Moving day to Quebec again leaves hundreds of people homeless amid a growing housing crisis – Montreal

Canada Day is a traditional moving day in Quebec, but for some whose lease expires on July 1, it will take weeks, if not months, to find a new place to live.

Housing advocates say more than 100 families across Montreal are still looking for housing to rent and this is just another example of the city’s housing crisis.

“For Quebec, it is about 400 families or tenants, households who have not found a place,” explains Catherine Lussier, case manager at the Popular Action Front in Urban Reorganization.

She said the numbers don’t include many others who don’t know how to access resources.

Lussier and other advocates say the problem stems from the continued lack of affordable housing, as well as certain conditions that make it more difficult for tenants.

“The phenomenon of evictions, re-evictions, repossessions of housing; the phenomenon of accelerating gentrification, ”Lussier underlined. “Especially for Montreal-North where the tenants are really low-income and are unable to find affordable housing in their neighborhood.

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Darby MacDonald of Project Genesis said she has other concerns.

“People who move move into apartments they cannot afford, and people who don’t move stick to more affordable apartments that are in very poor condition,” she noted. “So it’s really a double-edged sword for tenants right now. “

The Quebec government resisted saying that there was a housing crisis in the province. They promised to build 15,000 social housing units during their first term, and in May they announced $ 100 million in partnership with Ottawa to invest in subsidized housing.

Those supporting the tenants insist it takes even more money so this doesn’t happen again every July 1. In addition, they want better protection for tenants.

According to the mayoress of Montreal Valérie Plante, there are services to help those who still have not found a place.

“They can sleep in hotels, we organized that,” she told Global News. “We support them in their research. Often times these are bigger apartments that are hard to find because they are so expensive.

She said those in dire straits can call 3-1-1 for help from the city.

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