Municipal Summit on Homelessness | Quebec awaited firmly

Quebec is facing a “perfect storm” with the explosion of homelessness and the housing crisis, says Prime Minister François Legault, while a major municipal summit on the issue is being held this Friday in Quebec, which will be the opportunity for mayors to highlight the huge investments needed to help homeless people get off the streets.

15.5 million in emergency funds

Thursday morning, the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, announced $15.5 million to fund emergency shelters throughout Quebec. He and his colleague at Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, were reacting to the publication of data from the most recent count on visible homelessness, which shows more than 10,000 people experiencing homelessness in the province, a jump by 44% in five years. The main cause of housing loss: evictions. “We have seen the figures, they are worrying. […] We have to break the trend,” said Mr. Carmant in the press scrum. “I asked the Ministry to approve all the projects that will be implemented by this winter,” he added. To the sums announced Thursday is added an amount of 7 million already planned in the last Girard budget, including 2.5 million for a shelter for Indigenous people in Montreal.

Tension between mayors and government

The two ministers are expected to attend the summit on homelessness, while tension is high between the mayors and the Legault government. Last week, after a frontal attack on him from the mayor of Gatineau, Minister Lionel Carmant called on municipal elected officials “to lower their voices”. For her part, the Minister of Housing maintains that the Legault government did not recognize the housing crisis too late. “Since I have been in office, all I have done is unblock projects,” she assured. “There have never been so many housing projects funded. There are 12,000 at the moment. There, they have to come out of the ground, then we are stuck with the delays it takes to build,” argued Minister France-Élaine Duranceau, who calls on municipalities to accelerate the construction of social housing on their territory, at the same time as special consultations open on Bill 31, which amends various legislative provisions relating to housing.

Possible setback on lease transfer

Later in the day, Prime Minister François Legault also recognized the extent of the problem. “It’s kind of like a perfect storm. First, there is a drug problem. […] It leads to all kinds of mental health problems. Obviously, there is also a housing crisis that comes on top of that. […] We still invested a lot in the first mandate, but there is an update coming, in November, [et] we will have to do more,” declared the Prime Minister. In addition, he could back down on the controversial provisions relating to the transfer of leases in the Minister of Housing’s bill. “We’re not ruling anything out at this point,” he said. One of the provisions of the legislative text would allow owners to refuse a request for transfer of lease “for a reason other than a serious reason”, which sows controversy since the transfer of lease is considered as a lever against increases in abusive rent for tenants.

“Insufficient”, according to the mayor of Montreal

The 15.5 million in emergency funding announced by Minister Carmant are largely insufficient to combat the homelessness crisis, denounced Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante. In fact, this sum would not even meet the needs for the metropolis, she stressed Thursday at a press conference. “The amount announced by the minister only represents plaster, while homelessness is an open wound that bleeds,” she said. “We need 2,000 social housing units per year, we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars, to catch up. » The solution to homelessness requires permanent social housing with support from stakeholders, argued the mayor. Over the past three years, Quebec has not financed any housing intended to get homeless people off the street, deplored M^me Plante, adding that the amounts granted by the government to community organizations to build social housing are disconnected from market reality.

Improve data

The mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, was less sharp towards the government at a press conference in the capital. “I heard that there was a short-term desire to respond to the emergency. I welcome that. Is it that [15 millions], that’s enough ? We will see depending on what is announced. We must respond to the emergency, we must open places for people who do not have a roof over their heads,” he said. The mayor, however, made a clear request to the government on the eve of the homelessness summit: better statistics. “We need annual statistics,” says the mayor of Quebec. There must be a commitment to defining objectives, targets and a work schedule. People experiencing homelessness expect this from us. »

Towards special help

Minister France-Élaine Duranceau revealed that her ministry is working on “financial aid for people” affected by the housing crisis. “ [Ces mesures] presuppose certain legislative changes, so I cannot tell you about it now, but it is in the cards,” she clarified. Last week, Prime Minister François Legault revealed that he was considering providing “special assistance” to the most vulnerable people who “suffer” from the cost of living crisis. This aid could be announced during the government’s economic update in November.

Save money by housing the homeless

In anticipation of the summit on homelessness, the Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ) revealed the results of a study which shows that society would save money by finding a roof for homeless people. The report from the firm AppEco estimates that the total annual costs of a person experiencing homelessness in Quebec amount to $72,521. By providing this person with temporary accommodation, the cost to society drops to $69,717. According to the study, prevention and control initiatives could reduce homelessness by 35%. The status quo would result in expenses of 450 million for Quebec municipalities by 2027.

With the collaboration of Gabriel Béland, The Press