Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx met with Airbnb executives on Thursday regarding illegal short-term accommodation practices in Quebec.
Ms. Proulx notified Airbnb of her intention to revise the Tourist Accommodation Act to tighten the accountability of collaborative accommodation platforms, her office said after the meeting.
“The Minister insisted that Airbnb take its responsibilities and show more proactivity than what has been done so far in this file”, indicated the press attaché, Brigitte Roussy.
Airbnb was represented by its head for the Northeast United States and for Canada, Nathan Rotman, and by policy adviser, Camille Boulais-Pretty.
Before meeting them, Ms. Proulx had already indicated the tone she wanted to use to express her point.
“It’s going to be a meeting that will be quite close with the leaders of Airbnb”, she had promised during a very brief exchange with journalists, at the National Assembly.
Earlier this week, Ms. Proulx had already announced tightening following a fire that ravaged a heritage building in Old Montreal where accommodation was illegally rented on Airbnb-type platforms.
The minister repeated on Thursday that the government wants to change the law to require ads on platforms like Airbnb to include a registration number with the Corporation de l’industrie touristique du Québec certifying that the accommodation complies with the rules for short-term rentals. term.
“There will be legislative changes that they will have to comply with,” said Ms. Proulx.
Put on her panties
PQ MP Pascal Bérubé, himself a former Minister of Tourism, said that the government already had all the means to crack down on illegal accommodation, as in the case of Old Montreal, where this practice is prohibited.
“I am of the opinion that the Government of Quebec, in general, whether it be Tourisme Québec or Revenu Québec, has everything it takes to act,” he said during a press briefing. This is my claim. »
Mr. Bérubé, however, conceded that a certain vagueness reigns in the division of responsibilities, the municipalities being responsible for determining the areas where tourist accommodation is prohibited.
“If the City of Montreal has a role to play in the compliance of buildings, fire safety, all that, it’s normal, but I think that Tourisme Québec has everything it takes to properly identify the problem” , said the PQ MP.
Quebec MP Étienne Grandmont said that in San Francisco, Airbnb is already forced to require that its customers’ listings include proof that they comply with regulatory requirements.
“What we hope for is that the minister be firm, that she puts on her pants and that she asks Airbnb to respect the regulations, that she undertakes to go further, a-t- he says. But it is up to the Government of Quebec, Minister Proulx, to ask the multinational to respect Quebec laws, to display the registration numbers. »
Also in favor of adding registration numbers to short-stay accommodation listings, the Liberals said the government should fund municipalities to exercise their inspection responsibilities to prevent illegal practices in prohibited areas.
“It also takes additional money, because it costs money to have inspectors, and the cities have not had additional revenue from Airbnb, but the government has,” said MP Virginie Dufour.