Solutions welcome but not enough for housing crisis in Montréal, says expert

Welcome back to a new year of Metropolis, the weekly show where host Kalden Dhatsenpa brings you top-level news from the bottom up in beautiful Montréal. 

On this week's show, we are joined by Gavin Armitage-Ackerman, an urban planning researcher and housing policy analyst, to talk about the housing crisis in Montréal. Over the last two months, City Hall and their counterparts in provincial and federal governments have announced a slew of new housing projects aimed to "contribute directly to combating the housing crisis." These include the recent call for proposals for the Îlot Voyageur redevelopment project, as well as three new social and affordable housing projects. 

The Îlot Voyageur redevelopment project could create more than 700 housing units in a central urban area. Gavin shares some of his knowledge about the project from his experience working on a proposal for the Îlot Voyageur site. Gavin states how the City offering this space represents a unique opportunity for social housing developers who would not have otherwise been able to afford the cost of the land, which the City of Montréal bought back in 2018 for $18 million.

Despite these contributions to the housing crisis, Gavin feels that the core causes of the housing crisis still need to be addressed. Project MTL's approach to accruing land and properties around Montréal is laudable. However, the risk of a future government selling off these properties is real.

For our second-hour segment, Hello Good Bylines, CUTV journalist Savanna Craig joins us again. Savanna reports on a Palestinian Youth Movement vigil held to honour the journalists who were killed by Israeli military forces. Savanna asked several Montréal-based journalists and writers this question: "Do you think the mass killing of journalists in Gaza is a threat to press freedom?"

Please tune in for their responses to this vital question and much more on Metropolis.