Boo hoo hooo… Do-gooder privately sponsors a family of seven from Syrian, gets her panties in a bunch when landlords aren’t interested in renting to them.

The conversations started off well. “And then when I mentioned seven people and Syrian refugees, the tone changed. So we didn’t even go and look,” she said.

The landlords switched from enthusiasm to downright discouragement. They described the bedrooms as small, or said they preferred long-term tenants, she recalled.

“This is a humanitarian crisis. … My feeling was that people should just step up and do that little bit extra,” said Ms. Onufryk, who is part of a sponsorship group called Abraham’s Children Together that is a partnership of a church, a synagogue and an Islamic association.

Hmm… funny… why can’t the family just live in her house? Or does she not want them there, preferring someone else foot the bill and provide the shelter she signed on for when she sponsored them? Why is it “people” (ie, not her) who need to “step up and do that little bit extra.”

Oh, and of course she assumes it’s because of racism instead of landlords get to decide whether or not they want a family of seven with no current means of support in their privately owned two-bedroom apartments.

One landlord told her he would not rent to Syrian refugees and then hung up.

“Being an affluent, blonde white woman, I’ve never really experienced any prejudice in Canada. And so when someone told me they wouldn’t rent because I was asking about Syrian refugees, I was flabbergasted,” she said.

Affluent, huh? Again, what about her house?

Spoiler alert: they got an apartment at $400 below market price. In other news, the waiting list for regular folks to get into affordable housing is 10 years in Ontario, but who cares about regular folks anyway?

As always, the comments are better than the actual article:

If these refugees are “sponsored”, the sponsors should co-sign the leases, otherwise what is their sponsorship worth? If they are not willing to take on the financial risk of the refugees they have sponsored, why should the landlord?

Too bad this woman isn’t so quick to help find affordable housing for Canadians struggling with low income, low paying jobs and the high cost of rental housing.

I don’t really see why there is a problem. I read in the G&M comments over the last couple of months 20 or 30 people say they would take in a family – and that was only in the G&M. You mean they didn’t take them in?

More at the Globe and Mail.