Two Quebec coroners issued a report last week related to several deaths on Hwy. 50, which connects Gatineau to Montreal, and have urged authorities to install barriers or widen the route to improve safety, Radio-Canada reported.

Coroners Denyse Langelier and Julie A. Blondin examined several incidents that occurred between 2021 and 2025 in the Mirabel, Grenville-sur-la-Rouge and Lachute areas of the Laurentides region, and have indicated further investigations into other incidents are underway. “Since 2008, several coroner’s reports have recommended to the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility the widening of Highway 50 to four lanes or the installation of concrete or cable median safety barriers to secure this highway,” writes Langelier

Since 2013, there have been 39 deaths on the highway in head-on collisions.

Outaouais health advocates denounce lack of funding in provincial budget

Following the unveiling of the provincial budget last Wednesday, healthcare advocates in the Outaouais are decrying the lack of measures to address historic under-funding of the region’s health care system.

Representatives from Action Santé Outaouais told Le Droit that the new funding increase of 4.1 per cent will barely cover the 4 per cent increase in system costs.

“How will the Outaouais region compare to other regions of Quebec in achieving healthcare service efficiency objectives? No other region in Quebec has to contend with decades of underfunding, a severe staff shortage, and close proximity to Ontario,” the group wrote in a statement.

The group also points out that according to the Observatoire du développement de l’Outaouais, excluding infrastructure, the region is underfinanced by $348 million compared to the rest of the province. In addition, Quebec spent $118 million in 2024 alone paying for Outaouais residents who received care in Ontario.

Housing tribunal rules no-pet clause violates Charter rights

A landmark decision by Quebec’s housing tribunal found that a rental lease’s “no-pet” clause violated a tenant’s Charter rights, setting a major precedent, CBC News reported.

The March 12 decision from the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL), ruled that a Montreal landlord couldn’t evict a tenant, who had lived in the building under various landlords since 2011, due to their pet.

Judge Suzanne Guévremont wrote in her decision that the tenant “had no opportunity to negotiate this [no-pet] clause and therefore faced the heartbreaking choice of finding another home or abandoning their animals”, particularly amid a shortage of affordable housing.

The tenant’s lawyer, Kimmyanne Brown, explained that while this does not invalidate no-pet clauses across the province, it allows tenants to challenge clauses based on articles one and five of the Quebec Charter, which pertain to privacy and the right to personal freedom.

No-pet clauses have also been challenged by the Montreal SPCA, who note that challenges finding housing that allows pets is one of the primary drivers of people giving up their animals to shelters.

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