(Quebec) Criticized by the opposition, which accuses him of being “disconnected” in the face of the housing shortage a few days before the 1er July, François Legault clarifies his remarks, when he said Monday that he does not want Quebec to “stay poor” so that house prices are lower than in Toronto or Vancouver.
“You have to look at all of what [j’ai] says,” said the Prime Minister straight away, on Wednesday, when he arrived at the Council of Ministers in Quebec City.
“The demand is very strong in Quebec to buy houses for housing, among other things because of the salaries which have increased a lot. What I said was that on the supply side, there is a lot of housing shortage,” he said.
“We all agree that there is a shortage of housing and we are working very hard to reduce the time to build more. […] We are going to help people who do not have the income and the means to afford housing. We will continue to help people who need financial help,” he added.
A report on the Canadian Rental Housing Index released Monday shows that a quarter of Quebec households spend 30% of their income on renting accommodation, while 9% of tenants reserve 50% of their salary for housing. The Press also reported earlier this week that shelters for the homeless are now coping with an increased demand from older women, sometimes with reduced mobility, who can no longer find affordable housing on the market.
“Regarding the 1er coming July, we are going to make sure that no Quebecer, no person in Quebec ends up on the street. That doesn’t mean we’ll be able to find permanent housing for everyone. There is a lack of housing. But we’re going to find temporary housing, whether it’s hotels or all kinds of housing, like we’ve been doing for the last 1er July,” said Mr. Legault.
Duranceau defends himself
In addition, France-Élaine Duranceau defended her probity on Wednesday, while the ethics commissioner Ariane Mignolet opened an investigation into her. The alleged facts concern the participation of the Minister responsible for Housing “in a professional meeting with her friend and business partner, Annie Lemieux, who acted in this context as a lobbyist with her and the Minister responsible for Seniors” .
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
France-Elaine Duranceau
Annie Lemieux, shareholder of several companies active in real estate, registered as a lobbyist to intervene with the Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, a month after taking office last fall. The two women are business partners in three companies.
Minister Sonia Bélanger, who attended the meeting, was unaware that Ms.me Duranceau and M.me Lemieux knew each other. “I didn’t know, but you will allow me today to keep my comments to myself, because I will probably be asked to testify and I will cooperate,” she said.
“We have meetings with the ethics commissioner. I divulged everything I had to divulge, and then I have nothing to reproach myself for. I’m going to wait for the recommendations, if any, from the Ethics Commissioner,” said Ms.me Duranceau. Premier François Legault also said his government would work with Commissioner Mignolet.
Mme Duranceau also looks favorably on his expertise in the field of real estate in connection with his mandate as Minister of Housing.
“I think it’s a great thing! If you have a particular subject, ideally you have someone who knows that subject, who knows the players in the industry. I know real estate, I know the builders, the community groups, the developers, the brokers, and personally, I want to talk to all these people because the crisis we are currently experiencing is not not me alone in my office who is going to settle it,” she said.
With Emilie Bilodeau and Fanny Lévesque