Recent news in the homelessness sector is not encouraging. Two thousand people were added to Montreal’s homeless population between 2018 and today, which increased from 3,000 to 5,000 individuals. The effect of the pandemic is therefore very real. The incidence of overdoses in our emergency departments is also growing rapidly, and the use of naloxone is required almost daily. In addition, the absolute phenomenon of homelessness (i.e. the presence of people sleeping in parks, store entrances and streets) is increasingly widespread.
The cause ? The housing crisis, in large part. Between 2016 and 2021, Quebec lost 115,000 housing units worth $750 or less per month, including 89,000 in Montreal. The vacancy rate for affordable housing is around 1%. As for rents for modest rooms and studios, they have increased by 8% since last year.
The rental market is under pressure, which is causing an increase in evictions and, consequently, an increase in homelessness. According to the latest count, 22% of people newly experiencing homelessness have been evicted from their apartment. Those who use our emergency services or find themselves on the streets have fewer options for the same reasons they lost their homes: the housing crisis.
But even if these findings may seem discouraging, there is reason to remain optimistic. Here’s why.
The federal government has announced the most ambitious housing plan Canada has seen since the 1970s. Targeting almost 4 million new apartments within a decade, implementing the plan could radically increase the number of affordable housing units across the country and, a key part of the plan, protect existing affordable housing stock. With $1.5 billion in grants and loans, the Rent Protection Fund was created to help affordable housing providers acquire properties and maintain stable rents over the long term in order to To prevent these homes from being converted into inaccessible condominiums or luxury housing, announced the Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, during the presentation of the last federal budget.
The Quebec government has just tabled a bill to prohibit evictions for a period of three years or until the vacancy rate exceeds 3%. They will be prohibited for changes of use, subdivisions and expansions of housing. The bill also proposes to better protect senior tenants by prohibiting the eviction of low-income people aged 65 and over (compared to the current threshold of 70) and by increasing the qualifying income. This is excellent news for more vulnerable households.
After being the subject of criticism, the Quebec Affordable Housing Program (PHAQ) was made more flexible in order to better adapt to the current rental market. The Old Brewery Mission was recently able to obtain a significant grant from PHAQ to acquire a 46-door rooming house in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal. This will protect the long-term affordability of these places, provide tenants with the support services they need and significantly reduce the risk of homelessness.
Added to these measures is the regulation for the right of pre-emption adopted by the City of Montreal two years ago. This regulation allows the City to acquire land or buildings as a priority over any other buyer, particularly to carry out projects for the benefit of the community. Since this regulation came into force, more than 100 rooming houses have been subject to the right of pre-emption. The owners of these rooming houses must therefore send the City a notice concerning their intention to sell their building before accepting an offer to purchase. Montreal was the first municipality in Quebec to adopt such a mechanism. The Old Brewery Mission is proud to manage two of the buildings acquired by the City thanks to this provision, which allows us to put our expertise at the service of the people who live there.
The City of Montreal has also created a multi-sectoral reflection committee on the thorny issue of people experiencing homelessness who live in public spaces. The committee’s work can lead the City and its partners to adopt measures, as well as structured and proactive services, in order to deal with this phenomenon.
Non-profit organizations working in the homelessness sector are all expanding in order to do more and better. We are trying to reverse the significant increase in the number of people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless in our city. The three levels of government seem, more than ever, to be there. But this is only the beginning.