Housing industry partners meet with Gatineau mayor

Montreal, April 26, 2023 - The Association de la construction du Québec (ACQ), the Association des professionnels de la construction et de l'habitation du Québec (APCHQ), the Corporation des propriétaires immobiliers du Québec (CORPIQ) and the Urban Development Institute of Quebec (UDI) met with the mayor of Gatineau, France Bélisle, to discuss the municipality's vision for housing. In this area, the City of Gatineau shares the opinion that it is necessary to complete an objective assessment of the situation in order to lay the foundations of an action plan with all the players: municipalities, the provincial government, the federal government, the community sector, the private sector and civil society.

"The housing action committee (comité-shoc) that I have set up is an initiative to untie knots and facilitate exchanges between the stakeholders in the housing sector for our market: provincial and federal governments, developers, builders and community organizations. The objective of this committee is to put forward a series of proactive measures in order to see construction sites rise quickly. In Gatineau, we believe in the collaboration of all the players in the field so that together we can build a beautiful city that meets current and future needs," declared France Bélisle, Mayor of Gatineau.

"Like many cities in Quebec, Gatineau has a major housing problem with a vacancy rate of 0.8%. Faced with this situation, Gatineau has chosen to take action by focusing on a global approach that goes beyond the building, but that takes into account the human being and his or her living environment. We believe that these are interesting orientations to contain the crisis," emphasize the spokespersons for the housing industry partners Guillaume Houle of the ACQ, David Dinelle of the APCHQ, Marc-André Plante of CORPIQ and Jean-Marc Fournier of the IDU.

The need for concerted action

While the housing shortage is responsible for soaring rental housing prices and the difficulty of accessing homeownership, the only way to reduce the housing overheating in a sustainable manner is to increase supply.  The housing industry partners want to work with Quebec's municipal leaders to find solutions to further stimulate housing construction and to review the many mechanisms that are holding back housing starts.

"In order to improve the supply situation and establish a long-term vision that will allow us to get out of the crisis, we believe that all players in the housing sector must roll up their sleeves and look in the same direction to find solutions to increase and accelerate the development of new housing units. The voice and role of the municipalities in this regard seem to us to be essential," say the industry partners.

Towards a national housing action plan

Since the municipal sector is facing critical housing issues without adequate funding, the partners believe that the various levels of government must jointly conduct an objective review of the challenges and issues that are responsible for the crisis in the housing sector.

In order to respond to the housing shortage in all regions of Quebec, the four organizations maintain that this joint diagnosis is essential to enable government authorities at all levels to develop a real action plan in which their respective actions will be complementary and coherent. Armed with these objective findings and this plan, government authorities will be able to bring together all the social and economic players in order to meet the housing challenge.

 

 

 

About the ACQ

The Association de la construction du Québec (ACQ) is the main group promoting and defending the interests of contractors in the Quebec construction industry. Over the years, it has become the largest voluntary multi-sectoral group in the industry. As the sole employer bargaining agent for all employers in the institutional, commercial and industrial sectors, the ACQ represents nearly 18,000 companies that generate more than 60% of the total hours worked and reported in the industry. In addition to playing an active and credible role in industry-wide decision making, the ACQ offers its members a wide range of tools and services through an extensive network of 10 regional associations in 17 cities across Quebec.

For information, contact:

Guillaume Houle | Media Relations

Phone: 514-354-8249, extension 2173

Cell: 514-607-7210

Email: houleg@acq.org

 

 

About the APCHQ

Founded in 1961, the APCHQ is a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and develop the expertise of its 20,000 member companies in 13 regional associations. Through its technical, legal, occupational health and safety, labour relations and training services, as well as its government and public affairs activities, the APCHQ helps its members develop their skills and thrive in a highly competitive environment. In addition, the APCHQ has the mandate to negotiate on behalf of 16,000 employers in the housing industry for the renewal of collective agreements in the construction industry. Since 2018, the APCHQ has helped thousands of consumers find a contractor that meets their needs through trouverunentrepreneur.com, the largest directory of construction and renovation contractors in Quebec.

For information, contact:

Émilie Hermitte

Communications and Public Relations Advisor

Cell: 514-237-7096

Email: emilie.hermitte@apchq.com

 

 

About CORPIQ

CORPIQ is a non-profit organization that brings together 30,000 landlords and property managers who own nearly 500,000 rental units and condos. It is the largest association providing services to landlords and has been defending their interests for over 40 years. CORPIQ serves all regions of Quebec from four offices with a total of 70 employees. Quebec landlords, seven out of 10 of whom own a duplex or triplex, provide housing for 1.4 million tenant households. They are an essential link in Quebec’s housing ecosystem and social fabric, often acting as first responders to increasingly serious social problems.

For information, contact:

Marc-André Plante

Director, Public Affairs and Government Relations

Phone: 514-249-1691

Email: maplante@corpiq.com

 

 

 

About the UDI

Founded in 1987, the Urban development institute of Quebec (UDI) is an independent, non-profit organization and the leading representative of the commercial real estate industry in Quebec. The UDI develops content related to real estate and the urban landscape. It acts primarily as a partner to industry members, public authorities and all stakeholders in the commercial real estate ecosystem.

For information, contact:

Emmanuella Tchanga

Marketing and Communications Manager

Phone: 514-866-3625, extension 4

Cell: 514-291-6093

Email: etchanga@idu.quebec