Legault refuses to commit to expanding law protecting seniors from eviction

Quebec Premier Francois Legault speaks to the media following a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Montreal, Friday March 15, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Premier François Legault refuses to commit to working with Québec solidaire (QS) to pass Bill 198, which would expand the scope of the Françoise David law to better protect seniors from eviction.

"Is the premier open to discussions with the other parties to better protect senior tenants?" asked QS parliamentary leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois during question period at the National Assembly on Wednesday.

But Legault avoided answering, preferring to deflect the question to criticize the QS.

"The real problem with housing is that there is a shortage of units in relation to the high demand, among other things because of temporary immigrants, who have increased by more than 230,000 in the past two years. QS refuses to see this problem and still thinks that putting more constraints on landlords is the way to solve it. We don't agree with this approach," said the premier.

However, the CAQ government agreed to call QS's bill.

The premier also took the opportunity to praise his government's record on policies for seniors. He recalled that Bill 31 on housing, adopted in February, reversed the burden of proof in evictions to put the onus on landlords.

"The older you are, the more at risk you are," he said.

On Wednesday morning, former QS MNA Françoise David -- who pushed through a law to protect senior tenants in 2016 -- published a letter in La Presse calling on the government to quickly adopt the QS bill, as "Quebec is going through the worst housing crisis in 40 years."

"We now ask the government and opposition parties to rediscover the transparent spirit of 2016 and work together towards the rapid and unanimous adoption of a law that better protects senior tenants from eviction," reads the letter.

The letter is signed by two former PQ ministers, Louise Harel and Marie Malavoy, as well as former Liberal MNA Christiane Pelchat.

Simon Jolin-Barrette's lack of appetite

On Tuesday, government leader Simon Jolin-Barrette also showed little appetite for the QS bill to be passed, even though he agreed to have it called.

He pointed out that the debate on the protection of senior tenants had already been held as part of Bill 31 on housing, and that the government's position had not changed.

During the study of Bill 31, QS and the Parti québécois (PQ) tabled amendments to improve the Françoise David law. The Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, rejected them, arguing that her bill already contained several measures to protect people from eviction, regardless of their age.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that the appeal of the QS bill had been the subject of behind-the-scenes negotiations between Simon Jolin-Barrette and QS leader Alexandre Leduc.

QS was committed to accelerating the passage of Bill 15 on the health-care system, and in exchange, the government would call Bill 198, Leduc said.

The QS leader also said he hoped to convince his CAQ opponents to adopt his bill. The Liberals and the PQ have already come out in favour.

The Françoise David law stipulates that a senior over 70 with a very low income who has lived in his or her dwelling for more than 10 years cannot be evicted. The aim of the new QS bill is to broaden the criteria to include people aged 65 and over who have been living in their home for at least five years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 27, 2024.