Quebec's controversial housing bill could be adopted next week
As the housing crisis continues to worsen in Quebec, the detailed study of Bill 31, which will limit the use of lease transfers, came to an end on Tuesday. Québec solidaire (QS) tried until the end to propose amendments, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau said the bill could be adopted early next week, but the commission's report must be reviewed by the Quebec legislature first.
"It's a great day," said the minister at the end of the commission, admitting the bill alone won't solve the housing crisis.
QS MNA Andrés Fontecilla, meanwhile, raised several criticisms of the piece of legislation in his closing remarks.
"I can only oppose the adoption of Bill 31," he said.
'Chaotic'
The study of the bill was laborious. Last October, the commission was suspended because several articles had to be rewritten. Opposition parties criticized the minister, accusing her of being disorganized.
A few days later, Duranceau said that if the bill wasn't passed by the end of 2023, the opposition parties would carry vulnerable tenants' "burden," a statement that set off a firestorm. The opposition slammed the door on the commission studying the bill, denouncing the minister's "blackmail" and "arrogance."
In her closing remarks on Tuesday, Liberal MNA Virginie Dufour described the study of the piece of legislation as "arduous."
"It was even chaotic, with the number of amendments that sometimes changed the very nature of the bill," she said.
Bill 31 has provoked uproar, particularly because it tackles the issue of lease transfers. The bill would allow a landlord to refuse a transfer for less-than-serious reasons.
Opponents sought to bend the minister on this issue with several amendments, but she remained adamant that this isn't the right tool to control rent prices.
Last week, Fontecilla also proposed amendments to extend the "Françoise David Law," aimed at better protecting seniors from eviction. The government also rejected QS's proposed amendments.
Duranceau justified her refusal by asserting that her bill would put several mechanisms in place to protect tenants from eviction, regardless of age. It will reverse the burden of proof for evictions to put the onus on the landlord.
If a tenant fails to respond to an eviction notice, he or she will not be deemed to have accepted it by default, as is currently the case. Finally, the legislation will also oblige a landlord who evicts a tenant to compensate him or her with one month's rent for each year of continuous residence in the dwelling.
The minister also had to defend a controversial amendment that will allow municipalities with a population of at least 10,000 and a vacancy rate of less than 3 per cent to disregard their urban planning regulations for construction projects of a minimum of three dwellings.
A municipality will also be able to waive its rules if the construction project includes a majority of social, affordable or student housing. A municipality wishing to use this measure need only hold a public meeting. This exceptional measure will have a maximum duration of five years.
Opposition parties fear that this amendment will have poor effects on urban planning.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Guilty: Trump becomes first former U.S. president convicted of felony crimes
Donald Trump became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes Thursday as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.
Can Trump come to Canada now that he's a convicted felon?
A Canadian immigration lawyer says now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, he is technically barred from crossing the border into Canada.
Montreal tech billionaire charged with several sex offences
Robert Miller was charged Thursday with several sexual assault charges after Montreal police reopened an investigation into the tech billionaire.
Police: 3 killed, including suspected gunman, in Minneapolis shooting
Three people, including the suspected gunman, are dead after a shooting Thursday at a Minneapolis apartment complex, police said.
'Why didn't they stop?' Mom asks of driver in hit-and-run crash that killed son
The mother of a 13-year-old boy who was killed in a hit-and-run in Edmonton is begging the driver to come forward.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.
A pair enjoyed pricey meals and bolted when it was time to pay. Their dine and dash ended in jail
A Welsh couple who dined out on pricey meals and bolted when the bill came is now paying the price, behind bars.
$400K in damages for B.C. woman who had unnecessary mastectomy was 'inordinately high,' court finds
A jury's award of $400,000 to a woman who had a mastectomy after being misdiagnosed with breast cancer has been substantially reduced by B.C.'s highest court, which found the damages were "wholly disproportionate."