A year has passed since, on January 31, 2022, the 200 tenants of Résidence Mont-Carmel received eviction notices from the new owner, Henry Zavriyev. As you know, Madam Minister for Health and Seniors, he intended to end the RPA (private residence for seniors) certification on July 31, 2022 to make the building a multigenerational rental housing complex, contrary to what was provided for in the contract of sale of the building.
But it was without counting on the determination of some sixty residents firmly decided not to bow down and to assert their rights. It was also without counting on the considerable support that this resistance would garner in the public arena, support echoed on several occasions by the media throughout Quebec. We should also point out the support garnered on the political level, particularly from the City of Montreal and from the riding’s deputy, Manon Massé.
Despite this momentum and this support, a year is a long time, while on a daily basis the residents are confronted with insecurity, the deterioration of their living environment, and above all the carelessness and contempt of the owner. about their rights and dignity.
There is an urgent need to act, Minister Sonia Bélanger.
As most of us did last May, we join the residents of Mont-Carmel in demanding that your government fully assume its responsibilities, use its power to intervene and, if necessary, acquire new powers in with regard to the priority issue of housing for seniors. Knowing the obstacle course experienced for a year by the residents of Mont-Carmel, particularly on the judicial level, it is inconceivable that one is obliged to go through all these procedures to assert one’s rights. We believe that you share this opinion.
If we are part of a large number of people and organizations that support this fight, it is because it is not limited to the only safeguard of this RPA. It also aims to ensure that measures are put in place and that alternatives to the current model are developed in order to prevent other people housed in RPA from suffering the same fate as residents of Mont-Carmel.
Solutions
This is what led many people to accompany them in their legal proceedings by attending several hearings that took place in the Superior Court and the Court of Appeal. This is also what was behind the campaign to sign the petition Respecting the rights of tenants of private seniors’ residences launched last spring by these residents, endorsed by more than 5,000 signatories and filed in May 2022 at The national assembly. This petition asked to ensure respect for the rights of RPA tenants against abusive rent increases, eviction or loss of services, particularly following a change of owner.
To achieve this, solutions were put forward, including the establishment of obligations related to the certification of RPAs to maintain the status, the services offered and regulate rental costs. In this regard, you are surely aware that the rules in force governing the certification of an RPA make it possible for an owner who wishes to get rid of a certification, as is the case of the current owner of Mont-Carmel, to obtain this “decertification” by sending a simple letter or by simply not complying with the requirements set out in these rules!
Among the other solutions put forward, let us mention the implementation of measures aimed at facilitating the appropriation and community or public management of any RPA at risk of closure or defaulting on its obligations. It would also be appropriate to modify, as proposed in the petition, articles 1955 and 1959 of the Civil Code of Québec, in order to ensure the protection of the rights of tenants and to prohibit the change of use of an apartment building, all the more so in the case of an RPA.
Mme Bélanger, the difficulties that RPAs are currently encountering demonstrate that the current model, which is largely based on the private sector, must be reviewed, not from the perspective of the interests of owners, but from the perspective of the rights of seniors, whose among others the right to dignity, the right to health, the right to security, the right to housing. The residents of Mont-Carmel wish to take an active part in the development of this model. We have to get started now.
*Signed this letter:
Benoît Allard, co-coordinator of the Research and Training Group on Poverty in Quebec (GRFPQ)
Alain Ambeault, csv, executive director, Canadian Religious Conference (CRC)
Emiliano Arpin-Simonetti, communications, Justice and Faith Center (CJF)
Michèle Asselin, Executive Director, Quebec Association of International Cooperation Organizations (AQOCI)
Rémi Bachand, Professor, Department of Legal Sciences, UQAM
Rachel Bédard, editor, Éditions du remue-ménage
Justine Bernatchez, Association of Progressive Jurists (AJP)
Stéphanie Bernstein, Professor, Department of Legal Sciences, UQAM
Pierrette Bertrand, National Coordinator, Association of Religious for Women’s Rights (ARDF)
Martin Blanchard, co-coordinator, Regrouping of housing committees and tenant associations of Quebec (RCLALQ)
Sam Boskey, Former Leader of the Official Opposition, Montreal City Council
Pierre Bosset, Professor, Department of Legal Sciences, UQAM
Bruce Broomhall, Professor, Department of Legal Sciences, UQAM
