Quebec ramping up support for households, months ahead of moving day
CBC
With the July 1 moving day mere months away, the Quebec government has announced an additional $7.8 million to help housing offices and municipalities support households in need.
At a news conference Tuesday, France-Élaine Duranceau, Quebec's minister responsible for housing, says with a low vacancy rate across the province, this year might be "worse or more complicated."
"Our goal is clear: For everyone who reaches out to have a roof over their heads," said Duranceau.
"We're there to help."
She says more than 5,000 households have already asked for help since January.
The additional $7.8 million will help meet the urgent needs of households who don't have a place to stay by setting up services d'aide à la recherche de logement (SARL), housing search assistance centres.
Around 40 SARLs are already in operation across Quebec.
This year, not only will additional funds help reimburse certain costs relating to temporary accommodation but it will enable SARLs to benefit from experts specializing in psychological support, says Duranceau.
Cédric Dussault, spokesperson for the Coalition of Housing Committees and Tenants Associations of Quebec, also known as RCLALQ, called this measure "a little bit absurd."
"A lot of those people, they don't want psychological help. They just want a roof over their head," said Dussault.
"It's really insulting for tenants also to be reduced to that. As if the problem was psychological, where the distress is real, it is material and it should be addressed this way."
While the province is investing resources in supporting people trying to find a place to live, it's not addressing the root problem of the housing shortage, says Dussault.
"It's basically a recycling of last year's announcement and the year before," said Dussault.
He says the government needs to put forward long-term solutions that address the rent increases as well as what he calls an "epidemic of evictions."
