Good afternoon, Mr. Chair.
I thank the committee for inviting me to testify.
Bâtir son quartier is a social economy enterprise, a non-profit organization whose mission is to meet the housing needs of low- and middle-income households by building community housing. We have carried out 450 projects for a total of 14,000 housing units.
I will say a few words about the context, which is a major source of concern for us.
In addition to a significant rise in housing costs and low vacancy rates, we now have an increase in construction costs and rising interest rates. Low- and modest-income households are the hardest hit by this context.
For us, community housing is a defence against the insecurity the poorest households are experiencing. It proposes a lasting solution by providing affordable housing that is not subject to market fluctuations.
We were very happy to see that the government prioritized housing in the latest budget. However, I will take the liberty of submitting some recommendations related to three budget measures. It is a matter of increasing the supply, accelerating housing construction and supporting people who have housing needs.
Just increasing the housing supply does not automatically mean there will be more affordable housing or affordable rental housing. So it is essential that efforts at all levels—