Bonnie Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Political Economy in the Department of Political Science, UQAM
Jenny Cartwright, documentary filmmaker
Emilia Castro, member of the Quebec Coordinating Committee of the World March of Women (CQMMF), activist in several women’s groups in the Quebec region, former trade unionist
Louise Constantin, former president of the Citizens’ Action Committee of Verdun
Dominique Daigneault, President Central Council of Metropolitan Montreal-CSN
Françoise David, former member of Québec solidaire
Nathalie Déziel, Director of the Montreal Association of Natural Caregivers
Louise Di Cesare, Faith Spirituality Crossroads
Gérald Doré, Ph.D., retired professor, School of Social Work, Laval University
Pascale Dufour, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Montreal
Gilles Duruflé, independent consultant, author of several publications on economy and finance
Mélanie Ederer, President, Quebec Women’s Federation
Zahia El-Masri, feminist activist for social justice and the right to housing
Martine Eloy, spokesperson for the Échec à la guerre Collective
Ariane Émond, freelance journalist and host
Gaëlle Fedida, feminist activist, president of the Table of provincial groups of community and voluntary organizations and coordinator of the Alliance of 2nd stage shelters for women and children who are victims of domestic violence
Nicole Filion, former coordinator of the League for Rights and Freedoms
Winnie Frohn, former municipal councilor of Quebec, retired from UQAM
Martin Gallié, Professor, Department of Legal Sciences, UQAM
Lorraine Gaudreau, retired professor, Department of Psychosociology and Social Work, UQAR
Marie-Andrée Gauthier, General Coordinator, Network of Regional Tables of Quebec Women’s Groups (RTRGFQ)
Elisabeth Germain, eco/feminist activist
Paul-André Giguère, Saint-Pierre United Church (Quebec)
Pierre Goldberger, United Church, Justice and Community Network
Vincent Greason, President, Léo-Cormier Foundation
Laurence Guénette, Coordinator, League for Rights and Freedoms
Colette Harvey, President, Group for Corporate Social Responsibility (RRSE)
Marie Christine Hendrickx, administrator, Regrouping of Vallon comrades
Marc-Édouard Joubert, President, Regional Council FTQ Metropolitan Montreal
Amir Khadir, doctor and former member of Québec solidaire
Michel Laberge, Crossroads for animation and participation in an open world (CAPMO), Quebec
Vivian Labrie, independent researcher, member of the ERASME research team
Véronique Laflamme, spokesperson for the Popular Action Front in Urban Redevelopment (FRAPRU)
Lucie Lamarche, Professor, Department of Legal Sciences, UQAM
Samira Laouni, President and Director, Communication organization for openness and intercultural rapprochement (COR)
Lise Lapointe, President, Association of Retirees from Education and Other Public Services of Quebec (AREQ-CSQ)
Virginie Larivière, spokesperson for the Collective for a Quebec without poverty
Gérald Larose, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, UQAM
Raymond Legault, spokesperson for the Échec à la guerre Collective
Avigaël Lévy, activist at the BDS-Québec Coalition
Christian Loupret, social justice activist
David Mandel, retired professor, Department of Political Science, UQAM
Donna Mergler, Emeritus Professor, Department of Biological Sciences UQAM
Maguy Métellus, Afro-feminist activist
Éric Michaud, Coordinator, Ville-Marie Housing Committee of Montreal
Amélie Nguyen, coordinator of the International Center for Labor Solidarity (CISO)
Lucie Painchaud, Director, Restorative Justice Center of Quebec
Jean Panet-Raymond, President of the Béati Foundation, Emeritus Professor, University of Montreal
Alexandra Pierre, president of the League of Rights and Freedoms, feminist activist and author
Pierre Prud’homme, President of the Movement of Christian Workers of Montreal (MTC)
Norma Rantisi, Professor, Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University
Patrick Renaud, animator for the Future of Social Christianity project, Center for Justice and Faith (CJF)
Gilbert Renaud, Honorary Professor, School of Social Work, University of Montreal
Gaétan Roberge, Community Organizer, Ville-Marie Housing Committee of Montreal
Mercédez Roberge, feminist activist, author and coordinator of the Table of Provincial Groups of Community and Voluntary Organizations (TRPOCB)
Gerald Rowe, Montreal Elders for Environmental Justice
Marie-Andrée Roy, Professor, Department of Religious Studies, UQAM, L’autre Parole
Louis Roy, former President of the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN)
François Saillant, housing rights activist and author
Ana Maria Seghezzo, activist involved in the World March of Women and in international solidarity
Michel Seymour, retired professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Montreal
Gisèle Tassé-Goodman, President of the FADOQ Network
Laurent Thivierge, head of regional coordination of Montreal CSQ
Gisèle Turcot, Superior General, Institut Notre-Dame du Bon-Conseil de Montréal
Sophie Verdon, Coordinator, Health Solidarity Coalition
Claudette Vermette, Provincial Superior, Missionaries of Our Lady of the Apostles
Marjorie VilleFranche, Executive Director, Maison d’Haiti