Right to housing | François Legault closes the door to a law

(Quebec) Even if housing is “essential”, it is not a fundamental right, Prime Minister François Legault suggested Thursday.

In the midst of a housing crisis, Québec solidaire (QS) tried to find out if the CAQ government was ready to recognize housing as an individual right, as recommended by a federal organization.

Last week, The Canadian Press sent a request to this effect to the office of the Minister of Housing, but inadvertently, a press secretary sent in response an internal email in which the office wondered how not to respond to the request. question.

The parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire (QS), Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, returned to the charge on Thursday to have a clear answer.

“We have the right to know what the Prime Minister thinks on this fundamental issue,” he said. According to the Prime Minister, in Quebec, is housing a right, yes or no? »

“Obviously it is essential for someone to have housing,” replied the CAQ leader, praising his government’s 6.3 billion investments to build housing.

But he argued that the current flow of new arrivals to Quebec, at a rate of 5,000 to 10,000 per month, is unsustainable: it is impossible to erect enough apartment buildings.

The parliamentary leader of QS relaunched Mr. Legault by asking him if he was “open to recognizing” the right to housing, but to no avail.

“We will not start a competition between the head of Québec solidaire and me to know who has the best values,” said the head of government.

An embarrassing email

Remember that last Friday, the office of Minister France-Élaine Duranceau sparked controversy by trying to dodge the issue of the right to housing.

Last February, the Office of the Federal Housing Defender urged each province to recognize in law “the individual’s right to adequate housing as defined by international law.”

The Canadian Press asked each of the provinces, including Quebec, if they agreed with the argument that housing constitutes a human right, and if they intended to adopt a law guaranteeing this right.

The Canadian Press then received an email that was likely intended for another member of the cabinet staff: “Relaunch. I ghost Again ? Otherwise, general response which does not respond to say that Housing is a priority for our government? »

“The response from the minister’s office is now famous,” Mr. Nadeau-Dubois could not help but say ironically on Thursday.

“But I would like to have a specific answer that answers and not a general answer that does not answer,” he continued.

M^me Duranceau has already faced her share of controversies, since she was tasked with reforming tenant protection rules and the construction of social housing. A trained accountant and tax specialist who worked for two years in the world of commercial real estate, she reduced the possibilities of lease assignment and her statements could be interpreted as a lack of sensitivity towards tenants.

Currently, only Prince Edward Island can boast of having enshrined the right to housing.

The first line of its Residential Tenancies Act acknowledges that Canada has signed a United Nations treaty affirming that housing is a human right – although critics point out there is nothing in the provincial law to support this right thereafter.

Most provinces did not answer the questions directly and instead provided a long list of initiatives launched to address the housing crisis.

Manitoba responded that the government recognized “Canada’s rights-based approach to housing”, and Newfoundland and Labrador indicated that it agreed with federal and international laws recognizing housing as an individual right.