by LYNN HUNTER
Proposed provincial Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) legislation, which allows for persons anonymously accused of illegal behaviour to be summarily evicted, has ruffled feathers of local residents as it picks up momentum at Queen’s Park.
The bill, introduced by Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi in October 2008, would empower municipalities to appoint a director of SCAN, who would act on anonymous complaints of illegal behaviours or any other behaviour that adversely affects the health, safety, or security of the community.
Naqvi claims that SCAN offers a solution to the costly hassle of lengthy criminal investigation and court battles. Naqvi’s alternate system would allow the director to set up surveillance of targeted homes, resolve conflicts informally, and evict tenants through a Community Safety Order issued Ottawa Centre MPP backs snitch hotline that will terrorize Ottawa by the Superior Court.
As the bill moves through Queen’s Park, a growing coalition of tenants’ rights and anti-poverty groups are raising concerns about potential negative outcomes of the bill. Chief concerns include the lack of an accessible appeals process for tenants, lack of oversight provisions for the director, and violations of privacy rights.
Coalition partners are questioning the need to create an alternate system to penalize citizens for engaging in criminal activities. Currently illegal activities are investigated through the judicial system, but SCAN could have tenants evicted with no judicial process. NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo said ‘if a tenant’s conduct is illegal, they should be arrested, not evicted.”
SCAN opponents are also concerned that the bill has no oversight provisions for the director and no accessible complaints process for accused tenants. Orders of eviction currently can be appealed through the Landlord and Tenant Board with the help of community workers. Under SCAN, appeals would go through the Ontario Superior Court, where tenants would need to hire a lawyer.
In addition, legal experts have raised concerns about SCAN as tenants will not hear the evidence against them, have the right to cross-examine the person making allegations, or have proper notice to prepare a defence case.
Critics say the bill will have a disproportionate impact on groups already facing discrimination in the housing market. The anonymous complaints procedure would help individuals restrict the migration of marginalized groups into their neighbourhoods, through the imposition of surveillance, evictions, and harassment of those tenants deemed undesirable.
As the bill moves towards its final vote at Queen’s Park, Naqvi is aiming to appease the growing coalition, but members are unsure whether the bill can be salvaged. Coalition groups are instead ramping up the opposition campaign, optimistic that SCAN can be stopped.
