HLM Park in Quebec is decaying at a rapid rate, but funds that should have been used to refurbish dilapidated public housing are instead being diverted by François Legault’s government to fund new projects, HLM tenant defense groups denounce.
Posted at 6:23 p.m
More than 40% of the province’s 65,000 low-cost housing units are rated D or E, i.e. Advisory Committee (RAC) of the Office Municipal d’Habitation de Montréal.
The two organizations held a press conference in the Centre-Sud district on Monday, in front of an HLM that has been barricaded since 2019 and cannot be renovated due to a lack of funds.
“It’s indecent that low-income tenants are forced to live in unsanitary apartments like this one that had to be barricaded because there was too much mold,” laments Patricia Viannay, community organizer at FLHMQ.
As more homes in aging HLMs become uninhabitable, government funding for their rehabilitation continues to decline: it fell from an average of $352 million per year between 2015-2019 to $281 million per year between 2019-2022, according to FLHMQ.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
The press conference took place in the Centre-Sud district, in front of a HLM that has been barricaded since 2019 and cannot be renovated due to lack of funds.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
In Montreal, 75% of the 21,000 low-rent units are rated D or E (major renovation needed). The OMHM estimates its needs at US$955 million over the next five years.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
The longer renovations are delayed, the more expensive they will be, stress the groups defending HLM’s tenants.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
For the Rue Dufresne building where the press conference took place, the works were valued at $271,000 in 2020 but are now valued at $438,000.
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In October 2020, following the signing of the Canada-Quebec Housing Agreement, Minister for Municipal Affairs Andrée Laforest announced that $2.2 billion would be used to refurbish HLMs by 2028.
But much of that money has been used to fund new units, the FLHMQ confirms after peeling the annual reports from the Société d’Habitation du Québec (SHQ): 275 million went to the AccèsLogis program for housing and only 49 million were actually used for the refurbishment of HLMs.
“It’s a scandal! How could the government use HLM funds for anything else? “, Robert Pilon, coordinator of the FLHMQ, gets carried away.
“Perhaps it’s more glamorous to cut a ribbon on a new project, but funds have been stolen from people living in D- and E-rated apartments that should be used to improve their conditions,” Ms Viannay said.
400 million a year
His organization is asking Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau for a 400 million-per-year renovation program for HLMs over the next five years, including 200 million for the Office Municipal d’Habitation de Montréal (OMHM).
In Montreal, 75% of the 21,000 low-rent housing units are rated D or E. The OMHM estimates it will need 955 million over the next five years to avoid having to barricade other buildings, e.g. B. Dozens whose access is already prohibited.
The longer renovations are delayed, the more expensive they will be, stress the groups defending HLM’s tenants. For the Rue Dufresne building where the press conference took place, the works were valued at $271,000 in 2020 but are now valued at $438,000.
“This government’s inaction is endangering an extremely large rental portfolio that has taken decades to build,” said Quebec MP Andrés Fontecilla, who attended the press conference as spokesman for his housing party. “He no longer believes in social housing, he prefers to put all his money into private builders who supposedly build barrier-free housing. »
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Andrés Fontecilla, housing spokesman for Québec solidaire
MNA Virginie Dufour of the Liberal Party of Quebec said it was “worrying” to see the government abandon funding for public housing, which she believes should be viewed as an investment.
“The CAQ brags about making profits at the federal level, but it’s time to put the amounts it has received in the right place,” said Méganne Perry Mélançon, spokeswoman for Parti Québécois.
Minister Duranceau’s office promises that the $2.2 billion earmarked for in the Canada-Quebec Agreement will be used entirely to clean up HLM stocks by 2028.
“It is true that amounts were allocated temporarily to the AccèsLogis program, but only to avoid losing federal funding while awaiting the start of a program to renovate low-income housing, which was a requirement of the agreement. This program will shortly be submitted to the government for approval,” the minister’s press attaché, Philippe Couture, said in a written response.
“Funds from this agreement have so far been allocated to the AccèsLogis Québec and AccèsLogis Montréal programs to provide housing to as many households as possible. »
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59.8% Percentage of Quebec HLMs receiving a rating between A (very good) and C (fair).
SOURCE: Quebec Housing Corporation
40.4% proportion of Quebec HLMs receiving a rating of D (poor condition) or E (very poor condition).
SOURCE: Quebec Housing Corporation