Ottawa and Quebec have reached social housing deal after 3 years of negotiations
Quebec's Andrée Laforest and Ottawa's Ahmed Hussen announced the deal on Twitter Thursday with scarce details
After three years of negotiations, Quebec and Ottawa have finally come to an agreement on funding for social housing, but details remain limited to a couple of tweets from provincial and federal ministers.
Federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Ahmed Hussen, and Quebec Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Andrée Laforest announced the agreement on Twitter Thursday evening.
"Happy to announce that the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec have reached a win-win deal on housing," Hussen said on Twitter.
"It is with pride that I announce that an agreement in principle has been reached with the federal government within the framework of the National Housing Strategy," said Laforest, also on Twitter.
The details of the agreement were not disclosed, but the ministers indicated the information will be released soon.
A spokesperson for Hussen said there will be no further comment Thursday evening other than what was said on social media.
As soon as Canada's $55-billion housing strategy was announced in November 2017, Quebec welcomed Ottawa's investment while demanding control of the promised $1.4 billion in social housing funding.
Quebec's demand for control sparked lengthy negotiations.
Happy to announce that the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec reached a win-win agreement on housing. This agreement is great news for Quebecers! More details will be announced soon.
—@HonAhmedHussenQuebec municipalities have been urging governments to reach an agreement.
Among them is Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante who has been calling on the two levels of government to find solutions as quickly as possible because the city is facing a serious housing crisis.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released its rental market report back in January, showing the city's rental vacancy rate is the lowest it's been in 15 years — 1.5 per cent.
"Now is the time for action," Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante tweeted at the time, calling on the upper levels of government to build social housing.
And earlier this month, Plante sent an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault, expressing frustration with both levels of government and demanding they come to terms on a deal.
With files from La Presse canadienne