Living in the hostel due to the housing crisis

Gatineau | The Ottawa region has one of the worst housing crises in the country, to the point where families are turning into hidden homelessness by wandering from one couch or hostel to another.

This is the case of Rene Boulanger and her husband, Pierre Pourier, who were thrown into the street by a violent fire.

“We’ve got nothing left, we’ve lost everything, even our cat,” Rene vents, sitting in the sun in front of a tiny room in a Gatineau motel.

The couple jumped from a second-floor window in their residence to avoid being burned alive in the early morning hours of August 26.

After 72 hours of emergency care by the Red Cross, they were referred to the Lodging Office in Lotaway and Gatineau, which, like 13 other families, housed them in a hotel, waiting to be allowed to settle on their feet. .

Rents are on the rise

Alain Latulipe, who was also staying at the hotel, was evicted by the new owner of the residence he had been in for three years. The 4½ he paid for $650 a month now rents for $1,250.

In July, we rented 41⁄2 for an average of $1,810 in Gatineau, or 10.6% more than a year earlier, while we had to pay $1,551 a month for 12, or 20% more than a year ago.

The average cost of rent in Outaouais is the highest in Quebec and the vacancy rate is one of the lowest in the country, says Karina Osiecka, of the Office d’habitation de l’Outaouais.

“Demand for emergency, temporary and transitional housing increased by about 38.7% between 2017-2018 and 2020-2021, but the service offer increased by only 4.6% between these years,” the Regional Homelessness Caucus laments.

old services

One hundred thousand people are waiting for low-cost housing (HLM), but the Ottawa housing office has barely more than 2,600 people, and they are all occupied.

As a result, “we are seeing an increase in hidden homelessness,” laments Gatineau Mayor France Belisle, whose services accommodate even a couple and their three young elementary school-aged children at the hotel.

Under these circumstances, with their budget of $1,000 a month for rent, Rene and Pierre are afraid to wander for too long. In a month, they have already moved their meager pack three times.

“Every week, it’s the stress of knowing if and where to move,” Renee says. I started having hives because the stress was so intense. »

Empty federal buildings

While Gatineau’s homeless families stay in hotels, the federal government occupies 770,000 square meters of buildings in this city, most of which have been left empty by public servants who work from home.

During the election campaign a year ago, the Liberal Party pledged to invest $600 million to support the conversion of vacant office space into housing.

“Not only will we convert the Federal Housing Stock, but some commercial buildings as well,” Justin Trudeau promised in his campaign manifesto.

The mayor is impatient

A year later, the results were pending, and the patience of the mayor of Gatineau, France, Bellissell, which has more federal buildings on its territory than any other city in Quebec, began to grow at least 200.

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has been examining its property portfolio since 2018 for improvement, knowing that a significant portion of the building has not been adequately used since even before the pandemic, notes department spokesperson, Stephanie Hamel.

In March, the federal budget promised that this review would evaluate housing conversion options, saving $6 billion over five years.

There is no clear timetable

Since then, only one meeting has taken place between federal and Gatineau city officials.

“We have to make that assessment, it’s urgent,” Mayor Pelisle said. My main concern is when, what is the timeline, because the crisis is urgent. »

Questions register Questions to the PSPC about review progress and schedule were not answered.

Meanwhile, in addition to the shattered lives, the housing shortage has become a real obstacle to economic development in the area because workers can no longer settle there, Mrs. Pelissell worries.

The lack of housing even burdens enrollment at the University of Quebec in Ottawa and at the Cégep de l’Outaouais. The two institutions alone need 500 housing units.