Plante and Coderre clash over affordable housing in latest mayoral debate

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Valérie Plante and Denis Coderre squared off on Monday in a televised debate in France that offered few surprises, but it is unclear whether any of the favorites in the Montreal mayoral race managed to convince the majority of undecided voters to vote. . in his favor.

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Plante, the incumbent, and Coderre, who lost the mayoralty to her in the last elections of 2017, discussed live on Radio-Canada about housing, mobility, public safety, economy, municipal services and the environment.

“You have to deliver the merchandise,” Coderre told his rival after Plante reiterated his Projet Montréal party’s promise to build 60,000 affordable housing units over the next 10 years and reserve vacant lots for that purpose to keep them affordable for the next few years. next 40 years.

A mayor’s term is four years, Coderre said, adding that his Ensemble Montreal party is committing 50,000 residential units, 10,000 of which would be social housing, over the next four-year term.

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Plante accused Coderre of “double talk” because he opposes his administration’s so-called “20-20-20 statute” that requires private developers to reserve 20 percent of their residential projects for social housing, another 20 percent for affordable housing. and another 20 percent for “family housing” or paying compensation. Projet Montréal defines “affordable” as a cost 10% below the market price.

“How much will an affordable housing unit cost if there is no regulation in the center?” Plante asked Coderre, referring to his call to rescind the statute.

“What we want to avoid is that our children and grandchildren can never live in Montreal.”

Coderre denied he was offering double talk, saying he supports “flexible regulation” and higher density through more construction because more supply would lower prices. He also said that the 20-20-20 ordinance is chasing developers off the island.

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“For me, housing is a fundamental right and for Mr. Coderre, it is a consumption gain,” Plante replied.

The debate format included clips from prerecorded street interviews with Montréal residents who discussed the main topics of the debate.

Several Montréal residents described the city as dirty and unsafe, with unnavigable streets and sidewalks not being properly cleared of ice and snow in winter.

Both candidates seemed to agree on one point: that Quebec’s land transfer tax, known as the welcome tax, needs reform, even if Montreal’s operating budget is heavily dependent on revenue.

Plante said his party increased the dollar amount, at which point the tax on the sale of a property begins, and would raise it again.

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Coderre said it’s time to ask if the welcome tax “is something a little indecent.” He repeated a call he made earlier this year for a diversification of Montreal’s sources of income.

The latest poll released last week showed that 27 percent of voters in Montreal are still undecided about which mayoral candidate to vote in the November 7 municipal elections. That’s a higher proportion of the responses Plante or Coderre got in the CROP survey for Radio-Canada. The two remain statistically tied, with Coderre receiving 26 percent of the support and Plante 25 percent. Five percent of those surveyed said they would support Balarama Holness, while four percent offered their support for Luc Ménard. None of those candidates was invited to the Radio-Canada debate.

The only mayoral debate in English is scheduled for Thursday.

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