Posted at 5:00 a.m.
0.1%. This is the vacancy rate in Granby, one of the worst in the province, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Approaching 1er July, 400 people were still on the waiting list for social housing, a number that has risen sharply in recent weeks.
“It’s a critical situation,” admits Rachel Côté, resource person on the emergency committee created by the City for the 1er July. In three weeks, she received no less than sixty calls from people looking for accommodation.
The shortage affects people of all ages and all social classes. “There are people who have money, others who are in a precarious situation. Some are ready to pay $1,500 a month for their accommodation, but they can’t find it,” laments Ms.me Side. According to her, the pandemic has precipitated this crisis: “People have decided to stabilize, to take houses. Some residents of Montreal or elsewhere have retired in our region, because Granby is a beautiful mix of city and countryside. »
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Rachel Côté is responsible for answering calls from citizens looking for housing.
Due to a lack of available housing, Rachel Côté offers citizens alternative solutions. “I can suggest things to them that they haven’t thought of, for example going to other nearby towns, checking with their families if there are people who could accommodate them in an emergency. »
For those who still haven’t found it, the future is much more uncertain. While some have to stay in a motel before finding housing, others risk falling into homelessness. A very worrying situation for Karine Lussier, coordinator of the Groupe Action Solidarité Pauvreté, who sees the number of calls received doubling every week.
The storm, it will be after the 1er July. A lot of people are going to live in campsites and wander around for the summer. But when everything closes at the start of the school year, they will come back and find themselves in the street.
Karine Lussier, Coordinator of the Action Solidarity Poverty Group
Mme Lussier denounces Quebec’s inaction on the housing issue. “The community has been saying for a long time that things are not going well, but the government is not listening to us. The Legault government also announced on Wednesday the construction of 3,000 affordable and social housing units within three to five years.
Faced with the emergency, Karine Lussier requested the opening of a new day center to meet an ever-growing demand. Existing emergency accommodation services are already overloaded. “I’ve been working here for 15 years, and this is the first year that we’ve seen such a long waiting list,” says Marie-Ève Thiberge, general manager of the center L’Auberge sous mon vent.
Citizens in distress
The housing crisis has immediate repercussions on the lives of many Granby residents. This is the case of Danny Robidoux, a former resident who was forced to leave his apartment following development work. Looking for an apartment since 1er March, he had to move to Acton Vale, a 30-minute drive away, where he shares two 1½s with his partner and her two children. Having no means of transport, he and his wife lost their jobs.
If Mr. Robidoux did not manage to find housing in Granby, it is because of the “ten thousand criteria that the owners require”, he estimates.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Danny Robidoux had to move to Acton Vale because he couldn’t find affordable housing in Granby for his family.
As soon as we said we had kids and a pet and we were going to smoke outside, it’s like we’re rotten.
Danny Robidoux, former resident of Granby
Danny Robidoux says he has observed abusive practices on the part of certain owners, who have demanded the payment of a deposit or a verification of his criminal record.
He approached multiple support services, without success. “All they did was refer me to sites I was already viewing,” he laments. Resident of Granby for 15 years, he fears staying in this situation for a long time. “At least we’re not outside, we have a roof over our heads. But it’s really not ideal for children,” says Mr. Robidoux.
Insufficient solutions?
The Mayor of Granby, Julie Bourdon, is aware of the magnitude of the task to be accomplished. If the emergency committee was, according to her, a short-term measure as the 1er July, it does not rule out extending the service to offer it all year round. Mme Bourdon is also counting on the assistance of the provincial government under the Quebec Affordable Housing Program (PHAQ), which would help finance two projects, respectively of 28 and 90 housing units, for an earth raise in the next one to two years. .
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, PRESS ARCHIVES
Julie Bourdon, Mayor of Granby
“I have good hopes of obtaining funding,” said the mayor. Given the current situation, we have almost no choice in providing affordable housing in Granby. However, the mayor’s office told us on Wednesday that only the 90-unit subdivision had been selected by the PHAQ. A very insufficient supply, according to Karine Lussier: “There must be a shortage of around 1,000 housing units, if not more. »
Other glaring examples
Rimouski, Drummondville, Rouyn-Noranda and Saint-Georges have some of the lowest vacancy rates in Quebec, according to the rental market report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Overview.
