Montreal,
The first edition of the Housing Election Forum opens today, bringing together nearly 300 people at Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ) for an unprecedented dialogue between political parties and the entire non-profit housing ecosystem.
Hosted by columnist Josée Boileau and opened by Quebec’s 30th premier, Pauline Marois, the event puts the spotlight on the sector and issues a clear call to the parties: commit to the target of 20% non-profit housing by 2050, a lever to lastingly transform housing for the benefit of all Quebecers.
During the afternoon, four candidates will debate:
- Coalition Avenir Québec: Karine Boivin Roy
- Québec solidaire: Andrés Fontecilla
- Parti québécois: Catherine Gentilcore
- Quebec Liberal Party: Félix Rhéaume
An unprecedented coalition speaks with one voice
The Housing Election Forum brings together a coalition unprecedented in its scale and diversity — builders, financiers and non-profit housing actors — united around a single priority: to build and acquire the non-profit housing that will restore affordability, Quebecers’ top priority according to a Léger poll conducted at the beginning of the summer.
“We are aiming for 20% non-profit housing to stabilize the real estate market, for the benefit of 100% of Quebec’s population. But growing toward that target and maintaining that threshold requires more than financing bricks and mortar; we must invest in the sector’s capacities so that it can preserve the existing stock, take housing off the traditional market and professionalize a social economy housing industry.” — Marie Depelteau-Paquette, Executive Director of ACHAT.
“For 50 years, housing cooperatives have met the need for fairly priced housing for more than 60,000 people in Quebec. Today, the CQCH and its members are working to diversify the supply of cooperative housing to meet the needs of as many households as possible. The CQCH’s goal is to add at least 1,000 cooperative housing units per year by 2030.” — Nathalie Genois, Deputy Executive Director of the CQCH.
“Housing cooperatives have proven themselves for more than 50 years by offering genuinely affordable housing on a lasting basis to a variety of households. A true Swiss army knife, co-ops respond to a range of issues: access to homeownership, purchasing power, social fabric, residential security. In the current context, the co-op solution should be considered for as many people as possible.” — Patrick Préville, Executive Director of the FHCQ.
“Our organizations were born of a local need. They open their door to people who don’t fit in any box: a woman fleeing a violent partner, a man coming off the street, someone recovering from a hardship. In a small town, when that door doesn’t exist, people have to leave their region. That’s the 20% too.” — Nancy Croussette, Executive Director of the RQOH.
“Vulnerable households have a right to residential stability. By combining the accelerated development of social housing with close collaboration with the health and community sectors, we are counting on human support to secure life trajectories. We vigorously reaffirm the role of social housing as the first rampart against homelessness, for a strong Quebec social safety net.” — Antonio Ciarciaglino, Executive Director of the ROHQ.
“By committing to reach the 20% target and proposing realistic measures to get there, political parties have an opportunity not only to tackle the current housing crisis, but also to prevent future crises by giving Quebec a socio-economic infrastructure that will benefit society as a whole.” — Maxime Pelletier, Director of Public Affairs at UTILE.
In addition to the organizations quoted above, the coalition also includes AGRTQ, APCHQ, Caisse d’économie solidaire Desjardins, CSQ, CEGQ, Interloge and Vivre en Ville.
A call to action for the next government
Faced with the affordability crisis and demographic, economic and social challenges, parties are invited to make meaningful commitments so that non-profit housing can change scale. Beyond meeting current needs, this is about giving Quebec the tools to guard against future crises: a larger non-profit housing stock constitutes a lasting asset base, an engine of economic prosperity and a bulwark against market instability.
Source
ACHAT – Alliance des corporations d’habitations abordables du territoire du Québec
Information
Jérémie Bédard-Wien
Strategic Analyst
Alliance des corporations d’habitations abordables du territoire du Québec (ACHAT)
jbwien@achat-habitation.org
514-349-7257