[e-drive][PAL TORONTO LETTERS OF SUPPORT: URGENT]

[Patricia Joyce]

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Dear Friends:
The provincial downloading of responsibility for assisted housing has devolved onto the City of Toronto. The City has been struggling with implementing the instrument of these changes, the Ontario Government's Bill 128, the Social Housing Reform Act. Among the City's actions is the setting up of a central waiting list for all applicants for assisted housing and, recently, the decision that PAL's long-standing Mandate is no longer acceptable under the new regulations.
Facilities such as Artscape, which has specially designed living/workspace units deemed inappropriate for general residency occupation, would be exempt from the City's requirements, as will ethnically specific facilities since they provide services specifically aimed at the cultural/ religious needs of their client population. However, the City's legal advisors could find no "special" qualities which would set Pal Place legally apart from similar buildings.
We at PAL know the unique qualities which are specific to our residence at 110 The Esplanade. We also provide programmes specific to our "client population", and the community at Pal Place was founded to create and maintain that specific artistic community which has been of proven benefit to the mental and physical health and security of our colleagues.
In addition, PAL was founded and receives support from many industry individuals and organizations specifically to promote those objects described by our Mandate: "To offer assistance to, and create and encourage programs and services for, older, disabled, or needy members and associates of Canada's professional performing arts community in the areas of health, well-being, and accommodation..."
Many of you have donated money to PAL as a means of ensuring services to your membership. Your organization did not provide these funds to be used for assisted housing for the general population of Toronto. If we are unable to convince City Hall to accept our long-standing Mandate, that is the result we will be facing.
It is a dire situation. If we are unable to exercise our Mandate, PAL has no reason to exist. The need will still be there but we will be in no position to do anything about it. 
PAL has made great strides in recent years. From one operation in Toronto, we have expanded to other Chapters presently established in Halifax, Stratford and Vancouver, and discussions are bubbling in Montréal, Winnipeg and Calgary.
Toronto's Pal Place residence is the model upon which others are basing their hopes and dreams for affordable accommodation and other PAL services elsewhere in Canada. How shocking to have the future of the flagship operation questioned.
The Community Services Committee of Toronto City Council will be meeting to receive a staff report in respect of this problem. It is scheduled for next Thursday, and PAL will be intervening in the debate. I am asking you to write a letter in support of our intervention. Since the staff report has still not been made available to us, and as the critical nature of the problem has only recently been clearly defined for us, we have only this weekend to prepare and package our materials in order that we can hand-deliver our full presentation to the members of the Committee at the beginning of next week. 
Can you please write a letter of support, on behalf of your organization, for PAL's position? And, can you have it e-mailed to me by Friday afternoon at the latest? I cannot impress on you too much the critical urgency of your support letters. I apologize for the short warning. We only learned the absolute necessity, and the possibility, of mounting a strong defense of PAL's mandate last Friday. I will have your e-mails printed and distributed with our package.
Your letter need not be lengthy and should express your outrage that PAL's raison d'etre can be set aside and the special nature of the community we serve be so disregarded. The questions such actions would raise with respect to your past and present support of PAL should also be mentioned. And, of course, mention the number of members you represent.
If you have any questions please call me at 416-932-3947 (home) or 416-802-9443 (cell). Our ad hoc committee is meeting at various times over the next several days and I shall leave my cell on during these meetings.
Apologies for the generic letter. I know you understand. Thank you in advance for your help.
 
Dan MacDonald, President,
Performing Arts Lodges of Canada
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