Quebec is injecting an extra $1 billion over five years into climate action spending thanks to additional revenue generated from its cap-and-trade system. The newly released 2022-23 provincial budget outlines broad commitments for what’s now a $7.6-billion strategy — including $758 million to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the buildings sector — with further details to be announced in an implementation plan later this spring.
Other budget measures of interest to the real estate, development and facilities management sectors include: $232.5 million over five years to help universities and colleges rent additional space for their operations; $267 million over five years for school maintenance and asset management programs; $43 million over five years to underwrite 1,600 additional subsidized units in private rental housing; and funding to help municipalities encourage brownfield redevelopment, heritage building preservation and housing renovations.
“A Québec experiencing strong economic growth is also a Québec that must take care of the environment,” Finance Minister Éric Girard declared, as he introduced the budget in the legislative assembly last week. “Protecting the environment, for everyone’s benefit, is a priority for the government.”
More than three-quarters of the pledged funds will be directed to GHG reduction with the remainder allocated to climate change adaptation. The budget commits $85 million for the buildings sector in 2022-23, but apportionments will increase in the coming years and will exceed $200 million in both 2025-26 and 2026-27.
Approximately $168 million is promised to Quebec’s two largest cities over the next three years, prioritizing fuel-switching, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, mitigating urban heat islands and managing storm water runoff. Montreal is to receive more than $117 million, which will partly go toward deploying 800 EV charging stations in public locations. Quebec City will apply its $49 million share of the funds to municipal buildings and infrastructure and the installation of 95 public EV charging stations, but will also use a portion “to support the decarbonization of private sector buildings.”
“Similar measures benefiting other municipalities will also be announced at a later date,” the budget document states.
Municipalities are also promised $10.5 million over the next three years to help cover some costs for protecting and managing heritage properties, which have recently been transferred from the provincial government — with Montreal and Quebec City slated to get $6 million of that pot. As well, the provincial government has earmarked $2.7 million in contingency funding for urgently required repairs in cases where owners have neglected the upkeep of heritage properties.
Meanwhile, $20 million will be available over the next two years toward preliminary costs of rehabilitating contaminated sites with redevelopment potential. That’s in response to the new rules for the provincial brownfields redevelopment program, known as ClimatSol-Plus.
“By modifying current program standards and extending funding for the rehabilitation of both municipal and private land, the government will achieve economic as well as environmental objectives,” the budget document notes.
Funding for rent supplements and renovation assistance
The funding for additional rent supplements will boost Quebec’s supply of subsidized dwellings within the private rental market to nearly 20,000 units. Under program rules, tenants pay a portion of the rent equivalent to 25 per cent of their gross household income during the previous year and receive a subsidy to cover the remainder.
To provide needed accommodations, local social housing administrators may procure units at up to 120 per cent of the median market rent in the area. The 2022-23 budget also provides $24.2 million for 600 emergency rent supplements, providing urgently needed shelter for homeless people or people fleeing from violent living situations. In such cases, local housing providers may procure units at 150 per cent of the median market rent in the area.
“The construction of new housing requires lead times that do not allow for the rapid provision of affordable housing units for lower-income clienteles,” the budget document observes. “This investment will provide housing bureaus with greater predictability for finding units in the private market.”
Other housing expenditures include $52.3 million in 2022-23 to renovate aging public housing, plus $159 million over five years to continue programs to help low and moderate-income homeowners upgrade their dwellings. The latter amount will flow to three programs: $33 million for Rénovation Québec, which provides funds to municipalities to support housing upgrades in economically disadvantaged areas; nearly $62 million for the RénoRégion program, which provides funds for owner-occupiers with low to moderate incomes to make required major repairs to homes in rural areas; and $64.4 million for the Residential Adaptation Assistance Program, which funds accessibility improvements to allow people with disabilities to continue to live in their homes.
The budget also pledges $14.4 million for a five-year extension of free services to assist elderly renters in private seniors’ housing. This has been provided through community organizations known as centres d’assistance et d’accompagnement aux plaintes (CAAPs), which have a mandate to act on behalf of clients of Quebec’s health care and social services institutions.
“Elderly people living in private seniors’ residences (PSRs) also experience difficulties understanding their rights and obligations regarding their lease,” the budget notes. “Accordingly, the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation has mandated the CAAPs so they can provide elderly persons living in PSRs with: information about their housing rights and obligations; assistance in order to reach an agreement; and support at a conciliation session or at a hearing before the Administrative Housing Tribunal.”
