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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1994-07-27, Page 23THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 1994. PAGE 23. Bill passes allowing apartments in houses The apartments in houses provisions of-the Residents' Rights Act, which allow homeowners to create an apartment in their house, are now law. The Residents' Rights Act (Bill 120) makes it legal for homeowners to have one self- contained apartment in their house, provided it meets the Fire and Building Codes and reasonable municipal planning standards. "Tenants living in apartments in Hospital struck with 8 layoffs A local hospital has been hit with layoffs which will be effective Sept. 18. Seven nurses and one orderly at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital (AMGH) in Goderich will be placed on temporary layoff beginning in the fall and the facility will have to close 16 beds, shutting down the entire ward of 2 West. Hospital administrator Ken Engelstad said the reduction in staff and beds is due to the low patient population since April. The approx­ MPP seeks support for farmers By Paul Klopp, MPP Huron After the session ended, I travelled to Winnipeg for the Provincial Minister's Agricultural Conference with Elmer Buchanan. It was an exciting conference which could result in some significant benefits to our farmers. We discussed the impact of free trade on Canadian agriculture. / There was a consensus among all the ministers of agriculture that we need to be able to clearly identify produce grown in Canada as houses can now freely exercise the same rights as the rest of Ontario's tenant population. If tenants feel their apartment is unsafe they can take action without the fear of automatic eviction. And homeowners are legally obliged to make sure their apartments meet safety standards," said Evelyn Gigantes, Minister of Housing. As part of today's announcement, the Ministry of the Solicitor imately 100-bed hospital has seen an average of 70 patients with num­ bers dipping as low as the 40s. Mr. Engelstad says the availabili­ ty of more medical treatments through outpatient services and shorter hospital stays has lessened the bed requirements. President of the Local 52 of the Ontario Nurses Association Debbie Selkirk says the layoffs are not sur- prising. AMGH has been lucky because there has been no layoff in recent years as in other facilities. Canadian for the consumer. This means that we don't want people in grocery stores to be fooled by packaging or the place of processing into thinking that they are supporting Canadian farmers when in fact they are not. Elmer Buchanan and I feel strongly about this and intend to push it at the provincial and federal levels. • At the same time, there was a recognition that we need to streamline regulations regarding General and Correctional Services also released new Fire Code standards, under the Fire Marshals Act, designed specifically for apartments in houses. The Fire Code amendments include comprehensive measures to ensure that houses containing two units are safe. The amendments spell out new fire safety require­ ments for such houses including fire separations, means of escape in the event of fire, installation of Services allowing patients and elderly to stay home have reduced the need for hospital staff, but the change is good for the public. Gary Chambers, local representa­ tive of the Services Employees International Union says the employees have five days to decide if they want to take the layoff or transfer to another department. The union representatives say the eight layoffs will take place whether it is the eight given notice, or others, if the original eight decide on transfers. packaging and health. We need to protect the consumer and the integrity of Canadian producers while keeping interfering rules to a minimum. We also discussed a number of long-term safety net issues and I hope that these will bear fruit. I am very happy that the session is now over and I have an opportunity to spend more time out and about the riding in the next month enjoying Huron County and seeing many of you. smoke alarms and electrical safety. Homeowners are required to install smoke alarms by August 13, 1994, which is within 30 days of the bill’s proclamation. Require­ ments for fire separations, means of escape and electrical safety must be met by July 14, 1996. Those who fail to meet these new standards may face a fine of up to $25,000. New Ontario Building Code provisions are also in place to provide homeowners with uniform standards which are applied when they apply for building permits for die creation or upgrading of second. units. There are more than 100,000 apartments in houses in Ontario which, until now, have been illegal due to municipal zoning by-laws. As a result, tenants in those units could not exercise their rights to a safe, secure unit. Although these tenants are protected under the Landlord and Tenant Act and the Rent Control Act, complaining to local inspectors could have resulted in the tenant being evicted from the illegal apartment. "We introduced this legislation because we knew that we couldn't make these apartments safe until they were legal. An illegal apartment means tenants and landlords are on their own when it comes to health and safety. Now we can start making sure that apartments in houses meet fire and safety standards," Ms Gigantes said. In addition to the already broad powers of entry currently available to fire inspectors, Bill 120 also offers somewhat improved powers of entry for property standards and zoning officers. The apartments in houses portion of Bill 120 also allows municipalities to enter into agreements with homeowners to set up a garden suite or 'granny flat' on their property. The Residents' Rights Act also extends tenant protection laws to residents living in unregulated care homes. These provisions of the act are scheduled to be proclaimed by the end of August. Division of Parrish & Heimbecker, Limited | "Where you can trade with confidence" WE ARE READY FOR HARVEST RECEIVING Soft White Winter Wheat Hard Red Wheat (Fundulea) Oats Barley Canola Walton Elevators Atwood Elevators Call us for pre-harvest application of Roundup on Beans & Corn WALTON 527-1540 887-9261 ATWOOD 356-2292 Division of Parrish A Heimbecker, Limited