.

“Count numbers should be considered the minimum number of people experiencing homelessness in York Region. The percentage of people who were both staying in emergency housing (shelters) and experiencing chronic homelessness (51%) increased substantially since 2018, when it was 35%.

“More people living unsheltered and in provisional accommodations reported having substance use issues, mental health issues, physical limitations, and cognitive or intellectual limitations than people staying in emergency housing. This is consistent with findings from 2018.

Details

Written by Gordon Prentice

Published: 06 July 2025

When Newmarket Library’s Chief Executive, Tracy Munusami, presented her 2023 Report to the Community to councillors on 8 April 2024, she was warmly congratulated by the Library Board Vice Chair and Town councillor, Kelly Broome: 

“We’re extremely proud of the level and where we are with the library in terms of our brand and our reach. It’s significant. If we had the annual reports lined up you would see the significant increase since you joined us (3 August 2021)…

“We’re definitely at a point now when measuring data is critical and (it’s) great we have some really great data to share.”

Personally, I find the “great data” coming out of the Library to be contradictory and confusing, bordering on useless. 

On Friday (4 July) Ms Munusami sent me “a chart to outline the data”:

It shows a 76% increase in new membership cards between 2023 and 2024. It also shows that 6,234 people didn't renew their Library membership in 2024. (18,992 + 9,476 = 28,468 – 22,234 = 6,234).

The Library’s most recent Reports to the Community do not give total membership at year end. Instead, the entire focus is on new memberships and percentage increases which distort the true picture.

Reporting to the Province

Every year, the Library Chief Executive must send a statistical report to the Province giving data on membership, Library usage, activities and programs offered and so on. The Province claims:

“Ontario’s public library statistics are one of the most comprehensive and current data sets in North America.”

 So when people turn to the Province’s data-sets – as I did - they expect statistics that are accurate. 

Ms Munusami told the Province there were 24,136 members (or “active Library cardholders”) in December 2023. (See table right)

This figure was subsequently revised sharply downwards to 17,893 – a decrease of 26%. The Chief Executive has revised it yet again to 18,992. 

Shrunk 

I relied on the figure filed with the Province when I claimed membership had in fact shrunk and not grown – from 24,136 in 2023 to 22,234 in 2024. 

But it was the supposed increase in the number of “new members” that allowed the Library Chair, Darryl Gray, to trumpet in his foreword to the 2024 Report:

“This past year has been extraordinary for the Newmarket Library, marked by significant growth in membership and an expanded presence throughout our community.”

After I highlighted these contradictions Ms Munusami told me on 16 April 2025:

“The number you received from the provincial annual survey (for 2023 - 24,136) is incorrect. The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming does have an updated figure from us. We have been informed that the reports on the province’s site from 2023 will not be updated for the public, but the province does retain the record of the revised number from us.”

Revision

In the light of this, a couple of months ago, I filed a Freedom of Information request with the Province asking for sight of the correspondence between Ms Munusami and the civil servants responsible for maintaining the annual data-set from libraries across Ontario. I wanted to know the revised number for 2023. And I wanted sight of the library's communication making the request for revision, the date it was received and the official response.

The Province is willing to let me have this information but they must first consult Ms Munusami. If she objects, she has a right to appeal the decision to the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

If there is no objection I shall get this information by 23 July 2025. 

New Members  

The Library Chief Executive says she now uses a new definition for “Active Library Cardholders” (or, in my shorthand, Library members). She says the change:

“still aligns with the Provincial definition.”

Ms Munusami told councillors in April:

“The definition of an “active library user” is someone who's used the library in the last 24 months… We do a survey every year to the Ministry. It's called the annual Public Library survey and that's the definition that they use.”

In her email to me of 4 July 2025 Ms Munusami stated:

“We now define an active cardholder as someone who still has access to the library collection. If your card expires, you no longer have access to the library collection and are no longer an active cardholder until you return to renew it.   

o   The old way of defining an active cardholder was to take the existing active cardholder and add the new cards issued in a year, not considering that expired cards no longer have access. 

o   The Newmarket Library’s ‘new users’ data does not include users who simply renewed their card. However, it may include people who were users a few years ago, were inactive for a period (e.g. didn’t renew right away) and came back for a card.” 

Clear as mud. 

That said, I take this to mean the old system merely added new cards to the number of expiring cards and that any database clean-up did not remove all the expired cards.

Where did the 9,476 new members come from?

So, how did the Library get to 9,476 new members in 2024? We are told a “new user” may include people who didn’t renew their membership right away. Which leaves me wondering what period of grace people are given before being registered as a new member.

Complicating the picture further, the Library Board at its meeting on 21 May 2025 was presented with a statistical dashboard giving "new membership" numbers for 2023 and 2024 which are completely different from earlier ones. (see slide right)

If the figures are cumulative, these total 5,249 new members in 2023 (not 5,357).

But, manifestly, the 2024 figures are not cumulative. 

If they are not cumulative we are talking about 6,692 new members in 2024 but how does that square with the 9,476 new members that Ms Munusami repeatedly insists is the correct number?

The Library Board and the Public Interest

This disastrous reporting of basic information over the four years of Ms Munusami’s tenure cannot just be laid at her door. She signs off on all the reports presented to the Board, the Town and the wider public.

But what about the Library Board’s oversight role? Clearly, it has been lamentable.

The Board is responsible for hiring the Chief Executive and for monitoring her work. Her salary in 2024 went up 17.5% compared to her salary in 2022 at a time when sand was being thrown in our eyes with claims of spectacular membership growth. Her annual performance review will be conducted by the Board's Executive Committee next month.

Ms Munusami has tried to answer questions I have put to her – but only after I got nowhere with the Board Chair, Darryl Gray.

Darryl Gray

Almost three months ago, I tried to get hold of him as I was concerned about the accuracy of the Library’s Report to the Community 2024. 

On 14 April 2025 I was told:

“...that Tracy Munusami, CEO, is best suited to provide comments on information in the report as it relates to numerical data as she has direct access to this information and can respond in a more timely and effective manner.”

So that’s what triggered my email correspondence with Ms Munusami. (Click “read more” below for Ms Munusami’s email to me on 4 July 2025)

But after our exchanges I am really none the wiser.

The answers I get only beg further questions.

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Update on 17 July 2025: From Newmarket Today: Darryl Gray wins Newmarket Today's first ever unsung hero award.

and from Newmarket Today on 27 June 2025: Library Chief Executive is a rising star.

Read more: Data from Newmarket Public Library is useless and can't be trusted