Premier Legault confident no one will be left without a home come moving day July 1

SAINTE-SOPHIE, Qc – Premier François Legault is determined to ensure that no one is left without a home 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 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 those four July 1sts. When I say it went well, I mean that nobody ended up on the street.”

“Sometimes, temporarily, we’ve asked people to live in hotels, to live in temporary housing, but the idea is that no one ends up on the street for a fifth July 1st since I’ve been prime minister.”

Hasty construction

The government he leads 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, housing for families and others, particularly in Montreal, but also in other regions.

“Our current objective is to develop as much affordable housing as possible. We put in $1 billion (in the last budget). We’re going to see what we can develop quickly.”

More money, more programs

At the same time, he promised to increase the amount of money devoted to housing, saying he was open to getting the government to invest in the rental market itself and launch new programs. “Probably we’ll have to add money, and we will,” he declared.

“The challenge is really to accelerate housing construction and we’re going to finance, either directly housing, or buy existing housing, or give housing assistance through (the program) Accès logis, or other programs. We’re open to creating programs.”

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. François 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 construction 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.”

No housing on paper

It will indeed take a lot more than is currently being done to catch up with the backlog. Many of these 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 there to be money lying dormant, available but unused because the projects aren’t ready to build. We want to make sure that things get built, that there are hammers and nails being driven to be able to have housing.”

“For several years, going through an OMH (Office municipal d’habitation), it can take five, six years,” he dropped.

The Canadian Rental Housing Index, released Monday morning, illustrates the effects of the housing crisis more clearly than ever. It indicates that one household in four (25 per cent) spends more than 30 per cent of its income on housing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French and translated by CityNews on June 19, 2023.