Cochrane social services needs financial support to help Empire Complex fire victims
It has been two weeks since a fire at an apartment complex in Timmins displaced more than 100 people.
It has been two weeks since a fire at the Empire Complex in Timmins displaced more than 100 people and the local social services board says it is still working with around 80 former tenants. (File photo/Lydia Chubak/CTV News Northern Ontario)
The Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board (CDSSAB) says it is currently working with around 80 former Empire Complex tenants to help them find housing anywhere they can during a time when the city’s vacancy rate is at its lowest.
Officials with CDSSAB told CTV News that they need all the help they can get.
They are currently supporting about 80 people who are now homeless after the Empire Complex fire and are currently housing them at the Ramada Inn.
“Well, it can't go on long, because as you can imagine, housing that many people in a hotel is quite expensive on a nightly basis,” said CDSSAB CAO Brian Marks.
“I believe after the first 10 days it was, approximately $200,000 and CDSSAB doesn't have that money.”
Marks said that every dollar that gets spent is, is a dollar that we're taking from something else.
“We've had several calls with, our ministry counterparts and we will be submitting a financial ask,” he said.
“We hope that that resonates and they come through.”
Marks explained that when 103 people were impacted all at once – including seniors, people with disabilities and foreign students – it was a humanity crisis that the board could not ignore.
However, Marks said with the city’s vacancy rate at less than two per cent and more than 1,700 on the social housing waiting list, some people may need to consider relocating.
“It's really not our responsibility to find units,” he said.
“It's our responsibility, I think, to support people for them to find units and that includes anywhere in the country. I mean, if they have next of kin anywhere… or if there are vacancies anywhere, you know, we'll do what we can to help people access those units and get to where they can have a place to live because clearly, you know, a hotel or motel room is just not sustainable.”
As for how long CDSSAB will be able to pay for hotel rooms, Marks said told CTV News that is a difficult question to answer and he is uncertain if the organization would be able to do this again.
Marks said he is hopeful that financial relief will come and he also plans to ask corporations for assistance because he said the last thing Timmins needs right now is another 100 people looking for affordable housing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
'What have we done?' Lawyer describes shock at possible role in Trump's 2016 victory
A lawyer who negotiated a pair of hush money deals at the centre of Donald Trump's criminal trial recalled Thursday his "gallows humor" reaction to Trump's 2016 election victory and the realization that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to the win.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.
Universities grapple with the complicated politics of campus encampments
Montreal police are facing pressure to move in and dismantle a pro-Palestinian encampment on McGill University campus on Thursday, as a growing number of universities across this country grapple with the tough decision of how to handle the protests.
Conservative MP says Chinese hacking attack targeted his personal email
A Conservative MP is challenging claims by House of Commons administration that a China-backed hacking attempt did not impact any members of Parliament, because the attack was on his personal email.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
Heavy police presence at McGill University as counter-protesters assemble opposite pro-Palestinian encampment
A heavy police presence was at McGill University on Thursday morning, as counter-protesters assembled opposite the pro-Palestinian encampment at the school.