In comments reported last week by columnist Maxime Bergeron1the Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, announced the end of the AccèsLogis (ACL) program, replaced by the Québec Affordable Housing Program (PHAQ), which we know is inappropriate to meet the needs of low income people.
Moreover, this program is not suitable for projects that aim to meet people with special needs – people with disabilities, homelessness, mental health, etc. The PHAQ, in addition to requiring a greater financial contribution from municipalities, allows private for-profit developers to use public funds to build housing that is said to be affordable, but which will not be affordable for everyone. world, and only for a limited time which could only be 10 years – after which these promoters can do whatever they want, including selling, renovicing, etc.
Community promoters, co-ops or NPOs commit themselves in perpetuity, for the entire life of the building, and guarantee living environments that promote residential stability.
Over the past 25 years, AccèsLogis has been the main instrument for meeting the needs of low- and moderate-income households.
As of March 31, 2022, no less than 35,826 housing units for families, seniors and people with special needs have been delivered thanks to this program, nearly two-thirds of which by housing NPOs. Its success was due, among other things, to the fact that its establishment was the result of co-construction between the State and the community and financial sectors.
Admittedly, the program has become less efficient over time, but it is mainly due to its chronic underfunding and the non-indexation of the maximum eligible costs from 2009 to 2019, which means that the government subsidy no longer covers only 32% of the construction costs, whereas it is supposed to reach 50%, an essential threshold for the viability of any project.
Rather than making a lucid assessment of the program and admitting the responsibility of the State in this fiasco, the Minister preferred to lay the blame on the communities, the municipalities, the promoting organizations, their volunteers and the social economy enterprises. (technical resource groups) that support them.
The announcement, which comes in a context where the government has no housing policy, has caused concern in both municipalities and the community sector. How does Quebec intend to structure the development of social housing? How will it increase the percentage of these in the overall rental stock? Where are the goals? Where is the vision that will solve the housing crisis? However, the organizations have dozens of projects to submit, thousands of housing units that could be built and started with government support. Which program will meet the needs of people with low or modest incomes? What objectives and what criteria does the State give itself?
Some seem to think that we can do social housing without the commitment of the State.
The community housing sector has resources that could be mobilized to increase the stock of non-market housing. In practice, however, the fact of having to call on various sources of funding or to disperse investments from public funds will have an impact on our organizations, which will have to make even more complex financial arrangements to bring their projects to fruition.
There is still time for the Minister to seize the hand extended by the sector to implement a concerted strategy for the creation of social and community housing, collective ownership and non-profit in order to offer truly affordable and sustainable housing for households. low or moderate income, depending on their ability to pay.