‘Do I ghost her again?’ Quebec housing advocate calls accidental email disrespectful, revolting

The office of Quebec’s Ministry of Housing is under fire over an accidental email reply.

After The Canadian Press asked every province whether it agreed with the federal housing advocate that shelter is a human right, and if it intends to introduce legislation upholding that right, a government spokesperson made an email faux pas.

When prodded for a response one week after an initial request, the housing minister spokesperson replied to the reporter directly instead of forwarding the email to a colleague.

“Do I ghost her again?” the spokesperson wrote. “Otherwise, a general response that doesn’t answer, to say housing is a priority for our government?”

Housing advocate Cédric Dussault told CityNews “it’s always revolting to hear that sort of thing” and that the email demonstrated “an attitude of disrespect.”

“Unfortunately, in no way is it surprising because it sounds perfectly in line from what we’ve been hearing from this minister and from this government,” he added.

In a post on X in which he tagged Quebec Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau, Parti Québécois MNA Joël Arseneau wrote: “We suspected as much, the reality is even more tragic. That’s what @FEDuranceauCAQ thinks about the right to housing.”

On s’en doutait un peu, la réalité est encore plus tragique.
Voilà ce pense @FEDuranceauCAQ du droit au logement au Québec:

« Est-ce que je l’ignore encore? Sinon, une réponse vague pour ne rien dire, selon quoi c’est une priorité gouvernementale…» (traduction libre)#Polqc https://t.co/SQRdrBwTGg

— Joël Arseneau (@joel_arseneau) April 26, 2024

Pressed to explain, a government communications official called it a recipient error, that staff did not really know how to handle the request from The Canadian Press reporter, and that the minister’s office was overwhelmed that week.

The manager clarified Duranceau was never involved in the discussions concerning the initial request.

“Please note that this is not at all the standard practice at the office,” the minister’s office told CityNews in a statement.

Duranceau addressed the errant email in a post on X Saturday evening.

“Responding to journalists is part of our everyday work,” she wrote. “We take this exercise very seriously since it aims to inform the population about the actions we are taking.

“Moreover, access to housing is a priority for our government. As July 1 approaches, we announced $7.8 million to finance housing search assistance services, which are there to support citizens seeking rehousing.”

(2/2) D’ailleurs, l’accès au logement est une priorité pour notre gouvernement. À l’approche du 1er juillet, nous avons annoncé 7,8 M$ pour financer les services d’aide à la recherche de logement qui sont là pour accompagner les citoyens qui cherchent à se reloger.

— France-Élaine Duranceau (@FEDuranceauCAQ) April 27, 2024

Dussault, with the Coalition of Housing Committees and Tenants Associations of Quebec (RCLALQ), says he has also been “ghosted” by the minister’s office.

“We’ve been asking for a meeting with the minister of housing, which is something that our group has been having with previous ministers of housing, and our demands were just completely ignored,” he said.

A recent study from the Angus Reid Institute found 84 per cent of Quebecers say the CAQ government has done a poor job on housing affordability.

Last Wednesday marked Tenant’s Day in the province, with housing advocates calling for measures to ensure the right to housing. Among their demands: for Duranceau to resign.

“This minister has been showing in what she has done and what she has said to be heavily tilted towards landlords and also towards real estate investors,” Dussault said. “So in the current context where a lot of tenants are suffering more and more from the housing situation, this is inexcusable.

“We need from this government a real change in attitude towards the housing sector.”

–With files from Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press