Ravina has lived at Meadowvale Gardens near Glen Erin Drive in Mississauga for several years. She says she is frustrated by the lack of consistency with the cooling system and is even more concerned now that her six-month-old has to endure the soaring temperatures as well.
“It’s an ongoing issue that management isn’t solving,” she tells CityNews. “As you can see today, the temperature is 27 C in here and it’s very humid for my baby and myself.”
According to the City of Mississauga’s Adequate Temperature By-law, the maximum indoor temperature should not exceed 26 C in buildings where air conditioning is equipped or furnished by the landlord.
“When the city was involved, the next day they did provide me with a fan and that was it,” Ravina explains.
Longtime resident Michelle also has no cool air in her unit during this heat wave. She has several devices to try and keep the temperature low but said she had to pay for them out of her pocket.
“I have two exhaust fans, a ceiling fan, a Dyson fan, the air conditioning from the complex and a dehumidifier which is taking in 11 gallons of water per day,” she said. “And the humidity is still 75 and the temperature is still 27 C.”
CityNews reached out to the City of Mississauga and they say while not all units at the building appear to be affected, they did receive a few complaints from residents between June 23 and 25 regarding elevated temperatures.
“During the course of the investigation, a contravention of the City of Mississauga’s Adequate Temperature By-law 0110-2018 was identified, and a Notice of Contravention (NOC) was issued to the property owner,” they said in a statement.
The City went on to say that they conducted in-unit inspections, and at the time, found the units to be in compliance with the by-law.
“When the weather gets better, then people come over and they’ll look at it in response to our complaints and say ‘hey, look, everything’s good,’” said Saad. “But that’s typically when it’s a good day and so you’re not even able to experience the extreme heat in that moment.”
City officials tell CityNews the property owner is working to ensure they are in compliance with the NOC.
CityNews reached out to Meadowvale Gardens about the issues but has yet to receive a response.
Residents like Ravina, Michelle and Saad say the cooling system should be standard for all, and some shouldn’t be left having to fight for what they are already paying for.
