Since February 8, the Canadian government has postponed all deportations to Haiti due to ongoing conflict in Port-au-Prince. According to the Canada Border Services Agency, deportations have been put on hold for an indeterminate amount of time. For 421 Haitian nationals, this means waiting until officials deem the country stable enough for deportations to resume.

The official protest statement, written by Frantz André, a representative of the comité d’action des personnes sans statut, refers to the election of Michel Martelly. Following a devastating earthquake in 2010, Martelly, a provocative pop-star-turned-politician, was elected as president. He was replaced by current president Moïse in 2017, who received the support of less than 10 per cent of the nation’s registered voters. Both administrations have been marked by claims of electoral fraud and corruption, and the Haitian community has been protesting against the current government and political system for months. The recent wave of protests comes on the heels of a general strike in November, a recent raise in gas prices, and a general sense of discontent with the current regime.

However, corruption in Haiti runs much deeper than one controversial election. One of the most recent scandals dates back to Haiti joining the Petrocaribe oil alliance in 2006, inspiring the slogan “Kot Kòb Petwo Karibe a” (Where is the Petrocaribe money?), a popular chant heard both at protests in Haiti and at the recent protest in Montreal. An agreement between Venezuela, the region’s biggest oil producer, and a number of Caribbean countries, Petrocaribe created a preferential payment plan in which Haiti could pay for 50 per cent of the oil purchased over the next 25 years with only a one per cent interest rate. This system has led Haiti to invest in health, education, and sanitation. A 2017 probe by the Haitian senate revealed that millions of dollars meant for the people had been embezzled.

“[In Haiti], [Haitians] are hungry [and] thirsty. It is very difficult to eat because the whole economy is paralyzed right now,” proclaimed Marie Dimanche, one of the protest organizers. The recent unrest has brought violence to the front doors of many Haitians, who live in fear of the guns and fires that have overtaken the streets of Port-au Prince. In the last week, the protests have resulted in nine fatalities and dozens of injuries, according to Al Jazeera. Despite the violence and calls for resignation, Moïse vehemently refuses to step down from his position

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The new owners pressured the residents to leave as soon as possible, earlier than the six month notice required by Quebec law. According to the Régie du logement, a landlord is allowed to evict previous tenants if they have plans to “divide the dwelling, enlarge it substantially, or change its destination.” The latter motive implies that converting the apartments to Airbnbs can be legal, but only after obtaining a permit that Forster believes the new owners did not have. According to a 2017 study by McGill Geography professor David Wachsmuth, in March 2017, only 42 of the over 6000 full-time rentals available in Montreal on Airbnb were properly certified. The tenants of Forster’s building contested the landlord’s attempts to push them out prematurely. During the negotiations, the landlord’s intentions were made clear. “Some of the other neighbors said that they were basically told […] if you win the right to stay, we will make your life hell,” Forster said. Two of the apartments were vacated ahead of schedule. The landlord quickly began renovations, which included unannounced water cuts, walls caked in dust, and endless noise. Forster and his roommate ended up moving out two months early.

Airbnb puts pressure on an housing market undergoing rapid gentrification. The Plateau–Mile End, which currently houses a large portion of Montreal’s student population, is a particularly popular area for new Airbnbs. As landlords raise rent and evict tenants, students are pushed out. They, in turn, push residents out of working-class areas, namely Parc-Extension, Centre-Sud, and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. Working-class people bear the brunt of gentrification, as they are pushed out of their homes and away from their communities. Over the last few summers, Montreal has seen a steady increase in the number of tourists. Numbers jumped from 8.4 million visitors in 2013 to over 11 million in 2017, according to Tourism Montreal. Non-traditional vacation lodging, such as Airbnb, has increasingly been taking a larger portion of the housing market in past years. Government regulations for these ventures have struggled to keep up.

These services have opened the door to what McGill’s Urban Politics and Governance research group has named “triple-threat” listings. These rentals are entire homes being rented out yearlong to tourists by hosts with multiple properties available. In some Montreal neighborhoods, these listings have taken over 2-3 per cent of the housing stock, suggests Wachsmuth’s study. Airbnb’s presence in these neighbourhoods are raising rents and increasing evictions. Despite efforts to tighten regulation of these rentals, including a push to restrict short-term tourist residence permits in the Ville Marie borough last summer, most listings still escape notice.

To report illegal Airbnbs, you can contact permis.inspections.ville-marie@ville. montreal.qc.ca or call 311.

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