Toronto seniors without Bell service for seven weeks following fire

A fire at a Toronto seniors residence left residents without telephone or internet service for seven weeks. Mixed signals between the owner and BCE Inc. meant service was not restored in an appropriate time. The story was first reported by the Toronto Star. According to the newspaper, on Sunday, June 8 a fire broke out at Beecroft Manor in the city’s North York region. Firefighters doused the flames in 12 minutes. Bell told the paper that its network equipment was badly damaged. Rogers Communications Inc. was able to restore access within two days. But internal miscommunication involving insurance coverage and liabilities delayed Bell from repairing the network for nearly two months. During that time, residents who are on the Bell network did not have access to landlines or internet service. Some report still being charged for service, although Bell says refunds are in the offing. The residence is operated by Toronto Seniors Housing Corp. (TSHC), a city agency. One disability advocate is surprised the government-run group allowed the situation to deteriorate. “It’s certainly unique in that it’s happening in a city building,” Brad Evoy, executive director of the Disability Justice Network of Ontario (DJNO) told The Wire Report in an interview. He noted that seniors must frequently be in touch with their doctors and pharmacists for medical care and that this was impossible for the seven weeks. His group will be putting pressure on all three levels of government to guarantee that services are restored quickly in future situations. The DJNO has scheduled a meeting with federal MP Leslie Church (Toronto-St. Paul’s, Ont.), the parliamentary secretary to the minister of jobs and families, and the secretaries of state for labour, for seniors and for children and youth. “I have a sneaking suspicion that this is going to be part of a topic of conversation with the parliamentary secretary on persons with disabilities when we have a chance to sit down with her,” Evoy stated. “We’ll be definitely bringing it to Leslie Church’s attention.” Bell told The Wire Report that initial access to the damaged site was delayed by building restoration activity. “After assessing damage to the fibre riser cable and related infrastructure, rebuilding commenced but was paused due to an internal administrative matter independent of Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation's permit process,” the company wrote in an email July 30. “With property management authorization secured on Wednesday, July 23, our teams accessed the building, implemented a wiring solution for immediate restoration of Bell services on the premises, and are actively rebuilding the network which is expected to be completed this week.” THSC said it regularly checked in on tenants, some of whom chose to switch from Bell to another telecom provider. Staff also made their corporate phones available to residents to make calls. “TSHC and our partner, Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), actively worked to expedite a resolution to the Bell telecom outage amidst a delay in repairs due to insurance claim requirements” the agency explained in an email to The Wire Report. “As Bell owns and maintains the telecom equipment, TSHC and TCHC were unable to conduct repairs directly.” Evoy said that the outages are probably more prevalent than it appears, as such cases are underreported. ppark@thewirereport.ca

Toronto seniors without Bell service for seven weeks following fire

Telecom |
By Paul Park
| August 5, 2025

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Toronto seniors without Bell service for seven weeks following fire

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By Paul Park
| August 5, 2025