France-Elaine Duranceau: Quebec housing minister booed on stage during homelessness summit [Video]

Quebec Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau’s speech at the fourth Homelessness Forum in Quebec City on Friday was disrupted by booing, protests and jeers from community stakeholders.

A statement by the minister to the effect that the Rent Supplement Program was “perhaps a little underused” caused tension in the audience. Voices were heard contradicting the minister.

Seeing the reaction of the audience of a few hundred people, the minister tried to correct the situation by saying, “I’m not blaming you, I’m saying that we need to adapt the program when necessary.”

The Programme de supplément au loyer (PSL) allows low-income households to pay rent equivalent to 25 per cent of their income.

A woman then interrupted the minister, saying that she already knew what she had to say, which earned her applause from the audience. Nevertheless, Duranceau continued her speech.

But the last straw was when the minister said that “no …