Accusing Quebec of ignoring the housing crisis in its budgetary decisions, Mayor Valérie Plante has created a “tactical team” which will look as of Wednesday morning at solutions to compensate for the lack of investment in social housing.
The day after the tabling of the budget of the Quebec Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, Valérie Plante had a lot on the heart. “The sums announced yesterday are clearly insufficient,” she said. The AccèsLogis program will benefit from funding of $191 million, but this sum will only be dedicated to projects awaiting funding. However, in Montreal alone, 24,000 households are waiting for social housing.
“What saddens me is that social housing is seen as charity,” she said. “A budget is a series of choices. And the government has made its choice. With the $9 billion tax cut, I can’t help but estimate the number of homes that would result. That represents 50,000 social housing units. It’s a choice. »
The mayor said that sometimes she would like there to be a question period for citizens at the National Assembly, as at the municipal council. “I would like that because we see these people who are in distress. […] It’s real people, real faces, real stories. When it is made that there are 5 1/2 which are rented at 2000 $ per month, that leads people to make difficult decisions: do I pay my rent or do I fill my fridge? »
The city’s disappointment prompted the Plante administration to set up a working group that met on Wednesday morning to examine solutions to speed up housing projects. This committee brings together Jean-Marc Fournier, CEO of the Urban Development Institute of Quebec (IDU), Véronique Laflamme, of the Popular Action Front in Urban Redevelopment (FRAPRU), Édith Cyr, Executive Director of Bâtir son quartier , Massimo Iezzoni, Director General of the Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM) and Benoit Dorais, Head of Housing on the Executive Committee. Valérie Plante was also to participate in this meeting.
The mayor also welcomed the decision of the government of Quebec to absorb the deficit of transport companies which have seen their ridership drop due to the pandemic and changes in the habits of workers. “Honestly, it was the bare minimum. […] The 400 million will allow us to save the furniture, ”she said. “However, we must now consider funding for next year and the following years. Our transportation companies need predictability at least for the next five years. »
Further details will follow.