date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 09:29:09 -0500

Good Morning,

Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal issued 118,800 eviction orders -- 58 per cent of the landlord applications -- without hearing from tenants, between June 1998 and December 31, 2001. Yet, Tina Molinari, associate housing minister claims "I think it's fair". London Free Press

RE: Your report on ORHT

I read your article last night on the internet and was floored by the contents on this page. I had a case before the ORHT in June 2002 regarding an eviction for unwillingness to pay the Landlord for damages that they claimed I owed. My insurance company even paid a lawyer from one of Ottawa's most prestigious law firms to represent me at the hearing. Our adjudicator was none other than Ms. Susan Ellacott, mentioned on your page. The case had two sides to it (separate Landlord and Tenant applications), and was previously heard by another adjudicator at the ORHT, who made the decision to combine the two cases and set a new hearing date, as he believed that these cases were, in fact, the same case and should be heard at the same time.

At the hearing that Ms. Ellacott presided over, my lawyer and I were surprised at the obvious bias towards the Landlord that she displayed from the very onset of the proceedings. She didn't even know her own Tribunal's Rules & Procedures until my lawyer had to point them out to her, not to mention the simple points of law regarding the cross-examination of witnesses. We had prepared two sworn affidavits from witnesses as part of our defense, that she refused to allow in the proceedings. We had on several occasions during the proceedings, shown the Landlord's representatives and witnesses to be contradictory in their statements. However, in her decision, she had stated that the Landlord and their representatives/witnesses had been "found credible", whereas, the tenant had been found to be "evasive and contradictory" offering statements that were "vague", but supplying no examples for either statement. And to further frustrate our side, she took the decision made by the previous adjudicator and reversed his decision and once again split the case into two, stating that she did not believe that they were associated in any way, nor did she have the time to hear our case that day. She sided with the Landlord (who is a well-known property owner in Ottawa - and is a whole other side of the argument that your article did not address) and refused to hear our case.

In her decision, an eviction order was approved, even though I had vacated the apartment two months prior (with proper notice given to the Landlord) to the order.

Just thought you would be interested in hearing another case regarding Ms. Ellacott. Feel free to contact me if you would like further details regarding this case.

Thank you

G. M. [ contributor instructed us to stay anonymous]
Tel (**) ***-****

p.s. Has anything come of this application to the Ombudsman? Or are we just glad to have a change in government.