SAINTE-SOPHIE, Que. — Quebec Premier François Legault intends to ensure that no one will find themselves on the street on July 1.
Asked Monday at a press conference in the Laurentians about the government's assessment of needs, the premier refused to put a figure on the number of housing units required in Quebec to relieve pressure in the rental market.
With less than two weeks to go, however, he defended his past actions.
"I've had four July 1sts in my experience, and things went well on all four. When I say it went well, I mean that nobody ended up on the street," Legault said.
"Sometimes, temporarily, we've asked people to live in hotels, to live in temporary accommodation, but the idea is that no one should end up on the street for the fifth July 1st since I became premier."
- Housing advocates count 600 Quebec households without a home after July 1
His government has been slow to recognize that there is indeed a housing crisis in Quebec, and is doing everything it can to kick-start earlier housing construction in the hope of catching up.
"What's important to understand is that: one, there's a shortage of affordable housing; two, there's also a shortage of middle-class housing, including family housing, particularly in Montreal, but also in other regions," he said.
"Our current objective is to develop as much affordable housing as possible. We put in $1 billion (in the last budget). We'll see what we can develop quickly."
MORE MONEY, MORE PROGRAMS
He also promised to increase the amount of money devoted to housing, saying he was open to having the government invest in the rental market itself and launch new programs. "Probably we'll have to add more money, and we will," he declared.
The challenge is really to accelerate housing construction, and we're going to finance housing, either directly, or buy existing housing, or provide housing assistance through (the Accès logis program), or other programs. We're open to creating programs," the premier added.
The private sector has tended to shun rental construction in recent years and, with current interest rates, can't afford to build to rent below market price. Building condominiums for immediate sale is much more attractive, for example.
Legault knows this, and suggests that he will have to take builders by the hand and put his money where his mouth is.
"We need to find a way to stimulate the construction industry so that more homes are created. That's why we need to maintain a certain balance, so that homeowners have an incentive to build more," he said.
NO HOUSING ON PAPER
It will indeed take a lot more than is currently being done to make up for the backlog. Many of the delays are due to bureaucratic and regulatory constraints. Federal, provincial and municipal governments have repeatedly been criticized for announcing the creation of housing when it only existed on paper.
Legault understands that this political approach is not putting a roof over the heads of those who need it: "We don't want money to lie dormant, available but unused because projects aren't ready to build," he said. "We want to make sure that it's built, that there are hammers and nails being driven to be able to have housing."
"It can take five, six years to go through an OMH (Office municipal d'habitation)," he added.
The Canadian Rental Housing Index, released Monday morning, illustrates the effects of the housing crisis more clearly than ever. It indicated that one household in four, or 25 per cent, spends more than 30 per cent of its income on housing.
LIBERAL PARTY REACTION
Liberal housing spokesperson Virginie Dufour reacted sharply to the premier's comments, accusing him of being "completely out of touch with the current housing situation in Quebec."
In a press release issued shortly after Legault's statement, she asserted that "the CAQ leader dares to boast that he has always managed to get through this date without anyone being put out on the street. After denying the housing crisis for years, he keeps his rose-colored glasses on, completely ignoring the housing vacancy rate, which has never been as low as it is right now."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 19, 2023.
