{"id":149,"date":"2015-03-20T19:08:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-20T19:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rf.podcastfixit.com\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/"},"modified":"2015-06-01T19:40:33","modified_gmt":"2015-06-01T19:40:33","slug":"quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/","title":{"rendered":"Quebec\u2019s only social housing program may be closed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Activists sound alarm<\/b><\/i>
By Joel Ceausu<\/b>
www.thesuburban.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Dramatic, disaster, catastrophic.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how local advocates characterize the threat to Acc\u00e8sLogis, Quebec\u2019s sole program for social housing projects. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re sounding the alarm,\u201d says Jennifer Auchinleck of the Community Development Corporation of C\u00f4te des Neiges, which along with other groups denounce the possibility that Quebec will halt the program this year. <\/p>\n

Acc\u00e8sLogis provides 40-50 per cent of the costs to create rental housing in partnership with community groups, municipalities and private developers. With an annual budget of $250 million, it typically helps create some 3,000 housing units each year. <\/p>\n

Advocates say indications from Quebec City suggest the Liberals may replace it with rent supplements, although the minister responsible for housing Pierre Moreau has not stated that Acc\u00e8sLogis is doomed, nor has the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 d\u2019habitation de Qu\u00e9bec<\/i> (SHQ), which runs the program.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cThe SHQ has made no new announcement about Acc\u00e8sLogis,\u201d spokesperson Sylvain Fournier told The Suburban.<\/i> \u201cWe are waiting for the announcement of the next provincial budget. Currently, the program is still active according to its normal parameters.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAll we hear is that everything is on the table,\u201d says Mazen Houdeib of non-profit housing group ROMEL. \u201cWe see private developers telling government that individual subsidies are a better option, but there\u2019s no proof to back that up.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\nHe says 300-400 planned rental units are in jeopardy if Acc\u00e8sLogis folds. <\/p>\n

Project Genesis\u2019 Sheetal Pathak says replacing social housing with individual assistance can increase rents and worsen conditions, confirmed by experiences in other jurisdictions, including the U.K., France, Finland and the U.S., adding \u201cmore social housing would force slumlords to clean up their properties to compete.\u201d <\/p>\n

Market for unclean housing<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately,\u201d says Annie Lapalme of housing information group OEIL, \u201cthere is a market here for unclean, unsafe housing, because it is cheap, and landlords know it.\u201d <\/p>\n

The government\u2019s own SHQ says every dollar invested in social housing generates a return of $2.30 to the economy. \u201cAs a partner with private industry, social housing is a generator of the economy,\u201d says Houdeib. \u201cWe are part of the machine of construction, of jobs,\u201d while generating annual savings up to $129 million for government, as seniors become more autonomous, students are more successful in school, and people with reduced mobility can contribute and integrate into society. \u201cIt\u2019s an investment, not an expense.\u201d <\/p>\n

Pathak agrees: \u201cIt\u2019s the best solution here and across the province, because it is long-term, and benefits not only current tenants but future generations.\u201d <\/p>\n

The issue resonates province-wide but the loudest voices come from C\u00f4te des Neiges, where almost 15 per cent of tenant households spend more than 80 per cent of their income on rent, and where above-average rents meet below-average incomes. <\/p>\n

According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation only 12 private rental homes were created in the area between January 2011 and September 2014, compared to 1597 condominiums, and the vacancy rate of three-bedroom rentals in CDN stands at a dismal 1.3 per cent. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s dramatic, says Lapalme: \u201cPoor conditions, unclean, too small for families and a worrying increase in homelessness.\u201d (More than 38 per cent of CDN tenant households with children under 12 have mold or humidity problems, and almost a quarter have cockroaches or rodent infestations, according to Montreal\u2019s health agency.) <\/p>\n

Some 2,500 households are waiting for housing in the borough, says Auchinleck, the same number of units advocates have demanded for the Hippodrome development, the borough\u2019s last available land for development. If Acc\u00e8sLogis goes, she says, \u201cThat\u2019s it, no more social housing here,\u201d with grave implications for people\u2019s right to remain in their neighborhood. \u201cWe see it in the Triangle, so many condos going up on the scarce land available, what happens to those who cannot afford it? They have to leave or accept even worse conditions.\u201d <\/p>\n

