Montreal outlines plan for housing, businesses, and public services

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, and President of the Executive Committee, Luc Rabouin held a press conference Thursday to discuss housing, support for business and public services.

They spoke about the economic consequences across the country which are making it hard for people to meet their basic needs in Montreal.

“We want the population to be well served, to have access to affordable, quality housing, to enjoy dynamic, safe and clean neighbourhoods, and to be able to count on vibrant commercial arteries and a vibrant downtown,” said Plante.

To deliver on the major projects expected for the city, the Plante-Rabouin administration is adjusting the Executive Committee of the City of Montreal.

These changes began at the end of 2023 when Rabouin became president and restructured the committee to rely heavily on teamwork.

“The changes made to the Executive Committee will enable us to strengthen our response to the crisis,” explained Rabouin.

Housing

In the housing sector, they are assembling a team to speed up construction, develop strategic land and provide better support for tenants.

According to a press release, Vice President of the Executive Committee Benoit Dorais will continue to work on the real estate strategy to acquire strategic land to accelerate the construction of social and affordable housing.

Rabouin will take charge of the Cellule facilitatrice to speed up the process of granting of permits issued by boroughs.

There is now position dedicated to the health and protection of rentals, which will be held by Despina Sourias because there are a large number of flats are not occupied due to health and safety.

Head of Urban Planning Robert Beaudry and Head of Diversity and Social Inclusion Josefina Blanco will be in charge of tackling homelessness in the city.

Helping businesses and restaurants

More direct support will be offered to businesses and restaurants, which is being heavily affected.

Councillor for Economic Development, Commerce and Design Alia Hassan-Cournol, will be in responding to the needs in this sector.

“The economic slowdown in Quebec is affecting everyone, and we have to adjust to this reality,” said Rabouin.

Public services

The Plante-Rabouin administration has ensured that the city will become cleaner, more welcoming, and safer.

“Specific efforts will be devoted to improving the cleanliness teams, speeding up the implementation of tools to better coordinate worksites and speeding up the process of making all neighbourhoods safer” read the press release.

There will be members tackling racism, systemic discrimination, city council, nightlife, environment, and major park responsibilities such as Mount Royal and Parc Jean-Drapeau.

Plante said the city administration should always be attentive to everyone who lives in Montreal.

“The adjustments to the Executive Committee presented today will strengthen our team and enable us to better respond to the priorities that we have always defended and that are shared by the public: housing, support for businesses, and services to the public.”

Housing not taken seriously, opposition says

Opposition leader Aref Salem said these are cosmetic changes, “nothing more than window-dressing,” and the housing issue has not been taken seriously by the Plante administration.

“The fact that there is no change at the head of housing, despite the fiasco of the Règlement pour une métropole mixte and Projet Montréal’s inability to deliver the 60,000 housing units it promised, bears witness to the fact that this issue is not taken at all seriously,” he said in a press release by Ensemble Montréal.

He further explained that changing faces associated with the issues and creating new positions is an illusion.

“For Ensemble Montréal, as for the citizens, what the city needs is not a reshuffle, but a new administration that assumes its responsibilities,” he said.