Experts: Montreal prepares for moving day amid continuing housing crisis
The vacancy rate in Montreal is at two per cent this year, for the third year in a row. The price for a three-bedroom, family sized-apartment generally starts at $1,500 a month. While the average price for a two-bedroom apartment is roughly $1,050 a month, according to the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation, units under $1,000 are disappearing fast. (CTV)
Here are some experts from McGill University who can comment on this topic:
Eric Latimer, Full Professor, Department of Psychiatry
"To tackle homelessness, we need to fight both poverty and the housing crisis. If more people have difficulty affording housing, homelessness will increase. There are a lot of studies that look, for example, at the association between housing affordability and the percentage of people experiencing homelessness in different U.S. cities."
Eric Latimer is a Full Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Director of the Mental Health and Society Research Program at the Douglas Research Centre. A health economist, his research interests focus on community-based supports for people with severe mental illness, particularly their economic aspects.
eric.latimer [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)
Jayne Malenfant, Assistant Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education
“Housing advocates across the province have been mobilizing against the CAQ’s proposed Bill 31, which would eliminate a key way for tenants to access affordable housing during an increasing national and provincial housing crisis. These actions echo calls within existing movements calling for the right to housing (in accordance with the recent National Housing Strategy Act) for people experiencing housing precarity. Advocates in Quebec and elsewhere call for investments in social and truly affordable housing, as well as leadership from those most impacted by housing rights violations--including people living in encampments, students experiencing homelessness, and those who are navigating hidden homelessness.”
Jayne Malenfant is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education. Their work sits at the intersection of the right to housing and the right to education, as well as building community-led and equitable action for housing justice and homelessness prevention.
jayne.malenfant [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)