In a few weeks, the Quebec government will table its last budget before the general elections next fall. Considering the major housing needs throughout Quebec, the municipalities are uniting their voices to demand strong measures adapted to the realities of the market, while respecting the different regional dynamics.
Imbalance
Currently, the Association of Construction and Housing Professionals of Quebec estimates that it would take between 40,000 and 60,000 new housing units just to rebalance the rental market in Quebec. The scarcity of housing is one of the main factors of the explosion in prices that we are facing. It is estimated that one in five people spend more than half of their income on housing. It’s major. And this trend is even more marked among young people, the less fortunate and single people. Thus, 1.7 million people are having difficulty accessing home ownership, affordable housing or simply housing that meets their needs, thereby having significant socio-economic repercussions on our communities.
To respond to this glaring problem, the UMQ adopted the Municipal Declaration on Housing. This declaration recognizes the urgent need to act and lists several concrete and innovative actions that the Government of Quebec should put forward in the context of its next budget, in particular the following:
• Deploy a new program of 4,500 new social housing units per year while maintaining a program aimed at their creation;
• Offer more support to municipalities and various housing organizations so that 13,400 additional affordable housing units are made available to the population each year, while guaranteeing their long-term affordability;
• Allow municipalities that so wish to act as agents in the application of Québec government programs so that they can play a central role in the prioritization and supervision of projects carried out on their territory;
• Complete the funding for the construction of housing announced as part of the AccèsLogis program, but not yet completed;
• Quickly restore social housing that is barricaded and in poor condition, among other things by allocating the amounts provided for in the Canada-Quebec Housing Agreement;
• Continue to improve the agility of the parameters of Québec housing programs, including the AccèsLogis, affordable housing Québec (PHAQ) or RénoRégion programs, to allow access to budgeted amounts;
• Immediately revise the Expropriation Act so that municipalities can acquire buildings as part of social and affordable housing projects;
• Allow all municipalities to purchase certain buildings or land on their territory as a priority in order to carry out projects for the benefit of their community.
For this last budget, the expectations of the municipal community are very high. The government must do more if it is to ensure housing affordability and accessibility, and to do so in a sustainable way. This is an opportunity to be bold and improve our ways of doing things.
In 2022, all Quebecers, regardless of their neighbourhood, municipality or region, should have a roof that is adapted to their family situation and that respects their financial means.
It is time to invest massively so that Quebec becomes a model in housing.
It’s time to redefine living.
*Signatories:
Guillaume Tremblay, second vice-president of the UMQ, president of the housing committee of the Union and mayor of Mascouche; Valérie Plante, President of the UMQ’s Big Cities Caucus and Mayor of Montreal; Marc-Alexandre Brousseau, president of the Caucus of regional cities of the UMQ and mayor of Thetford Mines; Mathieu Lapointe, president of the Caucus of central municipalities of the UMQ and mayor of Carleton-sur-Mer; Joé Deslauriers, president of the Caucus of local municipalities of the UMQ and mayor of Saint-Donat; Yves Montigny, mayor of Baie-Comeau; France Bélisle, Mayor of Gatineau; Julie Bourdon, Mayor of Granby; Stéphane Boyer, Mayor of Laval; Catherine Fournier, Mayor of Longueuil; Cathy Poirier, Mayor of Percé; Bruno Marchand, Mayor of Quebec; Julie Dufour, Mayor of Saguenay; Évelyne Beaudin, Mayor of Sherbrooke.