(Quebec) The Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau – like the vast majority of her CAQ colleagues – voted for a motion from Québec solidaire (QS) asking in particular the four political parties represented in the National Assembly to collaborate to better protect vulnerable senior tenants against evictions.
This initiative by solidarity MP Christine Labrie comes in the wake of her bill aimed at expanding the Françoise David law in order to limit evictions of seniors from their homes.
“It gives me hope that we will work hand in hand for the rapid adoption of my bill. I look forward to working with Minister Duranceau and my colleague Andrés Fontecilla to better protect senior tenants from evictions,” said Ms.me Labrie after the adoption of his motion.
The 107 deputies present at the Blue Room voted in favor of the motion.
Change of tone
Since this week, we have seen a change of tone on the part of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) regarding the solidarity bill. Two weeks ago, although the government agreed to call the piece legislative, it showed little enthusiasm for passing it.
On March 28, during the debate on the principle of the bill, France-Élaine Duranceau notably affirmed that the first version of the Françoise David law had caused perverse effects, while admitting that it was a “good measure”. According to her, landlords are hesitant to accept elderly tenants.
However, on Tuesday, in a message on the social network
On that same day, Minister Duranceau indicated: “We have always said that we are open to discussing and thinking to ensure we have the right public policy to help people. »
The Prime Minister also indicated that the Minister of Housing would meet Christine Labrie in the coming days.
The Françoise David law, which was adopted in 2016, stipulates that a senior over 70 with a very low income who has lived in their home for more than 10 years cannot be evicted. The objective of the new solidarity bill is to broaden the criteria in order to include in particular people aged 65 and over who have lived in their home for at least five years.
Text of the QS motion:
- That the National Assembly recognize that the housing crisis particularly affects seniors in Quebec;
- That it take note of the calls launched by civil society for the protection of elderly tenants against the impacts of the housing crisis;
- That she ask all political parties represented in this House to commit to working together in good faith to improve the protection of vulnerable senior tenants against evictions.