Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois calls on the compassion of François Legault to protect more senior tenants from evictions. Solidarity is ready to compromise so that the government agrees to broaden the scope of the Françoise David law.
• Read also: Let’s protect seniors against evictions: a call for compromise
“We are ready to put water in our wine. We are ready to negotiate in good faith, argues the parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire. We are in the middle of the worst housing crisis in forty years. There are seniors, often poor, who are put on the street every week.”
In a letter sent Thursday to the Prime Minister, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois reaches out to his political opponent for the good of the elderly.
“I have a lot of disagreements with François Legault, but I cannot believe that he is insensitive to the stories that we now hear about every week in Quebec!”, he adds.
The solidarity is convinced of being able to “find common ground” and promises to offer “his full cooperation” to the Prime Minister.
In 2016, MPs adopted a law nicknamed “Françoise David”, which protects low-income elderly people aged 70 and over residing at the same address for at least ten years from evictions. In a new bill, QS proposes to extend this protection to all seniors aged 65 and over who have lived in their home for five years.
Last week, the government agreed to call the text solidarity, but was not in favor of its adoption. Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois says he is open to discussing both the age, the number of years in the same housing and the disposable income of the elderly people targeted by this measure.
A golden opportunity for Duranceau
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois believes that this is also an opportunity for the Minister of Housing, France-Hélène Duranceau, to restore her image in public opinion.
“She has an opportunity to correct the perception that many people have of a minister who is not very sensitive to the plight of tenants,” insists the parliamentary leader of QS.
Regardless of François Legault’s response, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois promises not to give up. “I’m not giving up, I’m not throwing in the towel, we’re going to continue as long as it takes to raise awareness of the CAQ.”