Advocates call on Quebec to step in after thousands forced from private seniors' homes

In March 2022, Brigitte Gagnreceived an upsetting letter fromherfather's private seniors' residence.

Management at theManoir ParentinChteauguay, where her 83-year-old father Denis had been living for more than five years, informed her they were closing downdue to financial difficulties. Denis would have to find a new place to live.

"It was a shock," saidGagn. "We had one month to turn around and tofind him another place to stay,so it was short notice."

While her family was able to get Denis a spot at apublic seniors' residence with help from their local health authority, the move was very difficult for him.

Not only did he lose his card-playing friends, but the change ofenvironment was disorienting.

"During the night, he wanted to go to the bathroom and he fell," Gagnsaid, recalling anincident that happened a week after the move. Denis fractured his pelvis and had to undergo a month of rehabilitation.

"When it's been a couple of years that you're in your room and all the things are in the same place, you know when to get up, where to go. But now it wasn't in the same place."

Denis isn't alone.

More than 2,500 seniors were forced to find a new place to livebetween 2022 and 2023, according to a new report by theQuebec Association of Retirees from the Public and Parapublic Sectors (AQRP).

The study, made public Tuesday, found that 88 private seniors' residences, known as RPAs in Quebec, closed their doors between Oct.1, 2022 and Sept. 1, 2023.

About half of those evicted just over 1,200 seniors were living in Montreal and Quebec City.

Call to ban evictions from RPAs

AQRP presidentPaul-Ren Roy says the numbers are worrisome.

"This puts stress on the affected seniors and it could seriouslyaffect their physical and mental health,"he said.

Roy says the Quebec government has an opportunity and an obligation to protect older tenants in RPAs, notably through its new housing bill known as Bill 31.

As it stands, Bill 31 obligesa landlord who evicts a tenantto compensate them up to one month's rent per year of continuous residence in the dwelling, up to a maximum of 24 months. Roy says that's not enough.

"Compensationdoesn't give you a new home," he said.

"Inflation is high, housing is not easily affordable, both in terms of price and availability, so the problem is still there."

The AQRPis calling on the government to include a clause in Bill 31banningevictions from RPAs.

It also wantsanother clause stipulating that an RPAowner who wants to convert a residence into a residential building be forced to have affordable housing unitsto allow seniors to remain in their homes.

RPA owners struggling with inflation, staffing

Meanwhile, Marc Fortin,head of theRegroupement qubcois des rsidences pour ans(RQRA),says it's unfair to lay the blame on RPA ownerswho are fighting to keep their heads above water.

He says owners are struggling to find staff and keep up with costs, leaving them no other choice but to sell.

"I get so many calls from owners, they're calling me, they're crying, saying, 'I can't do it anymore, I'm going to lose everything,'" he said, adding he believes the number of closures are even higher than what's reported in theAQRP study.

He says his group wants to stop the closure of RPAsbut says the government needs to step in with more money to pay specialized employees and help manage some of the added administrative worksince the pandemic, which discourages a lot of owners from staying on.

In an email to CBC,the ministry responsible for seniorssays it's concerned about RPA closures and is put funding toward helping them.

In its 2023budget, the government said it would spend$200 million over five years to support private seniors' homes.

In the case of a closure, however, the ministry noted tenantsreceive help from their local health authority to find a new home.