Roger-Luc Chayer (Image AI – Gay Globe)
The housing crisis that has been severely affecting Quebec for the past few years is caused by several factors resulting from government decisions. Among these factors are excessive immigration in several economic sectors, an influx of refugees to Canada, with 50% choosing Quebec as their place of settlement and needing housing, inflation that sometimes makes rents exorbitant, and incomes that do not keep pace with general increases in areas like food, property interest rates, cars, etc. One of the most affected aspects is the exorbitant price of housing in Quebec.
Workers Living on the Streets
In Montreal alone, excluding the homeless who have substance abuse issues (drugs, medication, alcohol) or untreated or poorly treated psychiatric disorders, there are a few thousand perfectly normal people who find themselves living in tents, at the mercy of the elements, simply because their income no longer allows them to pay rent in an exploding economy. Often, these people have a job, a salary, or other income, but they cannot find housing within their budget.
Social Housing Deficit
Community organizations are demanding that the governments of Montreal, Quebec, and Canada build new social housing as quickly as possible and renovate those that are abandoned, amounting to thousands of units according to FRAPRU. When you look at the map of available housing on the island of Montreal belonging to the SHDM, the number 0 appears, and it’s painful. There are currently no available units in the portfolio of thousands of apartments owned by the City of Montreal!
The situation is similar for low-rent housing (HLM), housing cooperatives (co-ops), and non-profit housing organizations (OSBL). However, there is an abundance of available units among the newly built condos, where the rent for a simple studio can start at $2,300. Who can afford such a rent in an average population?
Delayed Construction of Social Housing
As we face the worst of the crisis and summer comes to an end, thousands of people across Quebec are at risk of spending the winter outside, under the snow. Needless to say, these conditions will only worsen their individual situations, their health, and the vitality of the province. Meanwhile, everyone is passing the buck: Montreal claims it doesn’t have the necessary budget that Quebec should provide, Quebec accuses Montreal of delaying the issuance of construction permits, and the responsibility is shifted to Ottawa, blaming the federal government for not proposing anything in terms of housing cooperatives. When Canada does propose a plan, Quebec systematically rejects it, invoking its right to withdraw to keep the federal funds and use them elsewhere, as is continuously done. None of this helps improve the situation of the homeless…
A Possible and Alternative Solution: The Housing Allowance
However, there is a solution that could be implemented very quickly, even immediately, as the program already exists: Quebec’s Housing Allowance. This program offers an allowance, similar to the monthly TVQ rebate or the solidarity tax credit, which provides a direct deposit to eligible individuals whose rent exceeds 25% of their income. Currently, the amounts are very low, with a maximum of $170 per month. However, instead of spending $200,000 per new social housing unit, revising and increasing the allowance for many housing units would prevent a large number of these tenants from ending up on the streets because they can no longer afford their rent.
This payment, determined according to several criteria such as individual or family income, rent price, etc., would immediately secure a large part of the population at a much lower cost than building new housing. Often, these low-income tenants do not want to move; they do so out of necessity, purely for budgetary reasons.
This allowance could also be paid directly to the landlord to ensure that the funds are not used for other purposes. I believe this is something worth considering in the context of the current crisis.
RESSOURCES:
Tribunal administratif du Logement
On the same idea:
Quelles sont les Ressources pour Aider les Itinérants du Village Gai à s’en Sortir?