Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx denies having been “careless” in monitoring Airbnb as Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois criticizes current and previous governments.
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“I don’t understand why it takes tragedy to announce that we are going to change the law,” Québec Solidaire’s parliamentary leader lamented during a news conference at the National Assembly on Tuesday morning.
If he is pleased with the intention expressed the day before by Tourism Minister Caroline Proulx to quickly tighten the rules for the Airbnb platform, Mr Nadeau-Dubois recalls that his party and many experts have been sounding the alarm for a long time. .
“Unacceptable nonchalance”
As early as April 2017, the Solidarity Commissioner Amir Khadir introduced a bill calling for better monitoring of Airbnb. However, the then Liberal government ignored this, regrets Mr Nadeau-Dubois. Amendments by his party from 2021 were also rejected.
“There has been an unacceptable laxity on the part of the CAQ government and previous governments in running Airbnb,” said Gouin’s deputy.
“Everyone saw the current Wild West coming, all the pundits said it, the local people said it, Québec solidaire said it. Governments have resigned in the face of the multinational and that confuses us today where 93% of the ads in Montreal are illegal,” denounces Mr Nadeau-Dubois.
Until the end of the session
Québec Solidaire will table a motion this afternoon asking the government to commit to reviewing the Airbnb law before the end of Parliament.
“It is my wish,” Minister Caroline Proulx replied during an impromptu press in the corridors of the National Assembly.
The Minister of Tourism rejects Mr Nadeau-Dubois’ criticism.
“I will reply to Québec Solidaire that if we table a major bill reviewing Quebec tourist accommodation for a long time and vote against the principle, I find it quite normal on their part,” Ms. Proulx said of the March 2021 law.
“We’ve done a job, we’ve filed a bill, the regulations are in place,” she said. Are there any regulatory changes we could make? The answer is definite.”
Interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay says adopting legislative changes before the summer is “a goal […] realistic”.
“But first we will read the bill,” said Mr. Tanguay.
For his part, PQ MP Pascal Bérubé plans to table a motion calling on the government “to provide, as soon as possible, the necessary funds to put an end to illegal offers of short-term tourist accommodation”.
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