From employers to landlords | The Press

Already overwhelmed by their quest for labour, industrialists also have the shortage of housing in their hands. They redouble their imagination to find places to welcome their foreign workers and even from here.

Isabelle Masse
The Press

Andre Dubuc
The Press

Provide accommodation for workers

“That’s the number one issue, the labor shortage,” recalls Denis Boudreau, vice-president of human resources at Exceldor. We are 20% short of manpower. This is THE thing that keeps me up at night. And the housing shortage adds a solid layer to it. »

“One of the obstacles to hiring in the regions is the lack of availability of housing,” confirms Richard Cuddihy, vice-president of human resources at Bonduelle.

According to a Scotiabank report, there were 424 available homes per 1,000 people in Canada in 2020; the lowest rate among G7 countries.

Last December, the Association of Construction and Housing Professionals of Quebec estimated that 100,000 housing units were missing to rebalance supply and demand in the province’s residential market.

Recently, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) stated that the number of annual housing starts had to double for the imbalance to finally be resolved in… 10 years.

Bonduelle, Exceldor, but also Viandes du Breton and Serres Toundra, to name a few, are scouring everywhere to house their hundreds of temporary foreign workers. Rental of houses, conversion of motels, CHSLDs, convents, everything is explored. “We walk around,” says Denis Boudreau, of Exceldor. We lift rocks. We make partnerships. »

South Shore Furniture recently bought two houses to house 12 workers from its factory in Juárez, Mexico, who came to fill vacancies in its facilities in Coaticook and Sainte-Croix-de-Lotbinière, said its CEO, Jean-Stéphane Tremblay. , at The Press last July 15.

In Nicolet, the manufacturer of kitchen cabinets Thermoform has just acquired the residence for the elderly Lucie Guévin which had just closed its doors, reported the local weekly. The Courrier Sud end of June. He will change its vocation to make it a home for workers.

Last year, Serres Toundra spent $5 million building three three-story apartment buildings in Saint-Félicien to house some of its 250 Guatemalan workers.

For its part, Viandes du Breton has built three duplexes (for six apartments) in Rivière-du-Loup, in a new residential area. A two million dollar investment. “They are finished and ready to receive the workers, indicates the vice-president human resources, Line Breton. We expect them in the fall. »

Each duplex has six bedrooms, two bathrooms and double kitchens. The company must install a refrigerator, a stove, a washer and a dryer for each group of six employees. “Housing is really rare in Rivière-du-Loup,” says Line Breton, whose company is also thinking of acquiring a house that can accommodate 15 workers in Saint-Charles-de-Bellechasse.

In 2023, Viandes du Breton will welcome 100 new employees, the majority of whom will be in Rivière-du-Loup.

Millions to house the workers

For its part, Exceldor rents accommodation to third parties to install its employees there, as in Longueuil. “If the house is rented empty, we furnish it. » Rental is at the expense of the chicken farmer, but part of the rent is deducted from the worker’s pay.

Housing its temporary employees costs millions of dollars a year, according to Exceldor. “It’s considerable, notes Denis Boudreau. By next year, we expect to welcome 300 temporary foreign workers in our factories in Quebec and Ontario. »

“We are experiencing a housing shortage and the word is weak,” he adds. In Chaudière-Appalaches, it’s easier, but elsewhere, like in Montérégie, it’s extremely difficult. »

Tight market in Montérégie

Speaking of Montérégie, Bonduelle has been renting two houses in Sainte-Martine since last year for 14 workers. “It’s difficult to find accommodation in our city, confirms Mayor Mélanie Lefort. This is the topic of the hour. »

The vegetable processor also owns houses in Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, still in Montérégie. “One year, we housed workers in a convent in Saint-Hyacinthe,” says Richard Cuddihy. In Ontario, we bought an old shelter. »

Bonduelle does everything to provide suitable environments for its workers. An imperative, according to Mr. Cuddihy. “Temporary foreign workers have the choice of employers,” he notes. If an experience isn’t good, they won’t come back. »

Towards a greater role for housing employers

Shortage of housing obliges, will we see in the future the return of working-class neighborhoods, of these company towns where the job automatically came with a home?

The resurrection of closed towns or corporate towns, like the Arvida district in Jonquière, seems premature at first sight, so attached is this concept to a bygone world where the worker entered the factory for life within a almighty company.

However, the scarcity and unaffordability of housing, combined with the shortage of manpower, make employers who are short of manpower realize the interest of intervening in housing. This is an opportunity for them to stand out in the labor market to attract and retain the workers they badly need.

Former Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz advances this idea in his latest book on the megatrends that will shape post-pandemic society.

“As property becomes more expensive and out of reach for more families, companies may even find it beneficial to directly develop employee housing, or even build employee communities,” writes the economist. in The Next Age of Uncertainty published this year by Penguin Random House (the French version is not available).

Mr. Poloz suggests that a kind of housing allowance become part of the total compensation of employees or that, outright, the employer invests in the equity of the house of his employee at the time of the down payment. .

“After all, emphasizes this former member of the Business Development Bank of Canada, a large company is much better placed than an individual to absorb the risk associated with interest rates and the price of housing. »

The return of employee neighborhoods is far from being a whimsical idea, according to an expert in housing and urban development issues.

“Google, IKEA and Volkswagen have built veritable small towns in recent years,” says Lucie K. Morisset, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Urban Heritage at UQAM’s School of Management Sciences. “The trend is likely to continue as employers struggle to attract people. They must offer sedentarization. »

Otherwise, we would witness a repetition of the past.

“The history of the territory is linked to the history of the companies. For a long time, the working class was housed only by the bosses. With industrialization and the development of special skills, it became evident at the end of the 19th^e century and at the beginning of the XX^e century for the companies that it was necessary to house their employees and ensure good accommodation so that they could settle there with their families,” explains Professor Morisset.

With Nathaëlle Morissette, The Press