1,300 households are still without housing as of July 1, according to a compilation by the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ).
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These people were still being supported by a housing assistance service and had not found a roof over their heads for the first day of July or for the next few days.
According to the spokesperson for the Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU), Véronique Laflamme, the housing search period has been difficult in Montreal this year.
“The housing search period was once again difficult for Montreal tenants this year. Many more households called for help from the referral service. We already had a good overview of the situation with the increase in evictions and rent increases,” said Ms. Laflamme in an interview with LCN.
She explains that FRAPRU has received more than 800 requests for assistance from tenants who are unable to find new accommodation.
Véronique Laflamme believes that the Quebec government is using immigration as a scapegoat for the housing crisis.
“I find it unfortunate that the Legault government is using immigration as a scapegoat for its inaction in the face of this crisis, which is not new. It is not new this year that we are seeing a drop in vacancy rates. Several regions with extremely low vacancy rates are counting on immigration,” she maintains.
The FRAPRU spokesperson believes that there are solutions to counter the housing crisis, notably by building new housing.
Watch the full interview in the video above.
