I am going to talk for the two of us.

Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for this opportunity to talk to you about the vision of the Fédération québécoise des municipalités, or FQM, on housing. We want to help ease the housing crisis that is currently affecting all regions of Quebec and Canada.

The FQM is a dynamic organization representing more than 1,040 local and regional municipalities in Quebec. It is also the voice of Quebec's regions.

The FQM is very concerned about the housing shortage. Over the past two years, we have made digging into this issue and finding potential solutions a priority for our governing bodies, our standing committees and our board of directors. Their thoughts have been captured in a document that your clerk will have translated and sent to you.

The FQM sees the housing crisis as a historic event that is currently affecting every one of our regions. Exacerbated by the COVID‑19 pandemic, the crisis directly impacts local and regional economies, territorial vitality and community dynamism. It is a barrier to all the strategies we can use to address the labour shortage and attract workers. Housing has therefore become a key factor in regional economic development, and that is primarily a municipal matter.

The FQM chose to take action to meet these needs and support the creation of rental housing. For example, it launched initiatives relating to the adoption of housing policies and the development of guidance for developers and cooperatives to help owners better manage their properties. It also hired project managers responsible for housing to help coordinate decision-making and measures implemented in our jurisdictions.

The FQM is also actively working to set up funding programs because the goal is to build 860,000 new housing units in Quebec by 2030 to ensure some degree of affordability. As a result, the current context is forcing us to rethink how we approach housing at this level and to be bold if we really want to meet these needs. In Abitibi-Témiscamingue, for example, the resident population of about 150,000 people has remained relatively stable for 20 years. However, the region currently lacks almost 6,000 housing units, whereas we were able to meet all the housing needs of that same population 20 years ago.

What has changed is people's lifestyles and how those units are used. Consider short-term rentals and commuters who come and work in our communities but don't live there. Another factor is vacationing and tourism that's based in those units.

We're not looking to urban sprawl as a solution; we want people to live in the regions.

In very concrete terms, we at the FQM believe that housing is a key component of land use planning and any strategic planning aimed at dynamic land use. To address the current crisis, we want more flexibility and agility right in our communities. We want the tools that will enable us to face these challenges to respond quickly to demand and ensure the housing supply can quickly keep pace with demand.

This means all levels of government have to agree on certain legislative provisions and, of course, financial supports. We're very pleased with the $900‑million funding agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec. We'll see what happens next.

When it comes to housing, decision-making power must rest with the level of government closest to the people, with the regions, communities, cities and municipalities.

We believe that, in Quebec, the RCM is the most appropriate level of local or municipal governance to face this challenge.

Support program management also needs to be decentralized. The financial resources needed to address the problem should be allocated equitably in a way that takes the very diverse needs of the regions into account.

In some places, what's needed is rental housing, but in others it's single-family homes. We have to be able to adequately meet different needs because we have different populations and different demands.

Basically, development plans must be adapted to meet the specific needs of rural communities, which are not the same as those of large cities in Canada and Quebec. In our opinion, local management of housing support programs will make it possible to better meet everyone's needs, from rural to urban, from apartments for one to homes for families—