The Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, wonders whether there would not be a case for intervening in rent increases when housing is transferred from one tenant to another, rather than ‘at the level of the transfer of lease.
During the study of her bill in parliamentary committee on Tuesday, the minister seemed to continue to have reservations about the transfer of leases by tenants.
Giving up your lease means “paying it forward with the property of others,” said the minister, in discussion with David Searle, lawyer and lecturer in housing law.
“The transfer of lease is not what solves the problem,” she added.
She asked M.e Searle if it would not be better to intervene on the problem which is at the source: that at the time of the transfer of accommodation, “there are rent increases which are not those which would be desired, therefore should not- Shouldn’t we rather work on these increases? »
Me Searle responded that tenant advocacy organizations would certainly be in favor of such a measure that would keep rents lower.
Municipalities taken between Ottawa and Quebec
The Union of Municipalities, for its part, advocated for a program that would create 4,500 social housing units and 13,400 affordable housing units per year.
Its president, Martin Damphousse, rejected claims that municipalities were responsible for delays in the construction of such housing.
“The $900 million that is reserved for Quebec [à même le fonds fédéral]we are waiting for an agreement between Quebec and Ottawa to ensure that these amounts can be released,” said Mr. Damphousse.
The minister, for her part, suggested that the problem came more from the conditions set by the federal government. “When you say that there is $900 million that is taken somewhere between the federal government and then Quebec, do you have an idea of the conditions that were imposed by the federal government in relation to this $900 million? » she asked.
“What we hear is that other municipalities throughout Canada, except in Quebec, have access to their share,” replied Mr. Damphousse.
He said he understood the “issues” and the “conditions”, but hoped that the parties would work to resolve the problem to speed up construction.
Questioned on this subject in the House of Commons by the Bloc member Alain Therrien, who accused him of taking this sum “hostage” by imposing his conditions on Quebec, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “looking forward to being able to deliver these 900 million $ to municipalities across Quebec.”
“Currently, we are working with the Government of Quebec to ensure that we can deliver this money to municipalities in the best way to create housing, as we do across the country,” replied Mr. Trudeau.
For his part, the federal Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Sean Fraser, indicated that he was working with Quebec “to finalize things”. “We are close, but there is still a little work to do,” he added, emphasizing that he also wants to respect Quebec’s jurisdiction.