Montreal requesting help from Quebec with housing and public transit
Posted March 9, 2023 12:45 pm.
Last Updated March 9, 2023 2:25 pm.
With only a few weeks to go before the Quebec government tables its budget, Montreal is making its main priorities known.
Housing and public transit are the two urgent priorities the city of Montreal has identified.
The city says it wants the Quebec government to help with funding these essential needs.
The pandemic severely affected the city’s capacity to deliver on its public transit and affordable and social housing targets.
The STM is currently predicting a $78 million deficit due to reduced ridership and has been forced to reduce or even remove some of its bus routes.
The city is asking the province to match the STM’s deficit for the next two years, helping it offset the reduced income.
Growing housing crisis requires more funding
The city also wants the Legault government to hand over 1,100 affordable and social housing units that are currently blocked by the lack of adequate funding for the AccessLogis program.
The city would then take on the responsibility to build those units if the funding was made available.
A growing housing crisis in Montreal, with rising rents and a shortage of apartments, has only become worse during the pandemic.
The Quebec government is slated to present its next budget on March 21.
