CORPIQ applauds the creation of a real Ministry of Housing

On December 2, the Minister of Housing, Andrée Laforest, appointed an Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for housing files. Indeed, Guylaine Marcoux, who until now held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Société d'habitation du Québec (SHQ), becomes the person responsible for a sub-ministry entirely devoted to housing.

The Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation (MAMH) will now be responsible for developing housing policies and programs, while the SHQ will devote its expertise to the implementation of housing programs and services. Some fifty employees will be transferred to the MAMH to carry out this new housing component. This announcement coincides with that of the governments of Canada and Québec, which have reached an agreement that will result in a joint investment of nearly $3.7 billion over 10 years to improve the housing conditions of many Québec households in need.

This is excellent news in the eyes of CORPIQ, considering that there are many issues at stake in the housing sector: the crying needs to renovate the building stock to safeguard older buildings and ensure the quality of life of its occupants, the application of Law R-20 which creates inequities between tenants, the balance of landlord-tenant rights provided for in the Civil Code of Québec, as well as the Regulation respecting the criteria for determining the rent which discourages investment.

For decades, CORPIQ deplored the fact that there were no resources dedicated full-time to housing within the Ministry. Files were systematically referred, depending on the case, to the SHQ (which manages programs), to the Tribunal administrative du logement (which settles disputes) or to the Régie du bâtiment (which deals with technical building regulations). Only the Ministry can really control the coherence of policies and actions, CORPIQ believes.