The Regroupment of housing committees and tenant associations of Quebec (RCLALQ) organized on Saturday, in the Rosemont-Petite-Patrie borough, in Montreal, a new demonstration to defend the right of tenants to resort to lease transfers to limit the increase in rents and the right to affordable housing.
The study of Bill 31 by Quebec elected officials is coming to an end and today’s demonstration has the air of a last-chance mobilization. However, the organizers are not giving up, as Cédric Dussault, spokesperson for the RCLALQ, explains. “We will continue to send the message that this is an unacceptable bill. Given that the law is almost adopted, the only viable solution would be to withdraw the bill completely,” she said.
The organizations behind the demonstration are therefore demanding an immediate freeze on rents, real rent control in Quebec, but also the resignation of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, whom they consider take the side of real estate investors and speculation.
Demonstrators of all ages and backgrounds gathered on rue Beaubien, in a procession which extended from its starting point from rue Saint-Denis to rue de Saint-Vallier, approximately 750 meters, to protest against PL31 .
“This law is nonsense,” says Yao Xi, a protester living in the Villeray district. It’s hard enough to find housing, but affordable housing is worse. » The young woman explains that to be able to find a shared room in 2023, she had to increase her budget by $100. “I really hope we get rent freezes and rent controls. »