Municipal Elections 2017: Wanted: Elected Municipal Officials Who Work for Community Housing Now!

MONTREAL, Sept. 7, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Today the Association des groupes de ressources techniques du Québec (AGRTQ) is launching its campaign « Wanted: Elected Officials Who Work for Community Housing Now » that aims at making access to quality, affordable housing an issue in the Quebec municipal elections. The campaign will help make citizens aware of the commitments made by candidates on community housing. « Elected municipal officials have an essential role to play in responding to needs of communities for housing. Many have shown their support for community housing over the years and this has made the difference in bringing about affordable housing projects, » says Edith Cyr, president of the AGRTQ. The Association gives voters a series of proposals by which to evaluate candidates to make an informed choice and elect candidates willing to commit to community housing.

CONCRETE COMMITMENTS NEEDED :

Make More Community Housing Available
To respond to the needs of low and middle income populations, elected officials can undertake diverse actions that help make community housing possible, for example, making land available, offering tax relief or adopting regulations favorable to developing community housing projects.

Develop Housing for All
Quebec municipalities now have the power to require that affordable housing be included in new residential housing projects. Considering that more than 40,000 households in Quebec are waiting for subsidized housing, municipalities can and should use their power to encourage the development of a much greater number of community housing units.

Make Land Available
Acquiring land is one of the biggest obstacles for the construction of housing near community resources, transportation and businesses. The creation of a land bank by municipalities would encourage the development of communities where everyone has a place while helping reduce the cost of carrying out community housing projects.

Representing the Consensus
The financing of community housing projects is primarily the responsibility of the Governments of Quebec and Canada. That is why it is essential that elected municipal officials represent the consensus around the importance of this issue in their work in order to see that programs are improved and to encourage the development of municipalities across Quebec.

Maintaining Rental Housing in Good Condition
Quebec rental housing is among the oldest in the country with 36% of this housing having been built more than 50 years ago. It is essential to have the resources necessary to maintain them in good condition. The state of housing is central to the quality of life of its occupants. Poor housing leads to health problems and affects the development of children and can impact their educational success.

Urgent Needs
Half a million Quebec households that rent must consecrate more than 30% of their budget to housing. The situation is even more difficult for poor households: 227,000 need to consecrate 50% of their income to rent. This situation greatly reduces resources available for other essential needs and can have important impacts on their health.

« We need to elect candidates that respond to the needs expressed in Quebec municipalities. Our elected officials are invited to work with the Groupes de ressources techniques in order to put in place measures that facilitate the development of a much greater number of units, » concludes the president of the AGRTQ.

For more information and to access the campaign tools, go to onenabesoin.quebec or go to the Facebook or Twitter pages of the AGRTQ.

About AGRTQ

For nearly 30 years, the AGRTQ has been working to promote and develop community housing everywhere in Québec to meet the needs of low- and modest-income households and people with special needs.

SOURCE Association des groupes de ressources techniques du Québec (AGRTQ)

Violaine Ouellette, Tel. : [phone] poste 27, Cell. 514 605-7877, [email protected]

Related Links

www.agrtq.qc.ca