Rimouski
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Rimouski, in Bas-Saint-Laurent
With 0.2%, Rimouski has one of the lowest vacancy rates in Quebec. This is a considerable drop from the 2020 vacancy rate, which was estimated at 0.9%.
According to the communications officer for the City of Rimouski, Frédéric Savard, the influx of new residents explains this reality.
He also describes Rimouski as a city that welcomes many students. According to the Rimouski website, this number is estimated at 5,000.
There is a strong character of attractiveness in Rimouski. We are a city of services, a student city and a welcoming city.
Frédéric Savard, communications officer for the City of Rimouski
To remedy the situation, a housing search assistance service (SARL) has been set up by the City and the Office de l’habitation Rimouski-Neigette.
The SARL offers people looking for urgent accommodation temporary housing solutions.
“On our side, we are overhauling the urban plan”, declares Frédéric Savard, who also mentions projects already in progress such as that of the Fari group, a residence for seniors.
He also mentions the 44 social housing units that will be built at the mother house of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.
Drummondville
The city of Drummondville is experiencing a housing crisis. Its strong economic growth would explain its vacancy rate of 0.2%, estimates Mayor Stéphanie Lacoste.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Stephanie Lacoste, Mayor of Drummondville
“We have a lot of companies recruiting workers, which means that we have a lot of arrivals. So there is a lack of housing,” she notes.
Mme Lacoste also describes a trend she has observed across Quebec.
“More and more, people live alone, so it takes more housing. »
Stéphanie Lacoste, however, remains hopeful. Drummondville’s investments in subsidized housing and affordable housing encourage it.
“We have record investments in the residential sector. We also drew up a densification master plan around the major highways that are served by the public transit system,” she says.
Rouyn Noranda
The housing crisis in Abitibi-Témiscamingue is not new. It would exist since 2005, according to Bruce Gervais, coordinator of the Association of tenants of Abitibi-Témiscamingue (ALOCAT).
Rouyn-Noranda is no exception. The regional county municipality has a vacancy rate of 0.3%.
For there to be a housing crisis, there must be a vacancy rate below 3% for more than six months. [Ici]the vacancy rate has never been above 3% for more than six months.
Bruce Gervais, Coordinator of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Tenants Association
Bruce Gervais paints an “isolated” portrait of Rouyn-Noranda: a city that would receive little attention from the media and politicians.
“The CAQ has not delivered the 15,000 housing units it had promised,” laments Bruce Gervais. The isolation has something to do with it. Same Mme Andrée Laforest, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing of Quebec, was unable to say that there was a housing crisis in Abitibi-Témiscamingue. »
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Andrée Laforest, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Isolation is not the only factor that explains Rouyn-Noranda’s low vacancy rate.
“The price of gold jumped between 2005 and 2007, which caused the arrival of workers in Rouyn-Noranda,” adds the ALOCAT coordinator.
Result of the low vacancy rate: prices have exploded.
“People have a lot of difficulty accepting a rise in housing prices and landlords are putting a lot of pressure on tenants,” says Bruce Gervais.
To resolve the issue and highlight the crisis, his association is setting up a database of photos and cases of people looking for housing.
Saint Georges
The vacancy rate in Saint-Georges is estimated at 0.3%. The arrival of foreign workers would explain this lack of housing.
Victim of a labor shortage, the city is trying to attract workers from outside, indicates the deputy mayor of Saint-Georges, Manon Bougie. The city also has an unemployment rate of 3.6%, lower than all of Quebec, which is around 6.1%, according to statistics from the Ministry of Economy and Innovation.
Manon Bougie also speaks of a large number of separated families and a number of seniors who would be “less attracted” to seniors’ residences and who would go more towards rental housing.
These factors are “exacerbating” St. George’s housing crisis, she said.
To alleviate the problem, the Acting Mayor plans to create nearly 1,649 housing units over the next 5 years.