In my opinion, the federal government must extend the agreements it has signed with housing coops, not-for-profit housing associations and the provinces for the management of their housing stock. I myself live in a coop unit, so I know that at the present time, the money we receive from the federal government is basically used just to subsidize the lower-income people, so that they are paying an amount that is in keeping with their income. They are paying 25% of their income in rent.
If the federal government picks up its marbles and leaves once the agreements expire, the people who are currently paying 25% of their income in rent will be subject to rent increases of $200, $300 or even $400 per month. Instead of paying 25% of their income in rent, they will wind up paying 50%, 60% or even 70% of their income in rent. Some of these people will no longer be able to make ends meet. Some will have to move. In my opinion, that would be a disaster.
Here in Canada we currently have a national heritage. By that, I am talking about our social housing. We have 623,000 units, of which 120,000 are in Quebec. We need to increase the number of units. Or in any event, we must at least conserve the units that we currently have, and maintain the spots for low-income people. I would not want to see my own housing coop be only for people who can afford the rent. I want the people that the units were created for, that is to say, low-income people, to be able to afford living there. It's a major challenge.
Some of these agreements have already ended. The worst is yet to come, and even so people have been calling us recently and telling us that their rent has been increased because of the lack of federal subsidies. I think that the federal government absolutely must settle this issue immediately. The existing agreements must be extended for another 35 years, if necessary. It would not cost a single cent more than the current funding. It would just be a matter of maintaining the current funding.