(Quebec) Due to the labor shortage, the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ), which reports to the Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, had to award 2 million external contracts for the 2023-2024 financial year.
The CEO of the SHQ, Claude Foster, explained that this use of subcontracting was obligatory when no internal employee can do the necessary work.
” We do not have a choice. […] If we don’t have anyone, well we’re done,” he says in an interview with The Canadian Press.
The information was revealed Thursday during the study of the budgetary appropriations of the Ministry of Housing by Liberal MP Virginie Dufour, who questioned the government on the subject.
“The labor shortage means that we have to go this way otherwise we will have service cuts. We are offering jobs, but unfortunately there are no applicants,” Mr. Foster explained to the commission.
The contracts are for workers in the information technology sector such as computer technicians and programmers. The SHQ contributes to the construction of housing and helps tenants.
Mr. Foster indicates that the organization he oversees deals with 13 external firms for its subcontracting.
And this is not a new phenomenon. “The big problem we have is that currently, when we look at the programming level, people find more opportunities in companies than in government. Often, we are not the first chosen when young people leave school,” he maintains.
The CEO of the SHQ puts the 2 million into perspective. “Compared to the needs, I do not consider that this is an astronomical amount. »
The Press revealed Wednesday that Claude Foster was leaving the SHQ to retire after only two years at the head of the government agency, while his contract was for five years.