Tom Ermidas says the rooming house he lives in saved his life. But across Canada, they're under threat
23:09
Rooming houses have long offered affordable accommodation to students, newcomers to Canada, and people who are vulnerable or living on low incomes. But they are unregulated in some parts of the country, and their affordability is being eroded by the housing crisis. We talk to Tom Ermidas, who says the rooming house he lives in now has saved his life; and discuss the housing pressures with Elizabeth McIsaac, president of the Maytree Foundation, a charitable foundation in Toronto focused on human rights and poverty; and Andy Yan, an urban planner and director of the city program at Simon Fraser University.