Quebec Solidaire calls for more measures to help seniors find housing

Faced with the growing number of seniors being thrown out into the street by evictions, Québec solidaire is calling on the Legault government to broaden the scope of measures designed to protect them.

Former Québec solidaire MNA Françoise David, sponsor of a law to this effect that bears her name, joined MNA Andrés Fontecilla and two women facing eviction threats to call for enhanced measures to protect senior tenants.

"I have nothing, I'm on the street," said Jeannette Chiasson, a senior evicted from her home because she was four months short of the 10 years required to qualify for protection under the law.

"At the age I've reached, is it possible to at least have a roof over my head, just a roof?"

Although Chiasson was able to find another apartment after pleading with the municipal authorities and obtaining their help, "I'm moving from a 5 1/2 to a 3 1/2 with an extra $150 to pay," she said.

And yet, she is one of the lucky ones. Katherine McIntosh, director of Refuge du Coeur de l'Île, a housing resource for people experiencing homelessness, described an alarming situation: while the shelter wasn't used to seeing more than one senior at a time, it has welcomed 40 since last June.

Françoise David, one of the founders of provincial party Québec solidaire and ex-MNA, at a press conference in Montreal asking for better protection against eviction of senior tenants, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Pierre Saint-Arnaud

"Frankly, seriously, in Quebec, which is a territory where there is wealth ... does it make sense that in this beautiful territory of Quebec, we condemn seniors to the street? Frankly, I call it a scandal," David protested.

The current "Loi Françoise David" prevents landlords from evicting seniors aged 70 and over who have occupied their dwelling for at least 10 years and whose income is equivalent to the maximum threshold for eligibility for social housing.

Recalling the context in which she had introduced these measures -- adopted unanimously by the National Assembly in 2016 — David pointed out that "the vast majority were single, poor women living in their housing, often for 20, 30, 40 years, and from one day to the next, they were told 'we want to renovate', which, in general, isn't very true. What they really want is to be able to rent for a higher price. We don't say that, but that's the reality."

When the detailed study of Bill 31 opens on Tuesday, Andrés Fontecilla will return to the charge with last February's joint demand to lower the age of protection to 65, the length of occupancy to five years and to raise the threshold of eligible income by 50 per cent.

Fontecilla is not at all happy about the Legault government's refusal to accept these measures last winter.

"The government ... has never shown the slightest intention of improving protection for senior tenants," he said.

Pointing out that there are 1.3 million tenant households in Quebec, the MNA for Laurier-Dorion accused the CAQ of "abandoning these tenants to the housing crisis, to speculative market forces, and not lifting a finger to help them, while injustices are becoming more and more flagrant."

He argues that these measures would not cost the government a penny, and would significantly improve protection for seniors who, because of the housing crisis, are no longer able to afford housing at the same price when they are evicted. As a result, these seniors increasingly find themselves on the streets, unable to find housing or to afford what is available.

David, for her part, invited politicians and the general public to look at the issue from a different angle.

"If we were talking about our mother, our grandmother, our beloved aunt, how would we feel if that person was evicted from their home, often forced to move to another neighbourhood with the total loss of landmarks we've just talked about, how would we take it if it were us? That's the question we have to ask ourselves," she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 16, 2023.