PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

WINDING DOWN ANOTHER COVID YEAR

TONY IRWIN

President & CEO FRPO

The last 20 months has been quite a journey for everyone across the globe. Here in Ontario, rental-housing providers have stepped up and played a vital role in supporting our rental ecosystem. You continued to provide exceptional service to your residents, while operating expenses increased and revenues declined. Thank you. You have my utmost respect and admiration.

FRPO has worked hard all year to ensure you have a strong voice at Queen’s Park. Since the start of the pandemic, we have provided regular updates to policy makers on how COVID-19 is impacting our industry. In 2021, our advocacy has focused on ensuring the rent freeze was not extended and that the 2022 rent guideline, announced in June, was not rescinded. In addition, FRPO continued to call for an increase in resources to improve the functioning of the Landlord and Tenant Board

Despite the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, the past few months have felt relatively normal compared to where we were a year ago. Talk of the omicron variant has begun to stir up new concerns as we head into the holiday season, but it’s still too soon to fully understand the implications of the new strain. With kids under twelve now eligible for vaccination, let’s hope we can better manage any new storms that come our way. If this pandemic has proven anything, it’s that we’re resilient.

On the positive side, the 2021 MAC Awards are just around the corner, and we at FRPO anticipate a wonderful evening of fun and celebration! Like last year, the event will be held virtually—but that won’t stop us from properly acknowledging the industry’s accomplishments or celebrating the hard work that went into making this unprecedented year a success. A shout-out to all our members for their ongoing commitment to providing quality rental housing despite the continued challenges.