The group hopes austerity measures don\u2019t push the Liberals to act penny-wise and pound-foolish, and are asking local MNAs to stand up for the interests of their population, noting the city, along with the Communaut\u00e9 m\u00e9tropolitaine de Montr\u00e9al<\/i> and the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise des municipalit\u00e9s<\/i> support maintaining Acc\u00e8sLogis says Auchinleck. \u201cThe block is really the provincial government.\u201d
\n (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[‘GoogleAnalyticsObject’]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
\n (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),
\n m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)
\n })(window,document,’script’,’\/\/www.google-analytics.com\/analytics.js’,’ga’);<\/p>\n

ga(‘create’, ‘UA-45892555-1’, ‘auto’);
\n ga(‘send’, ‘pageview’);<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Activists sound alarmBy Joel Ceausuwww.thesuburban.com Dramatic, disaster, catastrophic. That\u2019s how local advocates characterize the threat to Acc\u00e8sLogis, Quebec\u2019s sole program for social housing projects. \u201cWe\u2019re sounding the alarm,\u201d says Jennifer Auchinleck of the Community Development Corporation of C\u00f4te des Neiges, which along with other groups denounce the possibility that Quebec will halt the program this<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nQuebec\u2019s only social housing program may be closed - Newscoverage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Quebec\u2019s only social housing program may be closed - Newscoverage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Activists sound alarmBy Joel Ceausuwww.thesuburban.com Dramatic, disaster, catastrophic. That\u2019s how local advocates characterize the threat to Acc\u00e8sLogis, Quebec\u2019s sole program for social housing projects. \u201cWe\u2019re sounding the alarm,\u201d says Jennifer Auchinleck of the Community Development Corporation of C\u00f4te des Neiges, which along with other groups denounce the possibility that Quebec will halt the program this\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newscoverage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-03-20T19:08:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-06-01T19:40:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"editor robert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"editor robert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/20\\\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/20\\\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"editor robert\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\"},\"headline\":\"Quebec\u2019s only social housing program may be closed\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-20T19:08:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-01T19:40:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/20\\\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":782,\"commentCount\":0,\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/20\\\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/20\\\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/20\\\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\\\/\",\"name\":\"Quebec\u2019s only social housing program may be closed - Newscoverage\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-03-20T19:08:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-01T19:40:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/20\\\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/20\\\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2015\\\/03\\\/20\\\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Quebec\u2019s only social housing program may be closed\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Newscoverage\",\"description\":\"newscoverage.org\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\",\"name\":\"editor robert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"editor robert\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/robert.frank.90834\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/editor-robert\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Quebec\u2019s only social housing program may be closed - Newscoverage","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Quebec\u2019s only social housing program may be closed - Newscoverage","og_description":"Activists sound alarmBy Joel Ceausuwww.thesuburban.com Dramatic, disaster, catastrophic. That\u2019s how local advocates characterize the threat to Acc\u00e8sLogis, Quebec\u2019s sole program for social housing projects. \u201cWe\u2019re sounding the alarm,\u201d says Jennifer Auchinleck of the Community Development Corporation of C\u00f4te des Neiges, which along with other groups denounce the possibility that Quebec will halt the program this","og_url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/","og_site_name":"Newscoverage","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834","article_published_time":"2015-03-20T19:08:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-06-01T19:40:33+00:00","author":"editor robert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"editor robert","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/"},"author":{"name":"editor robert","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3"},"headline":"Quebec\u2019s only social housing program may be closed","datePublished":"2015-03-20T19:08:00+00:00","dateModified":"2015-06-01T19:40:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/"},"wordCount":782,"commentCount":0,"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/","url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/","name":"Quebec\u2019s only social housing program may be closed - Newscoverage","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-03-20T19:08:00+00:00","dateModified":"2015-06-01T19:40:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2015\/03\/20\/quebecs-only-social-housing-program-may\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Quebec\u2019s only social housing program may be closed"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/","name":"Newscoverage","description":"newscoverage.org","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3","name":"editor robert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"editor robert"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834"],"url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/author\/editor-robert\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2704,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149\/revisions\/2704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}