Supply of housing, access to real estate, aid to industry: measures to support the housing sector were not up to the task of dealing with the crisis in Quebec, judges the Association of Construction and Housing Professionals of Quebec (APCHQ).
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Therefore, the organization rated the initiatives implemented in 2023 with an average grade of C in its report card published on Thursday.
The worst grade – E – was given to the issue of access to property. The APCHQ regretted that the issue “has not been addressed at all by governments, even though we are in the process of creating the first generation who will not have access to property.”
One of the great things that Quebec and Ottawa have forgotten is the support of the industry due to numerous bills that were rather pitfalls for the construction sector, such as the expropriation law or the imposition of development fees.
Rising construction costs and interest rates have also affected the industry, says the association, which awarded it a grade of “D”.
Although the APCHQ welcomed the little effort made to boost housing supply, there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve affordability, a subject which therefore receives a grade of C.
For example, if the $1.8 billion from Quebec and Ottawa enables the housing of 4,500 households in the coming years, it will not be enough to meet the need for 1.2 million housing units by 2030, the organization estimates.
Among the positive points, the APCHQ noted the collective awareness and consensus that now exists on the urgency of increasing housing supply to overcome the crisis, and therefore gave it a grade of A-.
The support for municipalities received the top grade “A”. “We can say that municipalities can respond better to the challenges in housing construction,” emphasized the association.