JASON SETNYK
About two dozen people gathered at the Cornwall Public Library on the evening of July 30 for a discussion with Ricardo Tranjan, best-selling author of The Tenant Class. The event, presented by the Tenant Association of Cornwall & Area and the Clinique Juridique Roy McMurtry Legal Clinic, explored housing justice, tenant rights, and ways to strengthen communities.
Tranjan’s book, released in 2023, challenges the idea that Canada’s housing crisis can be solved by simply building more units. “The lack of affordability we see right now is not a surprise, but a byproduct of a housing system that puts profit ahead of people,” he said. “Supply alone does not bring affordability. What we build, who owns it, and what protections exist matter just as much.”
He was critical of policies that allow landlords to sharply raise rents between tenants, a practice known as vacancy decontrol. “There’s a huge financial incentive for eviction,” Tranjan explained. “If I cannot hike rents between one tenant and the next, I no longer have that motivation to evict them.” He argued the Ontario government could address this across the province by implementing vacancy controls.
Tranjan also rejected the notion that rent hikes are inevitable due to inflation or market forces. “Markets don’t work with invisible hands. Landlords decide to raise rents, and governments allow them to do so without consequence,” he said.
For Tranjan, lasting change will only come from collective action. “Whenever there have been policy changes that benefited tenants, it’s because a tenant movement pushed for it,” he told attendees. “Politicians respond to political pressure. The only way to win is to organize.”
Following the talk, audience members took part in a Q&A session, continuing the conversation on how Cornwall tenants can advocate for stronger protections and more affordable housing.
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