QUÉBEC – Six months away from the elections, Québec Solidaire (QS) announces its intention to make housing the priority issue of its next campaign. The left-wing party aims to anonymize the files of tenants who have succeeded in court cases before the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) to “protect them against discrimination.”
According to QS member Andrés Fontecilla, many tenants hesitate to appeal to the TAL to assert their rights.
“Why? Because they know that their name could end up in a file accessible to landlords, which could harm their ability to relocate, even if they are not at fault. In short, they fear reprisals,” he explained at a press conference in Montreal on Monday.
QS also seeks to provide more resources to the TAL by injecting an additional $7 million to expedite case processing.
“The housing crisis is out of control. Everything is too expensive: rent, mortgages. And for tenants, the situation has become untenable. Throughout Québec, the TAL cannot keep up with the demand,” Mr. Fontecilla added.
QS also promises its “most ambitious” housing plan for the upcoming election campaign. It will focus on five axes: “having more affordable housing”; “defending tenants’ rights”; “increasing the supply of social and community housing”; “facilitating access to property ownership”; and “fighting against real estate speculation.”
“This crisis stems from poor political choices made over the past 30 years. These political choices are as follows: favoring the financialization of housing to let the free market take over and neglecting the construction of genuinely affordable housing by the state,” stated QS spokesperson Ruba Ghazal.
In the past, Québec Solidaire has successfully made gains in housing matters.
In 2016, QS member Françoise David managed to pass a bill to protect tenants over the age of 70 who have lived in their homes for more than ten years from evictions.
Then, in 2024, after pressure from QS, the Legault government passed another legislative piece to expand protection for tenants.
