Dozens of people gathered in front of Manoir Louisiana in Montreal on Thursday to express their outrage over the alleged mistreatment of residents who they say have been kicked out of their homes in recent months.
“It was a living space for 70 elderly residents of our neighborhood and, because of harassment and abusive tactics, it is now completely empty,” Valérie Campanelli, coordinator of La Table de district d’Hochelaga, told Global News -Maisonneuve.
Housing advocates said that in October, former residents were informed that services would soon be cut, and over the next few weeks a high-pressure campaign was launched to push them out.
Pierrette Cyr, 81, who formerly lived at the seniors’ residence, said those tactics included letting people go hungry.
“They didn’t give you meals. They don’t do anything for your safety,” she said.
Campanelli, said other tactics included “constant knocking on the door, constant pushing.” It wasn’t good for them.
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In addition, the Quebec Workplace Safety Commission also received several complaints regarding bedbugs at Manoir Louisiana.
Housing advocates said they tried to gain access to the senior residence but were allegedly turned away by police.
“This is not a prison. People have the right to visit,” said Annie Lapalme, community organizer with Entraide Logement Hochelaga Maisonneuve, as she stood outside the building Thursday.
The last resident left the building earlier this week, leaving Louisiana Manor empty. While some found housing in nearby areas, Lapalme says others ended up in a nearby homeless shelter.
“We were told that some people had been taken to the Father’s House,” she says.
Although tenants generally receive six months’ notice before they can be evicted and there is also a three-year moratorium on evictions imposed by the provincial government, these rules do not apply in this case since it s This is a private residence for the elderly.
“Private enterprise is there to make a profit,” said attorney Manuel Johnson. “And making profits and the well-being of seniors do not go hand in hand. »
Global News contacted the building’s owner Thursday and received no response.
The demonstrators also criticize the local health authorities and the Hochelaga Maisonneuve district for their inaction.
“They have been warned. We asked them to do something and no one acted. This could have been avoided,” Campanelli said.
Clara Meagher, a spokesperson for the Integrated University Health and Social Services Center, told Global News she informed the owner that regulations surrounding the termination of services were not being followed and the agency offered to help residents find new housing.
“All residents were supported and no one was left behind,” Meagher said.
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