More than thirty groups and numerous tenants demonstrated in Parc-Extension on Saturday noon to demand the withdrawal of Bill 31 and the resignation of the Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau.
The demonstrators also demanded an immediate freeze on rents and the socialization of all new housing, said the Regroupement des committees logement et associations de tenants du Québec (RCLALQ), in a press release.
“The CAQ government is in the process of going down in history as the one which, the first in the history of Quebec, will have rolled back the rights of tenants and will have bowed to the wishes and deepest desires of owners” , insisted Martin Blanchard, from RCLALQ.
In its press release, the RCLALQ mentioned the explosion in rents, which have increased by 75% in Quebec since 2022, due to “owners determined to rob us”, we can also read.
Bill 31 would give landlords more power to refuse lease assignments, which allow new tenants to benefit from the same rent as their predecessor until the lease is renewed.
The Regroupment of Housing Committees and Tenant Associations of Quebec (RCLALQ) was accompanied in particular by the Front for the Fight for Popular Real Estate (FLIP) and the Parc-Extension Action Committee to call on tenants to demonstrate.
“The PL31 is a real joke in the face of all tenants in Quebec. Taking away one of the last tools of solidarity that allows us to fight against our collective exploitation is to open the door wide to the increase in homelessness and the distress of our fellow citizens who are already the most vulnerable. )s,” lamented Sam Choquette, FLIP activist.
The RCLALQ had already been calling for the resignation of Minister Delanceau since November 30, following the submission of the Ethics Commissioner’s report, “which concluded that Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau “in a manner that favored abusive personal interests” of a lobbyist friend,” we can read in the press release published by the RCLALQ on their website.