Voters are often put off by the parliamentary contest. This is understandable, since most of the time the population only remembers the acrimonious debates that emanate from them.
However, cooperation between political parties represented in the National Assembly is omnipresent. We have had good examples in recent years on important social issues that affect a large part of Quebecers. Whether during the special commission on the question of dying with dignity or for the specialized court on sexual violence, cross-partisan collaboration has resulted in legislative changes that have concretely improved the lives of the population.
A crisis that deserves this transpartisan effort is that of housing, which currently affects all of Quebec, particularly low-income seniors.
In 2016, for one of the rare times, a bill from one of the opposition parties made it through to adoption. The objective of the legislative piece was to protect senior tenants.
The modifications made to article 1959.1 of the Civil Code of Quebec, known as the “Françoise David law”, prevent an owner from taking back a dwelling or evicting a tenant aged 70 or over occupying the dwelling for at least 10 years and whose income is equal to or less than the maximum income allowing them to be eligible for low-rent housing.
Go further
At the time, the FADOQ Network supported this initiative. Nearly 10 years later, our organization believes that we must now go further. Recently, Bill 198 which goes in this direction was tabled by Québec solidaire, which proposes to make the legal provisions accessible to a greater number of people by lowering the age to 65 and the number of years to be occupied housing for five years, as well as by increasing the maximum income considered.
The FADOQ Network is delighted with the openness that the Quebec government has demonstrated towards this bill so far.
We hope that recent statements will result in inspiring cross-partisan collaboration and, we hope, improved protection for senior tenants.
Despite recent legislative changes and various initiatives aimed at building affordable housing for seniors, senior tenants are currently affected by the housing crisis and deserve better protection.
It is for this reason that we are asking all political parties in the Assembly to sit down together and look at the changes proposed by Bill 198. It is also important that the government calls on the bill to study it. Any progress affecting one or other of the eligibility criteria for the provisions of article 1959.1 of the Civil Code will be positive.
It seems essential to us that low-income senior tenants can be better protected by the laws in place, particularly in the context of a housing crisis.
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reference: www.lapresse.ca