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'Burbs don't pay for social housing If the housing advocacy organization FRAPRU has its way, the rich cities on the island of Montreal will have more of a stake in solving poor Montrealers' housing problems. "Rich cities aren't paying for social housing," says FRAPRU's Pierre Gaudreau. "These municipalities should pay for social housing as they pay for transportation, waste water treatment and the police." FRAPRU (the Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain) has pinpointed 13 municipalities--overwhelmingly West Island ones, but also Côte St-Luc, Hampstead and TMR--that spend nothing on social housing, and a few more, including Westmount, that spend far less on social housing than the City of Montreal does. Westmount Mayor Peter Trent told the Mirror that income redistribution issues aren't the responsibility of municipalities, but said that if they were made one, his city would come forward with more money for things like social housing. "It's a problem we all should share," he said. Other mayors were less welcoming. "We want to do our part but we don't want to pay for Montreal's homeless people," Ville St-Laurent mayor Bernard Pacquet said on SRC radio this week. But Municipal Affairs Minister Louise Harel has said she agrees with FRAPRU's demands and says they'll be addressed in a government White Paper on municipal restructuring in September. --Jacquie Charlton |