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Laura GodfreyLaura Godfrey
Graduated with a BA from York University in 2008, where I worked as the Assistant Arts Editor at Excalibur, the university's community newspaper...

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For 62 low-income families living in run-down, high-rent areas, the garbage bags piling up at nearby drop sites are not the cause of the big stink in Toronto’s city strike. Instead, it’s the news that construction on their affordable housing units has been pushed back indefinitely.

These families were scheduled to move into houses built by Habitat for Humanity Toronto. Some had already given notice to their current landlords. According to Neil Hetherington, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Toronto, the most emotional part of all this is telling families they can’t move into their new homes.

“When you have such hope and excitement about a new home being built, you’re ready to move in and you’ve arranged for your kids to transfer schools, it can be devastating news,” Hetherington said.

One of the sites affected by the strike is a 54-unit housing project at 20 Hainford St. in Scarborough. Construction here is already underway, but hammers will soon stop swinging because they can’t get the necessary building inspections required by the city.

Other projects affected include two wheelchair-accessible units at 59 Giltspur Dr., near Jane and Sheppard, and 19 units planned for 1500 Weston Rd., where a large, vacant field awaits access to building permits.

The non-profit organization estimates that for each month of the strike, they will lose $250,000. Part of this loss is from cancelled “team-building exercises,” where corporations donate $5,000 a day to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity construction projects.

While Toronto homeowners and regular contractors are also unable to get construction or demolition permits, Habitat for Humanity’s three “ReStores” have stopped receiving many donated goods. These retail locations, whose profits benefit Habitat’s building projects, sell used kitchens, bathrooms and appliances salvaged from demolition sites. For now, those salvaged donations have dried up.

With no end in sight for Toronto’s ongoing city workers’ strike, it’s unknown how long these homes will be delayed. But for those whose move-in dates have been suddenly postponed, smelly garbage is the least of their problems.