The housing crisis raging across Quebec isn't just affecting households. Community organizations also suffer from the effects and have to relocate after an eviction, sometimes at great expense.
This is the case with eight community organizations that until recently were located at 1691 Boulevard Pie-IX, in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal.
The building is owned by the Montreal School Services Centre, which has rented its space to community organizations at reasonable rates for several decades. However, at the end of 2022, the eight tenants received an eviction notice due to the building's obsolescence.
The Tour de Lire organization, which works in the field of education and literacy, has been based there for 50 years. At the beginning of the year he had to move into a commercial space, which cost him almost double the rent.
[S’il y a] More money for our rent means less money for our activities. It is the disadvantaged population of the district who is punished by this, explains Stéphanie Thibault, trainer and co-manager at Tour de Lire.
Mission threatened
The move by organizations like Tour de Lire, which are deeply rooted in their living environment, has more than just financial consequences. It also has an impact on the local population.
People in the neighborhood have known for 50 years that this is a place where they can find services and activities that meet their needs, says Ms. Thibault. It is truly a community center. A synergy is created that makes it possible to pool resources, identify needs and implement interesting solutions for disadvantaged people in the neighborhood.
If these organizations have to travel, they no longer necessarily serve their community, emphasizes the director general of the Fédération québécoise des organizations communitaires famille, Alex Gauthier.
And this is everywhere in Quebec, not just in Montreal. “We also see it in Outaouais, in Bas-Saint-Laurent, in Lac-Saint-Jean, on the north coast,” continues Mr. Gauthier.
Worrying phenomenon
In Quebec, community organizations have long been served by school service centers, cities and religious communities. The fate of 1691 Boulevard Pie-IX, withdrawn from the rental market due to dilapidation, is the same that awaits several other buildings in the province.
Therefore, it is expected that many community organizations will be forced to relocate to higher rent commercial premises in the next few years.
In the metropolis, the Montreal School Services Center has seven surplus buildings that are currently in the process of being sold. Six of them are occupied by tenants.
The relocation threatens the survival of many of these organizations, which have only modest resources.
Community organizations are largely underfunded, Mr. Gauthier says. Given the rising rents, taking over new premises is becoming a rather worrying problem.
Help requested in Quebec
Some organizations, like Tour de Lire, are ready to fight for survival. Her managers turned to the Ministry of Education and asked for help so that her organization could continue its mission in Hochelaga.
It is really an important center in the district, says Stéphanie Thibault. There is no question that this center will simply disappear from the map due to budgetary constraints.
In a written statement to Radio-Canada, Community Action Minister Chantal Rouleau pledged to help organizations hit hard by the housing crisis.
“I am aware of the current difficulties community organizations are having in accessing space, which is why I am working on a measure that can support them,” she said.
According to a report by Élyse Allard