(Quebec) Minister Lionel Carmant shares the opinion of elected municipal representatives: the 15.5 million emergency aid announced by Quebec on Thursday is “a bandage” to the homelessness crisis. Mayors will have to wait until the November economic update to receive new amounts.
Published at 10:16 am. Updated at 11:04 a.m
” I [vous ai] Heard since yesterday that the last sums […] announced, it’s not enough, it’s an association. “I’m very aware of that,” the minister in charge of social services told an audience of mayors gathered in Quebec for a community summit on homelessness. Minister Carmant gave a ten-minute speech at the opening of the summit.
“I am aware that the amounts announced only meet an urgent need and that we must specifically address the causes of homelessness,” the minister continued. On Thursday, the Legault government released 15.5 million in new funds to build and equip emergency shelters until winter. At the same time, Mr. Carmant announced that the next count would take place in 2024. The frequency of the exercise will be determined throughout the day in collaboration with elected officials.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Lionel Carmant
Lionel Carmant was eagerly awaited by community leaders, including Quebec Mayor Bruno Marchand, who had warned him not to come to the summit empty-handed. Mr. Carmant’s greeting was polite and the tone was rather cooperative. Which was in contrast to the atmosphere of the municipal tax summit held in Montreal last week.
Gatineau Mayor France Bélisle filed a full-frontal lawsuit against Mr. Carmant. The minister immediately called on local politicians to “lower their voices”. On Friday, Mayor Bélisle confirmed that she accepted the minister’s outstretched hand. “Of course, and I’ll take his arm too!” she shouted in the press crowd before the summit began.
“I think that in 2023, in a healthy society, we still have the right to be outraged. I think it has to be done. I think when you have the privilege of having a public platform, with that comes the responsibility to say something, even if you don’t like it sometimes. And the enthusiasm we are seeing today confirms that we have shed light on a difficult issue and I would tell you that we need to rebuild the social fabric,” he said.
Financial commitment requested
For his part, the mayor of Quebec expects to leave the summit with “financial commitments” from the Legault government. Bruno Marchand also calls for the setting of targets to “measure” the impact of measures on site.
“Mr Carmant has answers, but he is not alone. [La ministre de l’Habitation] Ms. Duranceau must give answers, the government must give answers,” he added. “ [Ça prend] a long-term commitment. […]. Amounts, statistics, but a commitment to say: here’s what we’re going to do, here’s how we commit and here are the next steps,” Mayor Marchand explained.
In addition, Québec Solidaire criticized the absence of Minister Duranceau and Prime Minister François Legault at the summit. An observation shared by the Quebec Liberal Party.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Valérie Plante and Bruno Marchand
Valérie Plante also called on Quebec to go further. “What is happening is not the concern of any one minister. The entire Council of Ministers must come together and say: How can we find real solutions to a crisis that we saw coming, that was brewing? », emphasized the mayor of Montreal.
Minister Carmant did not announce any new amounts on Friday, pointing out that Finance Minister Eric Girard had been “very sensitive and attentive” to the issue of homelessness. Minister Girard also made his intentions clear in an editorial interview with La Presse: the economic update expected in November should include targeted measures on homelessness and social housing.
The president of the Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ), Martin Damphousse, noted this commitment and stressed that an “influential minister” in the Legault government was sensitive to the issue.
Arrow to Justin Trudeau
The UMQ president also shot an arrow at the federal government. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau threw the ball into cities’ hands Wednesday when asked to justify the slow deployment of a federal fund for rapid housing construction. “We are waiting. Our hands are tied because we rely on an agreement between Quebec and the federal government,” replied Mr. Damphousse.
Ottawa and Quebec must agree to receive money from the federal fund to speed up housing construction. Quebec should receive 900 million. Federal Minister and Quebec MP Jean-Yves Duclos is attending the summit on Friday.
The phenomenon of homelessness is exploding in Quebec, increasing by 44% in five years, according to the latest count. And the main cause of housing losses is now evictions. Homelessness has also become regionalized and no longer only affects large cities.