I am a landlord myself in Ontario... and while they are two totally different tennant markets (and obviously also subject to different provincial rules), your landlord sounds like a real piece of work.
My brother also works out near St. Albert doing sandblasting for pipelines and the like.
1) I would listen to Gone WRT to getting some money back... however it might be more trouble than it is worth.
2) I would give him one last email opportunity to get this fixed... tell him you consider this a required emergency repair, and emphasize this requires immediate attention. Do so via email, and call to follow up. Log date and time.
After that, consider taking him to the board. Have your previous usage bills handy over a year or so to request that you be reimbursed the difference between your average usage and the new high.
3) How many liters/gallons does $371 buy you there?
The water is going somewhere.... if that much water is heading through the humidifier and then to an overflow, it is also going out to the sewer or storm systems, that much usage is highly wasteful, and it could contribute to overwhelming the city systems.
The city may actually has some broad powers WRT to this sort of wastage into storm/sewer systems.
If it is being ejected outside to the ground, likely it is affecting someone else's property if you aren't in the rurals.
While threats sometimes get you nowhere, you could report this issue to the city, and the city may mandate it repaired within X days, or have the water shut off (thus making your building uninhabitable)
A complaint WRT your high water bill to the city might get things started.
4) Reference the link below:
»
www.servicealberta.ca/pd ··· ants.pdfFrom that:
"If a landlord ignores a tenants request for repairs, the
tenant may apply to the RTDRS or Court for any of
the following:
to recover damages
to have the rent reduced to make up for any
benefits the tenant has lost because the landlord
didnt carry out the landlords obligations
to compensate for the cost of performing the
landlords obligations
to end the tenancy."
"Note: A tenant cannot withhold rent because they
believe the landlord is not meeting their obligations.
A landlord cannot evict a tenant for exercising their
rights under the RTA or the Public Health Act."
Good luck.
Ryan