The housing crisis that is raging across Quebec leaves bereaved people in its wake. Young people of my generation are grieving to become owners one day. New parents mourn having a room for their child that is not separated by a curtain.
Others mourn a house in town, with a courtyard or by a lake. Families mourn a pet that has to be abandoned for lack of options. Not to mention the people who are grieving to find a home in a district or a city that they would have chosen.
To be unable to find accommodation is to miss out on a founding experience for every human being. A home is a reassuring and safe place where you can fully develop your identity. Our house becomes like a second skin that we dress in our image. It welcomes us, it warms us, it contains our most beautiful memories.
Not being able to benefit from this anchor point causes unjustifiable human distress in a province as rich as ours.
Anxiety, fatigue, pain, anger and so many other emotions undermine the mental health of the population. How can we build a sense of belonging as Quebecers if we cannot fully inhabit our own territory?
This is the basis.
Darkening
Unfortunately, since the first mandate of François Legault, the prospects for finding decent and affordable housing have darkened. Throughout Quebec, I see that the price of rents has exploded, the vacancy rate has dropped dramatically and the construction of affordable housing has slowed down.
Against the wall, tenants like me can’t help but stick together, and the assignment of leases is one of the only tools at our disposal to reduce the dizzying rise in rents. Often resulting from word of mouth, it is a gesture that is intended to be benevolent. Faced with the government’s inaction, we help each other as best we can.
Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau does not see things the same way. In its Bill 31, it wishes to restrict the right to transfer a lease. Currently, landlords do not have the right to refuse the assignment of the lease without serious reasons, such as an inability to pay or behavioral problems.
For the minister, it is too restrictive. According to her, one should be able to choose one’s tenants as one selects a job application. In a context of scarcity, this approach opens the door to more discrimination and that worries me.
Several families have already told me that they have difficulty finding housing because landlords do not want their peace of mind disturbed.
Not to mention the racism, ageism and other forms of discrimination that already penalize many tenants looking for housing.
Minister France-Élaine Duranceau defends herself by saying that her bill contains as many good things for owners of rental properties as for tenants. In doing so, it denies the balance of power that exists in the current market and the vulnerability of tenants.
I created the #MaisonEnDeuil movement in solidarity with homeowners who are struggling to make ends meet and tenants who are brooding. Approaching 1er July, I am saddened to know that households will find themselves without a lease. Hidden homelessness does exist, even though the Prime Minister boasts of having achieved four 1er July in denial.
I call on the government to act and understand the mourning that too many of us have to do: that of a home where it is good to live.