Legault government ministers have been accused of being disconnected from the housing crisis and have an impressive housing stock averaging $1.6 million per elected owner.
• Also read: Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau bought her first home for $770,000 without a mortgage
“It’s still big,” responds Véronique Laflamme, spokeswoman for the Popular Action Front in Urban Redevelopment (FRAPRU). It confirms this image, this sense of distancing from Quebec renters who are struggling and whose situation is deteriorating.
François Legault was particularly criticized for claiming that the meteoric rise in property prices was an inevitable consequence of a strong economy.
“The fact that wages are rising has a consequence. I wish we would join not just Ontario but the rest of Canada and the United States and the more wages go up, the more house prices will go up.” […] I don’t want Quebec to stay poor so we can keep house prices lower than Toronto or Vancouver. — François Legault at a press conference on June 19
Housing minister France-Élaine Duranceau, meanwhile, is urging dissatisfied tenants to simply buy a property.
The compilation of our inquiry office shows that 28 of the 31 ministers are property owners, 12 of whom own more than one building.
Almost half of these ministers, 13, have real estate assets with a municipal valuation (often below market value) exceeding $1 million.
“Forty percent of Quebec’s population is renters, and the median income for all renters is $48,400,” recalls Ms. Laflamme. She points out that with such an income one cannot simply buy a property as Ms Duranceau suggested.
Health Secretary Lionel Carmant has the largest housing portfolio, worth $5.6 million, with two apartment buildings and a house in Outremont.
- Listen to the court section with Félix Séguin as he talks about the ministers’ housing stock QUB radio :
It is the Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, Maïté Blanchette Vézina, who has the most modest real estate among the owners of the Council of Ministers. His Bas-Saint-Laurent residence is valued at $252,300.
The most expensive residence for a minister in the Legault government is that of Treasury Secretary Eric Girard. His home on the island of Montreal is worth $4.5 million.
“Given the roles they play, it’s not surprising that they have this profile,” says Jean-Philippe Meloche, a professor of urban planning at the University of Montreal.
“The fact that they broke up after that … I’m not sure if that’s because of their personal situation, but more because of their professional commitments,” he says. You didn’t choose CAQ because the housing issue is on your mind.
“I’ve had four July 1st experiences and it’s gone well […] And when I say it went well, it’s because no one ended up on the street. — François Legault at a press conference on June 19
Political scientist Geneviève Tellier believes that the Legault administration lacked consideration for less affluent Quebecers.
“Quebecians like to support people who understand their reality, and François Legault has done well during the pandemic,” said Ms. Tellier, a professor at the University of Ottawa. But this time he no longer conveys the impression of sensitivity and understanding of what is happening on the ground.
- Listen to the Gagnon-Montpetit meeting with Karine Gagnon, political columnist at the JDM and JDQ and associate director of information at the Journal de Québec, on Marie Montpetit’s microphone QUB radio :
The lack of economic diversity within CAQ ministers may partly explain the ‘gap’ between public discourse and reality on the ground. According to Professor Tellier, Quebec would benefit from a ministerial team that better reflects the socio-economic realities of its people.
“This is even more true for the government’s small economic team. Who is in François Legault’s entourage to alert him to those who are struggling? comments Ms. Tellier.
In fact, the government’s economic heavyweights alone — Eric Girard, Pierre Fitzgibbon and François Legault — have real estate assets worth more than $11.3 million.
“You are completely in a bubble,” adds Cédric Dussault of the Regroupement des Committees Logement et Associations de Tenants du Québec (RCLALQ).
Mr Dussault regrets not having had the privilege of meeting the minister’s team, while they frequently meet with property lobby groups, he said.
FRAPRU, on the other hand, barely managed to meet the minister last February after an intense email campaign to recruit members.
Aside from their privileged personal situation, the CAQ elected officials make no effort to listen to the groups that are suffering most from the housing crisis, Mr Dussault believes.
“There is no understanding and no wanting to hear.”
Photo from real estate agent Joseph Montanaro’s website
Prime Minister François Legault’s penthouse is valued at $2.5 million.
Prime Minister François Legault sold his Outremont home in September 2021 for $4.25 million. In December 2021, he bought a penthouse in the city for $3.2 million, but its municipal valuation is $2.5 million.