This text is part of the special section Municipalities
The pandemic and acrimonious debates about the housing crisis have marked the last two years of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Andrée Laforest.
Sign of the increase in tensions with the upcoming arrival of the 1er July, the Regrouping of housing committees and tenant associations of Quebec (RCLALQ) recently asked for the resignation of the minister. He criticizes her for her inaction in the face of the housing shortage and the soaring rents in Quebec.
Unsurprisingly, the minister does not share his opinion. “We are in solution mode to increase the supply of housing,” she says. We have invested significant sums and changed several regulations to improve the supply of housing and help tenants. »
She cites in particular the relaxation of eligibility criteria in low-income housing and in the AccèsLogis program, and the improvement of the housing allowance — financial assistance for low-income households who devote too much of their budget to their housing. .
She also mentions the new Affordable Housing Program, through which Quebec will financially support rental housing projects intended for low- and moderate-income households, as well as for people with special housing needs. With a budget of approximately $300 million, it should contribute to adding 3,200 affordable housing units. About 3,500 social and community housing units will also be built with the AccèsLogis program.
This will leave the Legault government far from its promise to deliver the 15,000 social housing units already planned, the construction of which is slow to materialize. According to the Popular Action Front in Urban Redevelopment (FRAPRU), nearly 38,000 low-income households are still waiting for low-rent housing in Quebec. Montreal, which was asking for $250 million in the last budget to finance affordable housing, only got $30 million.
Pandemic and fiscal pact
In addition to the housing crisis, the pandemic has hit municipalities hard and captured Minister Laforest’s attention. “Each week, we had liaison committees with the municipalities who were concerned about their ability to continue to offer their services to citizens,” she says. We have also allocated $900 million to help municipalities, for example to buy protective equipment against COVID-19. »
Among the achievements of which she says she is most proud since the beginning of her mandate, she mentions the new 2020-2024 fiscal pact, signed in 2019. It granted one point of the QST to the municipalities – for a total estimated at approximately 660 million dollars over five years — and provided for the creation of the Regions and Rurality Fund, endowed with an envelope of $1.3 billion over five years. It included other measures, in particular an improvement to the program for sharing royalties on natural resources, for a total of $56 million.
“It was really a good negotiation with the municipalities, which allowed us to partially reduce their dependence on property taxes, maintains Andrée Laforest. It helped me get to know my municipal partners better at the start of my mandate. It was a very important moment for me. »
Clean up municipal politics
In April 2021, François Jacques, parliamentary assistant to Minister Laforest, also tabled a motion on his behalf, adopted unanimously in the National Assembly, on municipal democracy and respect for elected municipal officials. This motion notably denounced the intimidation that many of these elected officials have to face.
“These men and women are doing essential work for which I feel a great deal of gratitude and I felt it was important to contribute to enhancing their role, in a context that has not been easy for some time,” explained the Minister.
In November 2021, the government adopted its Bill 49 — An Act to amend the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities, the Act respecting ethics and good conduct in municipal matters and various legislative provisions — which relates in particular to the respect and civility among elected officials. A month earlier, the Minister had unveiled her Action Plan to promote respect and civility, with measures to better equip elected municipal officials in this regard.
Along with her colleague Isabelle Charest, Minister responsible for the Status of Women, Minister Laforest also launched the “I present myself” campaign before the last municipal elections. Its objective was to increase the number of female candidates for the positions of mayors and councillors. In 2017, women accounted for only 31.3% of candidates, compared to 35.5% in 2021. “The campaign has helped attract more women and more young people among the candidates”, rejoices Andrée Laforest.
Work in progress
While it may be tempting to dwell on her record a few months before the next general election, the minister must also look ahead. There are many construction sites. At the forefront of which, one will have guessed, the housing crisis. “It is essential for me to continue to work with the mayors on the issue of housing, maintains Andrée Laforest. I don’t want to see anyone on the street after the 1er July. »
In addition to the measures set out above, the Minister intends to examine the famous clause F of the lease, which allows a landlord to increase the price of the rent at will during the first five years of existence of a new building. Tenants have thus received notices of rent increases of nearly 50% for a single year. “We want to see if the clause is used to justify excessive rent increases and if so, we will legislate to better regulate it,” she says.
The Minister would also like to be able to complete the work for the next land use planning strategy, a challenge that promises to be daunting. “We conducted consultations for a year and a half, so we will have to take the time to put it all together, points out Andrée Laforest. One thing is certain, I will continue to work closely with the mayors and other municipal partners on housing and land use planning issues. »