The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Andrée Laforest, made an important announcement last week which, at first glance, should be received as good news. After all, some will say, in the current context of the housing crisis, this investment of 200 million to accelerate the development of social and affordable housing, including cooperatives, is more than welcome. But the truth is elsewhere.
The sums put forward are clearly insufficient in view of the unprecedented crisis we are going through and the premise of the program’s normative framework which stipulates that “housing is a fundamental need at the heart of the lives of Quebecers”. Unfortunately, once again, the solution is only a bandage which one tries to apply to an open wound.
It’s time to think about housing differently and imagine it more as a social project. A project that would present itself as a lasting solution rather than as an isolated measure aimed only at meeting partial needs in which market logic still prevails. A national housing policy should therefore take into account the different components of households and ensure that housing meets their real needs and their ability to pay. A project that would make us all proud, collectively. Proud and strong, as the current government wishes.
For example, the population of Berlin recently voted for the socialization of around 240,000 homes belonging to large real estate groups. The objective: to counter real estate escalation and gentrification. Even if it was a symbolic referendum, there is in this desire to give the city back to its inhabitants a path that should inspire us. In another era, Quebec had the courage to nationalize hydroelectricity and create Hydro-Quebec, a flagship that is the envy of many countries. Housing, it seems to me, would be a logical next step.
In short, it is obviously a political choice. To see more clearly and see the light, perhaps we should get out of the tunnel?
For the cooperative housing model, there is an opportunity in this program. With its entrepreneurial values and intercooperation, the co-op world has what it takes to breathe new life into housing. The social project mentioned above, the cooperatives embody it on a daily basis thanks to their living environments based on mutual aid, living together and democracy.
It is up to all of us to promote this housing model and ensure that it is part of a global and sustainable vision. Over the decades, it has proven itself for maintaining a quality and truly affordable housing supply, both for the most vulnerable households and for those in the middle class.
As soon as we talk about a stronger and prouder Quebec, it is important to nurture our ambitions with projects that are promising and beneficial for all. The adoption in Quebec of a national housing policy accompanied by sufficient budgets would have the necessary leverage effect for the change that is needed to allow all Quebecers to have access to decent and affordable housing.