(Quebec) In office for only two years, the boss of the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ), Claude Foster, has submitted his resignation to the Legault government, a departure which would be effective a little later this spring, we learned The Press.
He ends his five-year term hastily. The Council of Ministers appointed him as CEO of the SHQ on January 12, 2022. Mr. Foster took office a month later, on February 7 to be precise.
Claude Foster was until then director general of the Office municipal d’habitation de Québec, since 2007. This engineer was previously director of the firm Génécor Experts-Conseils (2004-2007).
The SHQ reports to the Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau. Claude Foster also accompanied the minister on Tuesday for an announcement on housing.
In Quebec, two sources affirmed that the government was satisfied with the work of Mr. Foster and that his departure cannot be explained by a disagreement. It is a personal decision, it was argued.
The SHQ is notably responsible for the construction of housing. She is piloting the Quebec Affordable Housing Program (PHAQ), which replaced AccèsLogis in 2022.
In its most recent update, the SHQ shows that the PHAQ has still not delivered housing: 324 of them are in the construction phase and 1,283 are in the development phase. What is also striking is the sudden increase in the construction price of these projects. This increase is more than 30%. The average cost per unit now exceeds $450,000, as reported The Press Wednesday.