Legault refuses to commit to expanding law protecting seniors from eviction
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Feds 'not interested' in investing in LNG facilities: energy minister
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the federal government is 'not interested' in subsidizing future liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, including the electrification of projects currently in the works.
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
Aerial photos show wide devastation left by tornado in China's Guangzhou
Aerial photos posted by Chinese state media on Sunday showed the wide devastation of a part of the southern city of Guangzhou after a tornado swept through the day before, killing five people, injuring dozens others and damaging over a hundred buildings.
Health minister 'deeply appreciative' of doctors but capital gains changes here to stay
Health Minister Mark Holland says while he is 'deeply appreciative' of the work doctors in Canada do, the federal government has no plans to scrap the proposed capital gains tax changes outlined in the latest budget, despite opposition from the Canadian Medical Association.
A top Qatari official urges Israel and Hamas to do more to reach a ceasefire deal
A senior Qatari official has urged both Israel and Hamas to show "more commitment and more seriousness" in ceasefire negotiations in interviews with Israeli media, as pressure builds on both sides to move toward a deal that would set Israeli hostages free and bring potential respite in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.
What Trudeau's podcast appearances say about the Liberals' next ballot box question
Trudeau recently appeared on four podcasts as he travels the country talking up the Liberals' latest budget, which he's pitching as a plan to inject more economic fairness into society for those under 40 — a cohort that has kept Trudeau in power since 2015 but is increasingly turning to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Russian drones set a hotel ablaze in a Ukrainian Black Sea city
Russian drones early Sunday struck the Black Sea city of Mykolaiv, setting a hotel ablaze and damaging energy infrastructure, the local Ukrainian governor reported, while ammunition shortages continued to hobble Kyiv's troops in the more than two-year-old war.
A munitions explosion at a Cambodian army base kills 20 soldiers, but its cause is unclear
Security was tight around a military base in southwestern Cambodia on Sunday, a day after a huge explosion there killed 20 soldiers, wounded others and damaged nearby houses.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.