Québec solidaire fears an “impoverishment” of the elderly if the Legault government adopts a draft regulation which plans to revise the criteria for setting the rent in private residences for seniors (RPA). Instead, the training calls for better public funding of home care.
A draft regulation appearing in the Gazette of January 25, piloted by the Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, plans to add to the calculation necessary for setting the rent in the RPA “a percentage applicable to the service costs which relate to the person even of the tenant. This would be determined on the basis of the consumer price index relating to health care established by Statistics Canada, indicates the draft regulations.
If this document is adopted as is, the owners of RPAs that offer health care will then be able to further increase the rents of their tenants while respecting the criteria of the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL), since these would then take into account the annual inflation in the cost of health care provided to residents. A proposal, made in a context of successive closures of RPA in recent years, which worries the elected representatives of solidarity Andrés Fontecilla and Christine Labrie.
“These are substantial rent increases for seniors, who will probably not have the means to stay where they are, where it is their families who will have to make up for them to stay there”, by supporting them financially, notes Mme Labrie. The latter also fears that elderly people who wanted to move into an RPA soon will be forced to change their minds because they cannot afford to live there.
“There are a lot of seniors who put all their income in RPA,” recalls Mr. Fontecilla, who urges the Legault government to abandon this draft regulation. “The leeway, for many seniors, it does not exist, especially for seniors who receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement,” adds the spokesperson for Quebec solidaire in housing. Currently, a senior living alone must have an annual income of less than $20,832 to qualify for the Guaranteed Income Supplement, financial assistance provided by Ottawa to low-income seniors.
“So, by increasing the rates, it leads to an impoverishment of people residing in RPA”, adds the elected official, in reference to the draft regulation of the Minister of Housing. However, “by doing this, the government is abandoning seniors,” adds Christine Labrie, who is spokesperson for seniors at Québec solidaire.
Home Care
While showing himself open to relying instead on temporary government financial assistance for RPAs in difficulty, Andrés Fontecilla also believes that a reflection is needed in the way the Quebec government finances home health care. A position shared by Christine Labrie, who calls for the creation of a universal and free registry of access to home health care for seniors.
“RPAs, indeed, they meet a need, but from my point of view, the responsibility of providing health care at home should rest with the State. At the moment, the state is relieving itself of responsibility for this by letting RPAs make money on the backs of seniors with this, ”says M.me Labrie, who believes that the Legault government’s draft regulation reflects its intention to “favor the privatization of home care and services” for the elderly.
“In our opinion, it should be the responsibility of the government to take charge of this to prevent seniors from becoming impoverished,” adds the elected official. However, “this is exactly what will happen if the regulation is adopted as presented” by Quebec. “The impact is directly in the wallets of seniors. »
Joined by The duty, Minister France-Élaine Duranceau’s office recalled that the objective of this draft regulation is “to ensure the sustainability of RPAs in the longer term”. The revision of the mechanism for setting the rent in these residences therefore aims to ensure that it “is more adapted to the reality of RPAs in terms of operating costs, and this, at their request”.
The Minister also notes that this measure is accompanied by other actions, this time aimed at “better protecting seniors”. In this regard, it notes “the implementation of a new lease form specific to RPAs” as well as the obligation of these residences “to display the increase in the prices of services and support in the context of disputes with the landlord”.
“Furthermore, the refundable tax credit for home support for seniors has been gradually enhanced as of January 1, 2022 in order to mitigate the impact of anticipated rent increases on seniors over the coming years,” adds Ms.me Duranceau, in a written statement.