The City of Vaudreuil-Dorion will be addressing the issue of renovations on its territory. The municipal council ratified a resolution to this effect, proposed by independent city councillor Jasmine Sharma at the council meeting on Tuesday, May 21. 

In the wake of the worrying wave of evictions in private seniors' residences (RPAs) across Quebec, the city councillor said she had been approached by citizens in her district who wondered whether there were any regulations protecting seniors from the risk of renovation in her municipality.

Her inquiries confirmed that the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion did not have any regulations governing the use of RPPs, as is the case in Montreal. However, Ms. Sharma also learned that the city's parking ratio requirements are currently an impediment to such a conversion.

The resolution, tabled by Jasmine Sharma, proposed that an opinion be sought from the Land Use Planning and Development Department, with a view to presenting possible solutions to better control the risk of renovations on the territory of the City of Montreal.

"There are RPPs in my district and in other parts of our city,” says Ms. Sharma. "I sense that seniors are concerned, and I believe it's our duty to protect them better. It's a big step for these citizens to move from their family home to an RPA, and one that's rich in emotions and often destabilizing. Once they've settled in, learning that they've been evicted creates immense stress.We need to act upstream to better frame our regulations to ensure that this practice doesn't harm them.”

Ms. Sharma agrees that this is a complex issue, since on the one hand, the City must encourage the accessibility and availability of affordable housing, so conversion could prove an interesting avenue if it is well supervised.

On the other hand, according to the councillor, seniors living in RPAs have a legitimate concern, knowing that a possible eviction would place them in a precarious housing situation. That's why she's calling on the Urban Planning and Development Department to look into this complex issue.

“With this notice of proposal, I wanted to open a dialogue on this issue with my council colleagues. I'm pleased to see that the members of the Board are also of the opinion that this subject requires the City's attention.Their support for this notice of proposal is appreciated, and I look forward to studying the solutions proposed by the municipal administration,” concludes Jasmine Sharma.