Quebec's new housing strategy slammed as having 'no vision'

Quebec's housing minister says the province will beef up its efforts to increase housing stock by 560,000 units in the province over the next 10 years115,000 more than its previous targetsbut critics say the measures don't ensure affordability.

France-laine Duranceau said some unused government buildings will be converted into housing units, which advocates have been calling for, as part of her housing strategy announcement.

Cities that ease construction regulations, as per conditions with Quebec's housing reform law Bill 31, will be given financial "bonuses" and the province wants to "diversify its financing models" for social and affordable housing, though it's unclear how.

Duranceau did not announce any new funding for housing and said there are no specific targets to build social housing. The government earmarked $6 billion for housingin 2018.

The province is also calling for developers who are game to build 500 prefabricated homes over the next 18 months. More information on those projects will be released next week.

WATCH | What's the difference between social and affordable housing?:

Are social and affordable housing that different? Housing crisis fact check

1 month ago

Duration 1:23

When it comes to housing policy, Quebec often groups social and affordable units together. But some advocates say one is much more important than the other. CBC's Erika Morris explains the difference in this second video in a series unravelling Quebec's housing crisis.

"We need to create an environment that's more favourable toward construction," said Duranceau at a news conference on Thursday.

"We need multiple solutions in the current situation. This is a pilot project. It's not going to solve the housing crisis by itself, but it's one more tool."

'Total failure'

Housing advocates slammed Duranceau's strategy as a "public relations exercise" with "no vision."

The Regroupement des comits logement et associations de locataires du Qubec (RCLALQ) said the government can't count on boosting housing supply to solve the housing crisis without other affordability-focused measures like rent control.

"They're going to build more units that are not affordable to the average renter and rents will keep going up," said RCLALQ spokesperson Cdric Dussault.

Qubec Solidaire MNA responsible for housing, Andrs Fontecilla, said "there's nothing new" with Duranceau's strategy. Like Dussault, Fontecilla is especially concerned with the lack of focus on social housing.

He also pointed out that though the government says it wants to diversify its funds for social and affordable housing, not a single unit has come out of the affordable housing fund (PHAQ) that replaced Quebec's social housing fund two years ago.

"It's a total failure," said Fontecilla in a statement.

On top of building more, the province needs to create a large off-market rental sector made up of co-operatives, housing non-profits and HLMs, implement a rent registry and a set of measures to combat property speculation that is driving up rents, say Dussault and Fontecilla.

The MontrealEconomic Institute (MEI) says Quebec's plan is realistic, but the projected 560,000 new homes still falls short of what is required to return to affordable price levels by 2030 1.2 million new homes, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation estimates.

The Federation of Quebec Municipalities (FQM) said it was disappointed to find out that 90 per cent of municipalities those with fewer than 10,000 residents are not included in the province's investment strategy.

"Often in villages, you need four or five houses to complete a village, to keep the school open, to keep our local services. You can't find that in the plans," said Jacques Demers, head of the FQM, in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Union des municipalits du Qubec said no new information was announced and the 500 units the province wants to build "represent less than one per cent of what's needed."

Montreal, on the other hand, welcomed the announcement and said it's "good news" and that it has its "eyes firmly fixed on our target of 20 per cent off-market housing by 2050, which includes accelerating the start of construction of all types of projects."