Reaction from the Table des groupes de femmes de Montréal to the Quebec-Ottawa agreement on social housing.
The Table des groupes de femmes de Montréal published an open letter today to respond to the long-awaited agreement between Ottawa and Quebec securing federal funding from the National Housing Strategy to expand and sustain the province’s network of social housing. This agreement allows Quebec to allocate funding based on its priorities. We are concerned that women are not considered a priority by the CAQ government.
Following its gender-based analysis (GBA+) and integration into the Federal Plan for Gender Equality, the National Housing Strategy must devote 25% of its investments to projects targeting the specific needs of women, girls and their families. "This commitment was a determining factor because it meant that women's groups could finally develop new projects to better respond to the needs of all women and, crucially, reduce pressure on existing services," explained Marie-Eve Desroches from the Table des groupes de femmes de Montréal.
We demand that the National Housing Strategy funds used in Quebec integrate a real differential gender-based analysis with an intersectional perspective, as provided for within the Strategy, and specifically devote at least 25% of funding to initiatives that respond to the needs of women, girls and their families.
While Quebec is required to demonstrate that its social housing projects conform to the "target clientele," of which women are a part, we are concerned that women will be treated as a monolith rather than considering their different experiences and needs in housing programs. Our open letter, signed by more than forty organizations working throughout Quebec, demands that women, in all their diversity, become a priority for the Legault government.
The Table des groupes de femmes de Montréal is a regional round table founded in March 1996. Its mission is to promote and defend the interests of women from a feminist perspective of gender equality. It intervenes in all spheres of social, political, economic and cultural life that may influence women's living conditions in Montreal.