Fear that the winter would bring a rash of renters being kicked out of their homes has abated with the provincial government’s decision to pause residential evictions. The emergency order to temporarily stop the enforcement of evictions was announced Thursday at the start of a provincial stay-at-home-order. It is meant to ensure people are not forced to leave their homes during the current state of emergency related to the pandemic, unless there’s been illegal activity. “We’ve been calling for an eviction moratorium beyond just the enforcement for the duration of the pandemic,” said Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario spokesperson Bahar Shadpour. Housing is the primary defence against the spread of the virus, she said. “We’re definitely glad to see that there has been movement on this.” A ban on evictions introduced early on during the pandemic was lifted in August and in the following months, Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board …