Quebec social housing 'resuscitated' in National Assembly motion

Quebec's National Assembly unanimously adopted a motion pledging it would spend all the money it received from the federal government's Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) on off-market housing.

The motion, brought forward by Québec Solidaire (QS), follows a deal the province struck with Ottawa on Oct. 13. The federal government will grant Quebec $900 million to put in housing, which the province will match for a total of $1.8 billion.

The motion calls for the government to put the money in co-operative housing, low-income housing (HLM) and subsidized housing (OSBL).

"We're seeing the resurrection of social housing in Quebec after the [Coalition Avenir Québec government] sent it to its grave," said QS's housing critic, Andrés Fontécilla.

"The housing crisis is hitting every household in Quebec very hard, especially when it comes to tenants. It's urgent to build more housing."

He said cities like Montreal, Sherbrooke and Gatineau are waiting for the money to get projects off the ground.

Quebec and Ottawa had been negotiating for over seven months. The CAQ had said it wanted the federal government to sign off on the deal by Oct. 13 so that Quebec could include it in its economic update, which will be presented Nov 7.

Though housing advocates say they're happy to see the National Assembly send the message that it is taking the housing crisis seriously, there remain questions on how the money will be spent.

"We can't claim victory yet, but it's a good sign," said Véronique Laflamme, a spokesperson for the housing advocacy organization the Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU).

She said she will take the government's promise seriously when it actually lays out its spending priorities.

Cédric Dussault, a spokesperson for housing group coalition Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ), agrees.

"They're talking the talk, we'll see if they walk the walk," he said.

The CAQ government had previously scrapped AccèsLogis, the provincial program to build social housing, in favour of a new program that would favour private developers, the Programme d'habitation abordable Québec (PHAQ). It is unclear whether the money will be put in the PHAQ fund.

A spokesperson for Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau said an announcement on how the HAF money will be spent is to come. She said the PHAQ has effectively replaced AccèsLogis and has a "faster turnaround time" on housing projects.

Finance Minister Eric Girard, who will present the mini-budget, declined to comment until an official announcement is made.