Indeed, it applies to every region in Quebec. The CMHC and the Société d'habitation du Québec consider that low-income households are in urgent need of social housing when they have to spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
Let us look at the results of the 2006 census. In Quebec, 87,000 households were spending more than 80% of their income on housing. It goes without saying that these households do not have enough money to buy sufficient food, to educate their children correctly or to pay for health care. This has a major impact on the standard of living of citizens in general.
In Quebec as a whole, 448,000 households spend more than the standard 30% of their income on housing. Along with that, the major centres, the towns and villages in Quebec are currently going through an unprecedented housing crisis. There is a shortage of rental housing in almost every municipality in Quebec.
We believe that it is important to invest more in building social housing units. We think that the federal government could make greater efforts, so as to give economic development a strong stimulus. Building social housing creates jobs, and moreover, it has an impact on the social development of our communities.