Housing Becomes Less and Less Accessible for Montrealers

In it latest council meeting, the city of Montreal discussed a variety of subjects, such as affordable housing, the arrival of migrants in Montreal and issues with the Societe de Transport de Montreal due to road construction.

Aref Salem, the leader of the Official Opposition and city councillor of Montréal's Saint-Laurent, brought up the discrepancies faced by landlords and tenants in regards to the rental and housing market. 

Salem described a case where landlords had received a subvention of $15K for their property which is worth millions of dollars. He insisted that in contexts like these, it was clear that the housing crisis was far from being settled or fixed.
Tenants have found themselves in situations where in exchange for lower rent prices they have had to give sexual services to landlords.

Responding to Aref Salem's comment, Mayor of Montreal Valerie Plante said that for the housing crisis to slow down and be fixed, many tools are necessary. The city of Montreal needs developers to contribute to affordable and social housing, as well as needs an allocated budget for cleanliness and to buy lots and buildings.

Abdelhaq Sari, a member of the Official Opposition, also brought up the issue of organizations helping new migrants being overwhelmed. Many of them no longer have the capacity to welcome migrant families in Montreal, which are arriving in large quantity and more and more. 

Sari demanded that the Bureau d'Immigration des Nouveaux Arrivants a Montreal, which has been mandated since 2016, helps during such a crisis, as it is an emergency. 

The Plante Administration answered to Sari saying that the situation is being closely followed and that actions have taken so that the federal and provincial government would be able to give adequate help to such services, and consequently for migrants to be properly welcomed in Montreal. It, additionally, insisted that the Bureau d'Immigration des Nouveaux Arrivants a Montreal was already working with community organizations, amongst institutional ones.