I hear almost daily from people telling us to stop giving building permits or to stop development. Even if we wanted to do that, it is totally impossible at this point and for many reasons. I wanted to explain why so that people can better understand the challenges that all municipalities in Quebec face in terms of development and municipal management.
In order to break the document down into different sections for easier reading, I will be posting as a series over the next few days or weeks (depending on my schedule). [This is the third part of the series]
Here are the points that will be covered:
- Population growth
- Housing shortage
- Labour shortage
- Our Obligations
- Our Resources and infrastructures
- The Law
- Dependence on property taxes
- Solution: better development
[3] Labour Shortage
According to the Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ), due to an aging population and economic growth forecasts, the Quebec labour market will need to fill more than 1.4 million jobs by 2026. Although the situation is particularly favourable for the unemployed and young people, as it offers them more and more professional opportunities, these are insufficient to fill the positions that are currently vacant and those that will be vacant within the next ten years.
The new Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital, which should open its doors by 2026, will be able to expect the creation of at least 3,200 new jobs. The needs of the various job categories will have to be met in order for the hospital to function properly and provide appropriate service to the population. The doors of the new hospital are less than a kilometer from Saint-Lazare. We expect that there will be a lot of pressure to develop both housing and commercial spaces in the Cité des Jeunes sector within the next few years.
The workforce and housing
Development Vaudreuil-Soulanges (DEV) indicates that for a dozen years, the index places the region of Vaudreuil-Soulanges in the ten most dynamic MRC in Quebec. Despite this, as is the case throughout Quebec, there is also a crying need for manpower in Vaudreuil-Soulanges.
In order to attract skilled workers for the new hospital and for the businesses looking for workers, we will need to ensure that they have a place to live.
As well, the low inventory of rental and affordable housing in many municipalities in the region also hinders the hiring of a workforce unable to access homeownership. This problem also needs to be addressed.
Companies such as Fleury Michon in Rigaud and Amazon in Coteau-du-Lac, for example, are currently forced to offer to transport their workforce from Montreal using private shuttles due to the housing crisis.
Conclusion : The current labour shortage creates a number of economic and social problems. Municipalities have a role to play in the well-being of the population. It is important to ensure that our residents have access to services in the region and it is essential to attract workers by offering various types of housing. Saint-Lazare and the region will also benefit from the new hospital and will need to ensure that the hospital is adequately staffed to attract workers close to their place of work. It is not realistic to think that only Vaudreuil-Dorion will accommodate all the new hospital employees. The pressure will be strong in the Cité des Jeunes sector in particular.
Coming up in the next section: Our obligations
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