Layton says he's moving from co-op

Andrew Duffy 

The Toronto Star 

Toronto Councillor Jack Layton is moving out of his downtown co- op. 

An angry Layton made that revelation yesterday after being confronted by a small but vocal group of demonstrators who had gathered outside his Jarvis St. co-op. 

"It's a personal decision that has been in the works for months," Layton said. "We've been looking for many months and we will continue to look (for a house)." 

The decision to move out of the government-subsidized Hazelburn Co-op was made in November after consulting with his wife, school Trustee Olivia Chow, Layton said. 

"We want to find a place that's big enough to allow us to live with Mrs. Chow, Olivia's mother," he said. 

The Laytons now pay Mrs. Chow's rent of $661 a month. 

Earlier this month, The Star reported that Layton and his wife live in an $800-a-month co-op apartment, despite earning about $120,000 a year. 

Layton recently began paying an extra $325 month to offset the mortgage subsidy paid by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. on his three-bedroom unit. 

At the time, Layton told The Star's Tom Kerr that he planned to stay at Hazelburn because he likes the location and believes in the co-op movement. 

However, yesterday Layton rejected any suggestion that he's moving because of the controversy. 

"It's not because of the recent attacks and it's not because we don't believe in co-op housing - it's part of the natural evolution of our family," he said. 

His seven-month search for a house has been fruitless, even though he's willing to rent or buy. 

"We were hoping it wouldn't take this long," he said. "But the downtown ward is the most expensive area of Metro and it doesn't have many homes. 

"It's troubling because I would prefer to live in the district that I represent." 

Two written offers, one made in February and the other in April, have both met with rejection, he said. 

The Ward 6 councillor was visibly angered as he marched through a clutch of placard-carrying protesters outside his Jarvis St. co-op yesterday afternoon. 

"Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack try to talk your way out of it," they chanted. 

"We are being taxed to death to help people and I want to be sure my tax dollars are going to people who need it," said Lynne Lake, one of seven demonstrators. 

She called on the province to impose salary caps to ensure that affordable co-op units are preserved for low- and moderate-income families. 

Darlene Whittaker, 21, a single mother with an 11-month-old daughter, joined the small protest. 

Whittaker, who receives $900 a month in family benefits, is about to move into a $600-a-month bachelor apartment. She's on a waiting list for a unit with the Metro Toronto Housing Authority and has been told that co-ops are no longer accepting applications. 

"I'd do anything for a one-bedroom co-op apartment - that's why I think it's ridiculous for someone like Layton to stay here," she said. 

Accompanied by his 14-year-old daughter, Layton didn't say a word to the demonstrators and stopped to talk to reporters only after stepping inside the front doors of his co-op. 

"I support their (the protesters') call for affordable housing, but I think they fundamentally misunderstand how co-operatives work. 

"Co-ops should be communities of mixed-income people." 

Source: Andrew Duffy, T.S. 1990, Layton says he's moving from co-op: [SU2 Edition], Toronto, Ontario, Canada.