White card | How to solve the housing crisis in one (too) easy step

With their unique style and their own sensitivity, artists present their vision of the world. This week, we give carte blanche to Olivier Niquet.

I have always loved moving. My capacity for excitement is not very great, people who know me would tell you, but the logistics of change make me happy. I regularly rearrange spaces in my house to give myself the feeling of renewal. I know, I have an exciting life.

Moving is the pinnacle of renewal. A golden opportunity to optimize the display of our over-consumer goods or to finally get rid of these useless cushions that we wait to install “just in case”. If we can build a bridge “just in case”, why can’t I keep this ice cream maker “just in case”?

I’m not a collector, but I flirt with Diogenes syndrome when it comes to sons. You too probably have this box full of wires that are impossible to untangle. USB wires from the previous generation (so as not to be misunderstood if we go back to 2008), printer wires to use when my printer does not connect to WiFi (i.e. half the time ), HDMI wires. Like twelve HDMI wires, for my two TVs. You have to be prepared in case my HDMI wire breaks (which is to say never). If I managed to untangle the tape that they form, I could go around the Earth by putting all the threads in my collection end to end.

I even have long network cables, relics of a bygone era. In the age of networked individualism, we are directly connected intravenously to the internet. This is our new social structure. Individuals form bonds with other individuals who come from the same community of thought, each on their own side. Disconnection means loneliness for many. As much as people are more connected than before, they are also more isolated.

Still, I’m glad I don’t have to move this year. It is because according to rumors, there is a housing crisis. I will not venture to try to determine what are the causes of this crisis. Canada’s Minister of Immigration tells us that it could be resolved by welcoming more people who would come to build houses. The Premier of Quebec says it is exclusively the fault of temporary immigrants. It’s who has the crudest explanation. It seems to me that there are many other parameters that must be taken into account and I wonder to what extent the loneliness linked to the new kind of individualism has something to do with it.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2021, 19% of Quebecers lived alone. A proportion that doubles in large centres. It may be even more today, considering how hard it is for people to put up with each other. Above all, it is much more than at the end of the 20th century.^e century. This new solitude is certainly not helping the housing crisis. A couple needs one home, two singles need two homes. Does it show that I did math in CEGEP?

One of my struggles in life is to denounce those who offer simple solutions to complex problems based on dubious arguments. But sometimes, it inspires me.

So here is my naive proposal to solve the housing crisis: adopt a newcomer. Or better yet, marry him. “He who takes a husband takes a country,” as those who take sayings for absolute truths would say.

I know it’s hard in this age of outrage and anger, but loving one another could be a beautiful way to solve housing problems. We just have to calm down and not always get angry at those who don’t have the same ideas as us. As I said, my plan is magical thinking.

But it works on all scales. In politics as well as in sharing household chores. If we are unable to tolerate anyone in our digital lives, we may have trouble tolerating someone rummaging through our fridge. On the other hand, having someone in front of your fridge is a great opportunity to teach them the recipe for shepherd’s pie. In the process, this solution would save Quebec culture.

While moving is pleasant in ideal circumstances, I can well imagine that it is not easy to arrive from abroad in the middle of a housing crisis. An uprooting that can be traumatic. I myself am traumatized when I go to certain parts of Laval, so I can’t imagine the extreme disorientation of these people.

Notwithstanding the legitimate questions of accommodation capacity, on the scale of housing, on the scale of the uprooted human being, it is perhaps time to pool our boxes of wires and forge new bonds. There is nothing better than sharing a bathroom to get to know each other better.

We are ripe for a great replacement. Replacing single-person households with two-person households. Hey presto, a nice three-and-a-half at $2,000 instantly freed up. Two birds with one stone: we put an end to the suffering linked to loneliness as well as the housing crisis. All would be well in the best of all possible worlds. Stay tuned, next time I tackle the labor shortage.