Protesters across Quebec demand better rent control policies

Demonstrations took place across Quebec on Saturday to protest against Bill 31, which among other things, proposes removing the right of tenants to transfer their lease.

Organized by the housing group coalition Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ), the rallies happened simultaneously in Montreal, Quebec City, Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda and Sherbrooke.

For RCLALQ spokesperson Cédric Dussault, the abandonment of the right to transfer leases, provided for in Article 7 of the bill, is "really the last straw." 

"Bill 31 would represent a major step backwards for tenants," he said. "It is odious because it would deprive tenants of the right to assign their leases and does not address the root causes [of the housing crisis]."

Lia MacKinnon said she moved to Montreal from Vancouver because it got too expensive to live in the city.

"The only reason I can afford my rent right now is because I got a lease transfer. Same thing for my last apartment, same thing for the apartment before. It's the only reason I can afford rent in the city," she said.

On Thursday, Premier François Legault hinted that his government might back down on the measure. When asked about the bill, the leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec said that he would not rule anything out and that it was necessary to "look at the pros and cons."

The parliamentary committee studying the bill began in Quebec City on Thursday.

For Robie Robie Schuler, the housing crisis is taking a toll. She said she feels "trapped" in her apartment because she's been living there long enough for her rent to be below market rate but says her landlord doesn't make necessary repairs, with the hope of she and her family moving out so he can hike up the rent.

"We need to guarantee the right to housing to everyone in our society," she said.

Louisa Woreell, who recently arrived in Quebec, said she and her daughter are stuck in sub-par housing and it's "almost impossible" to find anything better.

The protesters also call on the government to take concrete measures to curb the housing crisis, in light of the news earlier this week that there are now more than 10,000 homeless people in the province and that homelessness in Quebec has risen by 44 per cent in five years.

"Homelessness is not limited to housing, but it is closely linked to it," said Nicole Dionne, co-ordinator of the Bureau d'Animation et Information Logement du Québec Métropolitain, in a news release issued early Saturday afternoon.

About 25 per cent of homelessness is the result of eviction, according to Dionne.