Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said she was disappointed with the provincial budget that was tabled on Tuesday.
“We only had two requests,” she told reporters on Wednesday morning. “Transportation and housing.”
While she applauded Finance Minister Eric Girard for investing heavily in health and education, she said housing is important for the city’s social and economic development.
With 24,000 households on the waitlist for social housing in the city, Plante said the government’s injection of $191 million into the AccèsLogis progamme is ” clearly insufficient.”
“Of course I am disappointed,” she said, explaining that the money will only allow for the completion of projects already in the works but not for any new social housing units.
Plante said she worries about the city’s more marginalized and vulnerable communities amid the deepening housing crisis.
She spoke of seniors on fixed incomes, shelters that are fuller than ever and an influx of migrants from Roxham Road as examples of those who are struggling.
“Housing is a fundamental right, the same as having access to health care,” she said.
Access to affordable housing also plays an important role in the city’s economic development, as it attracts students, investors, workers and families.
Get daily news
“If people don’t have a roof over the heads they are going to move out,” Plante said.
“We need to see housing as not a charity…it’s not only an expense, it’s investing in your future for the economic development of Montreal but also the entire province.”
Plante said the government’s budget is made up of a series of choices and it made the decision not to invest in social housing.
Meanwhile in Quebec City, the minister for responsible for solidarity and community action wasn’t very sympathetic to Plante’s concerns.
“Madame Plante always wants more money,” said Chantal Rouleau. “There’s already a lot of money, now there is housing to be built.”
Premier François Legault agreed with Rouleau that the issue wasn’t money but rather delays in construction.
“We’re adding money but the problem right now is that it needs about four years before having a new house,” he said.
Legault said the province and the city need to work together to move things along faster.
“When we’ll be able to do so we’ll add money in the next few years but right now we really have a problem to accelerate construction,” he said.
Plante for her part isn’t waiting on the province.
On Wednesday she announced the creation of a working group tasked with creating solutions to accelerate housing projects.
Members of the task force include Jean-Marc Fournier, CEO of the Urban Development Institute of Quebec; Véronique Laflamme from the Front d’action populaire en réménagement urbain (FRAPRU) — a housing advocacy group — Édith Cyr general manager of Bâtir son quartier; Massimo Iezzoni, general manager of the Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM) and Benoit Dorais, head of housing on the executive committee.
The group’s first meeting was Wednesday morning, with Plante also taking part.