Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser recognizes that Ottawa attaches “conditions” to the funding planned for Quebec municipalities through its Fund to accelerate housing construction, mainly a target for the number of units to be built.
To receive their share of the $4 billion federal envelope, Quebec cities are first waiting for an agreement to be reached between the governments of Justin Trudeau and that of François Legault, and the Quebec Minister of Housing, France -Élaine Duranceau, suggested Tuesday that no agreement had been reached due to conditions set by Ottawa.
Asked about this on Wednesday, Mr. Fraser said that “this is not just a conversation about conditions”.
“It’s a conversation about the priority that we share, in particular the reason for the fund to build housing in Quebec and across the country,” he said in French before going to a meeting of the liberal caucus.
He insisted that the Fund to Accelerate Housing Construction, managed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), is designed based on a number of housing units.
“So we are happy to have conversations about a transfer of funds, but the funds require to result in a particular number of units,” the minister added in English.
Mr. Fraser indicated that he exchanged messages Wednesday morning with Minister Duranceau and hoped to speak with her in the evening. According to him, an agreement is possible soon since he believes that Quebec and Ottawa are “in the same place” in terms of the desired accomplishments with the money that will come from the CMHC.
“We have a duty to respect Quebec’s jurisdiction. We also have a duty to respect the money of Canadian taxpayers,” he continued.
Called to comment on Mr. Fraser’s remarks, Minister Duranceau’s office simply stated that the Legault government hopes to “reach an agreement quickly, considering that housing is a provincial jurisdiction.”
In the eyes of Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet, it is clear that Ottawa is engaging in “unacceptable gross interference in a Quebec jurisdiction.”
“Right now, there are people who are stuck between poverty, a rent they are not able to pay with a risk of sliding into homelessness and they are told ‘Yes, we have money to Ottawa, but Quebec will have to agree to sell me its jurisdiction or […] a part of [celle-ci] so that I pay,” he said in the press scrum.
New Democratic leader Jagmeet Singh, for his part, believes that it is “normal” for Justin Trudeau’s government to ask Quebec what it plans to do with the funds before transferring them.
“I think it’s something that everyone thinks is reasonable to say, ‘What’s the plan? What are guarantees? […] that the money will be used to build […] affordable housing?” “, he argued in front of journalists.
A few minutes earlier, he nevertheless affirmed that his party, “in general”, defends the “policy […] that Quebec has the right to withdraw from programs [fédéraux] unconditionally”, with full compensation.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre did not make himself available Wednesday to answer questions from the parliamentary press.
A housing bill that he tabled in the House, however, risks being perceived by Quebec as a legislative piece attaching conditions to federal funding.
The bill provides that municipalities that do not increase the number of building permits issued by at least 15% per year would see their federal transfers decrease. Those who exceeded the target would receive bonuses.
Quebec expects to receive $900 million
First announced in the 2022 federal budget, the Accelerated Housing Fund aims to build at least 100,000 housing units in Canada by 2026-2027.
The Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ) expects La Belle Province to receive $900 million of the total envelope of $4 billion.
Its president, Martin Damphousse, stressed Tuesday that the Cities are awaiting an agreement between Quebec and Ottawa, in accordance with provincial legislative provisions.
“What we hear is that other municipalities across Canada, except in Quebec, have access to their share,” he argued during the work of the parliamentary committee which is looking into the bill. 31.
“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? » Minister Duranceau then asked out loud.
Mr. Damphousse said he understood the “issues” and the “conditions”, but hoped that the parties would ensure that the problem was resolved to speed up construction.
With information from Lia Lévesque