Hamilton

Best CCTV Security Camera in Brampton Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton’s medical officer of health, apologized for comments her staff made that minimized the health impacts of pest infestations on residents. (Samantha Craggs/CBC) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton Public health staff have apologized to residents for not enforcing the city’s pest rules for over four years and recently making comments that minimized the health impacts of living with insect and rodent infestations. Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, the city’s medical officer of health, made the apology on Thursday, following CBC Hamilton’s story. “I want to apologize on behalf of the City of Hamilton as well as public health services to those in the community who felt our level of service for not addressing pest control complaints was not up to their expectations,” Richardson told reporters. Public health manager Matthew Lawson previously told CBC Hamilton there’s little evidence to suggest rats, cockroaches and bedbugs carry diseases.  Lawson also apologized Thursday, acknowledging pests can affect people’s physical and mental wellbeing, and cause allergic reactions, infections related to scratching, as well as anxiety and insomnia. “I take the health and wellbeing of those in Hamilton very seriously,” Lawson said. “That’s why I’m here today to extend an apology to those who felt pain based on my comments in a recent media story minimizing the negative impacts pest infestations can have on community members.”  Earlier in the day, Mayor Andrea Horwath urged city staff to apologize.  Home CCTV Camera in Brmapton Cheap CCTV Camera in Brampton Following their apology, she told CBC Hamilton she was shocked when she read the story and said residents felt diminished and insulted. “I want to articulate how sorry I am,” Horwath said. “People need to know the city is on their side. When they call with issues, we need to respond and if we’re not able to, we need to know why.”  A bylaw officer will be in charge of responding to new pest complaints starting next Tuesday, while also working through hundreds of cases the city has yet to respond to, Richardson said.  Horwath said she expects the city to contact every resident who has lodged a complaint and find ways to expedite the process.  Kevin McDonald, a city public health director who oversees the healthy environments division, previously said Hamilton’s public health division paused pest control in early 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic started.  That means landlords who fail to keep buildings free of cockroaches, bedbugs or rats, as required under the city’s property standards bylaw, haven’t faced bylaw orders or fees. Public health says enforcement paused during the pandemic and a bylaw officer will pick it up next month CBC Hamilton is investigating the living conditions that tenants face and what responsibility the city has to uphold property standards. This is Part 1 of a three-part series. Parts 2 and 3 will run in the coming weeks. The cockroach and bedbug infestations in Tammy Brown’s Hamilton apartment have all but destroyed her life, she says. Roaches have taken over her fridge and stove, contaminating her food and making it impossible to cook for her two adult daughters, one of whom lives with a disability, and her four-year-old grandson.  Brown has thrown out nearly all their clothes and furniture in an effort to rid her home of the pests. “We have nothing left,” she said.  Brown, a member of the tenant advocacy group ACORN, has called the city four times in under a year, begging for it to order the landlord at 221 Melvin Ave. to fix the pest problems. She said neither public health nor bylaw has ever responded.  “Nobody from the city gives a shit,” she said. “Pardon my French, but the job is not being done.”  There’s a reason she hasn’t heard back. The City of Hamilton isn’t enforcing its own pest control rules — and hasn’t for over four years, staff told CBC Hamilton. That means landlords who fail to keep buildings free of cockroaches, bedbugs or rats, as required under the city’s property standards bylaw, haven’t faced bylaw orders or fees. Kevin McDonald, a city public health director who oversees the healthy environments division, said in an interview the decision to pause pest control happened in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, when staff were reassigned to respond to the emergency.  Pest control was determined to be a low priority at that time, McDonald said. The public was notified of the change through a report prepared for the Board of Health and the previous mayor in June 2020. In that report, it does not list services — like pest control enforcement — that were put on hold, but rather services that would continue. Pest control was not on the list. Public health lifted its state of emergency related to COVID-19 over a year ago. “We appreciate and are not trying to minimize the presence of pests in someone’s home can be extremely stressful, frustrating and concerning,” said McDonald. “And depending on the type of pests, that can have a mental and physical impact on individuals.”  Best CCTV Security Services in Brampton Brown and her family live at 221 Melvin Ave. in Hamilton’s east end. (Samantha Beattie/CBC) Best CCTV Camera in Brampton However, according to public health manager Matthew Lawson, there’s little evidence to suggest rats, cockroaches and bedbugs carry pathological diseases, and the idea that residents could experience negative mental health impacts is a “novel, developing notion” that began in 2008 when bedbugs started making a resurgence in Hamilton. “I couldn’t agree with you more that nobody wants to live with pests,” said Lawson. “But pests in the modern form aren’t necessarily presenting a health hazard.”  Hamilton public health received 1,365 pest complaints from 2019 to this month, as shared with CBC Hamilton. There were fewer than five orders issued by the city in that time. A corporate landlord found guilty of violating the city’s pest control rules may face fines of up to $100,000. McDonald said enforcement will begin again by mid-August, after one bylaw officer is reassigned and trained. The bylaw officer will respond to pest control complaints, which residents can file by calling the city’s customer contact centre, he said.  “Everyone deserves