By BI: NON-MUSLIMS NEED NOT APPLY: A disabled Toronto man had his name removed from the waiting list for a subsidized city apartment because he does not meet the main criteria for living there: Being Muslim. At 21, Austin Lewis of Toronto lives his life in a wheelchair. Now, he’s also dealing with another obstacle when it comes to getting a subsidized apartment: he has the wrong religion.
AUSTIN LEWIS
GLOBAL NEWS Lewis is attempting to find subsidized, rent-to-income accommodations in Toronto. He has applied to dozens of apartments through Housing Connections, an organization that manages a waiting list of applicants applying for subsidized housing. This week, Lewis received a letter from Housing Connections, informing him he would be taken off the list for an apartment at 3001 Finch Ave. West, operated by Ahmadiyya Abode of Peace Inc.
The letter reads, in part: “The vision of this community includes providing housing for households in which at least one person is a member of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. This means if none of the individuals of your household are a member … you will be removed from the waiting list.”
“It’s prejudiced, it’s racist,” said Laura Whiteway of Brampton, Lewis’s mother. “It’s wrong on every single level: this goes against everything Canada represents to me.” Whiteway contacted Global News after receiving the letter, which she says unfairly discriminates against her son because he is not Muslim.
Lewis’ Mother Laura Whiteway
Under provincial law, renters aren’t supposed to be denied accommodations on the basis of religion. “The purpose of the Human Rights Code in Ontario is to make sure people feel as though they are part of the community and that their dignity and their worth is protected,” said Shane Martinez, a Toronto criminal defence lawyer who specializes in human rights issues.
But the city of Toronto says the practice of allowing only certain ethnic or religious groups is legally acceptable.
MUSLIM-ONLY Ahmadiyya Abode of Peace
“Ahmadiyya has received approval under Council authority to enter into an Agreement to establish a Mandate to restrict tenancy to ‘members of the Muslim Jama’at’ in accordance with the requirements approved by City Council in November 2002.
It gives new meaning to the segregated (by choice) Muslim dominant areas of Europe known as ‘NO-GO ZONES’ where non-Muslims dare not go, sharia rules, and even the streets have Muslim names.
The Agreement to Establish a Mandate has been executed by both parties and has a five year term with an effective date of Jan 1, 2015,” according to John Gosgnach, communications manager for the City of Toronto.
“The City’s mandate policy allows social housing providers to restrict their housing to individuals belonging to an identifiable ethnic or religious group if specific conditions are met,” Gosgnach said.
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