7 Montrealers offer up solutions to fix city’s housing woes
CBC News, Sep 14, 2015 –
A new report by Montreal’s public health department paints a grim picture of Montreal’s housing situation. Mould, vermin and food insecurity problems afflict hundreds of thousands of homes. Rented low-income households are especially affected.
Rented homes more likely to have sanitation problems: report
CBC News asked seven of Montreal’s political, health and housing leaders at a summit on Monday to share their top solutions to Montreal’s housing troubles. This is what they had to say:
Denis Coderre, Mayor of Montreal :
“The thing that we need to do now is that everybody [needs to] stick together and push in the same way.”
Richard Massé, director of public health of Montreal:
“Affordable housing and sanitary housing is a priority and it has health impact that we’re paying for, so the first thing that we need to see is a reinvestment in that health determinant.”
Maude Bégin Gaudette, advocate for affordable housing group RCLALQ:
“Introduce rent control.”
Gilles Duceppe, Bloc Québécois leader:
“I think the federal government should maintain financing of affordable housing and social housing.”
Stéphane Dion, Liberal Party candidate:
“The main task for the federal government is to be a partner in infrastructure and to provide the funding for new housing and the housing that we already have.”
Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP candidate:
“The first priority would be to stop the hemorrhage. There are people who are about to lose their housing right now because we’re losing rental subsidies.”
Daniel Green, Green Party deputy leader:
“To have social housing in Montreal you need to build housing. If we decontaminate federal urban lands in Montreal, such as old railway yards, we would have that space.”