Opposition to Quebec Bill 31 on Housing
Government's Responsibility Is to Guarantee the Right to Housing, Not Trample It
On December 2, hundreds of people marched through the streets of Montreal opposing the Legault government's Bill 31, An Act to amend various legislative provisions relating to housing and the adoption, earlier that week, of the article in Bill 31 abolishing the right to transfer a lease. Housing rights organizations from Montréal-Nord, Verdun, Pointe-Ste-Charles, Côte-des-Neiges, Parc Extension and elsewhere, as well as citizens from all walks of life, declared with one voice: No to Bill 31!
By abolishing the right to transfer a lease, the bill attacks the last tool, the last small protection that tenants have to limit abusive rent increases, protesters declared. If the bill is adopted as it stands, an owner will be able to refuse an assignment of lease for a reason "other than a serious one." Even the opposition's attempt to define what would be a reason that is "other than serious" was rejected by France-Elaine Duranceau, minister responsible for Housing in the parliamentary committee.
In convening the December 2 gathering, the Coalition of Housing Committees and Tenants Associations of Quebec (RCLALQ) wrote: "More than the simple vagaries of economic trends, it is a crisis of greed and a shortage of humanity that we face. Only the ignorant and the liars claim that the pseudo-balance of supply and demand, or the influx of new arrivals, or some other fallacious pretext, would be the cause of the explosion in rents, which have increased by 75 per cent in Quebec since 2002."
Bill 31 did not address the problem of the housing shortage criticized throughout Quebec. Rather, it gives a legal approach to the denial of the right to housing in favour of big private real estate interests. We will remember that the bill legislates lease transfers, evictions and rent increases, defended tooth and nail by Minister Duranceau. Many find themselves on the street because they cannot afford housing; for women victims of domestic violence, many are forced to return home due to lack of affordable housing; there is the insecurity of people who fear one day finding themselves on the street if they can no longer pay their rent.
Despite the government's responsibility to guarantee this right to all citizens of Quebec, Bill 31 in no way resolves the housing crisis plaguing Quebec today. It's a throwback. For years, successive governments have promised the construction of social housing, claiming that they are doing their best, that they understand people, that housing is a priority, without taking measures to guarantee this right in practice. The demonstrators reaffirmed this right and expressed their anger towards this project which would, without doubt, worsen the current housing crisis.
This article was published in
Volume 53
Number 12 - December 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2023/Articles/M5301213.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca