The QS spokesman demanded this at a press conference on Wednesday in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district together with the solidarity officer Alexandre Leduc and tenants who are threatened with an eviction order.
Mr. Nadeau-Dubois draws on a recent study conducted by McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, which shows that Quebec has lost 116,000 affordable housing units over the past five years. Of these, 90,000 were in Montreal.
The Airbnb phenomenon is one of the causes of this bleeding, says the QS spokesman, who criticizes the CAQ’s inaction on the issue. To fix the problem, he proposes that the government make an expeditious and very simple amendment to the Quebec Civil Code to remove conversion to tourist accommodation as a statutory ground for eviction.
This measure would cost absolutely nothing, he said.
“The numbered company comes, buys “a block” at a high price and has the right! The law allows him to kick everyone out and turn it into an Airbnb. »
— A quote from Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois
Annie Lapalme, community organizer for Entraide Logements and the BAILS Committee, who was present during the press conference, explained that the gentrification process and mass evictions are clearly visible scourges in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
Since mid-December, Annie Lapalme has been supporting around 30 tenants who are threatened with eviction. Another 100 tenants were evicted from their apartments in 2021, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg, she says.
Some of the evictions are legal, while others are not, the social worker specified, regretting that the majority of those affected do not know what resources can help them.
Most evictions aim to double or even triple rental costs, says Annie Lapalme.
“In the case of Airbnb, new landlords can practically make what they “raise” from the monthly rent in three or four days. »
— A quote from Annie Lapalme, community organizer for Entraide Logements and Comité BAILS
How garbage is treated
Two residents of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, who are at risk of eviction from their homes they have lived in for decades, testified to the stress and insecurity this situation is causing.
Jean-François Raymond and his wife have lived in the house where they raised their family for 22 years. They are threatened with an eviction notice because their home is being converted into an Airbnb.
Photo: Radio Canada
Jean-François Raymond (58 years old) and his neighbor Joseph Picard (69 years old) received an eviction notice at the end of December, which hit them hard.
Your respective accommodation will be converted into Airbnb. In shock, Mr Raymond’s wife lost weight, the latter suffers from insomnia and Mr Picard, who lives upstairs, almost suffered from depression: he has lived in his house for 54 years and spent most of his life in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
I’m not just here to talk to you about my own little problem, said Mr. Raymond, but how it comes to destroying lives, getting kicked out of a flat and being treated like garbage because the city doesn’t provide any services , nobody offers any service.
MM. Still, Raymond and Picard benefited from the advice of the BAILS committee, which enabled them to mobilize alongside other tenants at risk of eviction.
“People say we pay cheap rents, but you would still have to see our apartments to see that they are not in line with today’s condominium trends. »
— A quote from Jean-François Raymond, who has lived in an apartment for 22 years from which he is to be evicted
He leaves his neighborhood and Montreal
In the current state of the rental market, tenants who are forced to vacate their homes are left with absolutely nothing, Mr Raymond denounces. What’s available to them is undersized and extremely expensive, which will likely force them to seek housing elsewhere than Montreal Island, he predicts.
That the city of Montreal and the Quebec government would allow shameless speculators to come in like this one morning, do math calculations and say, “Yeah, we can make money” is traumatizing, Jean-Francois Raymond still denounces.
This Montrealer argues that many of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve’s tenants are poor elderly. He also argues that long-time residents are more likely to support local bookstores, stationery stores, neighborhood restaurants, for example – than passing tourists.
Sylvain Roy, who also attended the press conference, has lived in the Ville-Marie district for more than a quarter of a century. His building was sold to a developer last December. Sixteen stunned and concerned tenants received an eviction notice on December 30 to convert use of our property to commercial use, hotel service, he describes.
Mr Roy benefits from the support of the Ville-Marie Housing Committee, which brings him some relief but no short-term fix. It remains to be seen, he said, when asked what will happen to the steps he has taken to be able to stay in his accommodation.
With information from Marc Verreault