Housing advocates occupy vacant Sud-Ouest building, demand action before Quebec election

Housing advocates occupied a vacant three-storey apartment building in Montreal's Sud-Ouest borough Monday evening to demand concrete commitments from Quebec political leaders on the housing crisis before Monday's provincial election.

Between 10 and 12 people moved into the building across from Lachine Canal, sleeping on air mattresses and in sleeping bags. The building, vacant for several years, contains three three-bedroom apartments. The occupation is planned to continue at least until election night.

The action is supported by Coalition contre le logement cher, a network of housing groups across Quebec. Organizer Francis Dolan, from the Pointe-St-Charles tenants' rights group, said the occupation aims to elevate the housing crisis beyond "the few minutes allotted during the leaders' debates."

Noémie Beauvais, a community organizer with the provincial tenants' association, pointed to the scale of vacancy: "There's almost 100,000 of these buildings that are freed and are vacant, that nobody's living in it. But at the same time, we're having thousands of people in the street or struggling to find a place to stay."

Squatters and advocates inside include Carl Lafrenière of FRAPRU and Flav Choquette-Giguère of P.O.P.I.R.–Comité Logement. "We want social housing and to make sure that we control the rents and also that the right of housing is it will be including in the law," Lafrenière said. Signs posted on the building read "Empty homes, expensive homes, we occupy" and "We are the ones threatened with death."

Political leaders and Quebec's former housing minister, France-Élaine Duranceau (now a CAQ candidate), were asked to address the situation Thursday during their campaign trail activity in Montreal.