The real estate alliance, formed by the four largest associations in the construction and commercial real estate industry, the Association of Building and Housing Professionals of Quebec (APCHQ), the Association de la Construction du Québec (ACQ), the Institute of Urban Development of Quebec (IDU) and the Corporation of General Contractors of Quebec (CEGQ) was on June 8 in parliamentary committee at the Quebec National Assembly to to comment on Bill 61, An Act to revive the Quebec economy and mitigate the consequences of the state of health emergency declared on March 13, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The partners of the alliance took the opportunity to present their joint recommendations to parliamentarians.
Thus, the alliance welcomes Bill No. 61 and supports the measures put in place by the Government of Quebec to cushion the shock of the Covid-19 crisis.
“The bill will facilitate the implementation of more collaborative construction projects that encourage innovation. We hope that temporary regulatory reductions may eventually lead to permanent legislative changes, ”said CEGQ president and chief executive officer Éric Côté.
“The construction sector is undoubtedly one of the engines of the post-containment recovery and the government is right to make it one of the main axes of its recovery strategy. The acceleration of public worksites is necessary. But we cannot limit ourselves to it. We cannot ignore, for example, that the lack of housing in Quebec remains glaring and that tax credits for home renovations are proven stimulus tools ”declared François Bernier, Senior Vice-President Public Affairs at the APCHQ.
“In a context where the health crisis has drastically slowed down economic activity and caused the unemployment rate to jump, we applaud the will of the legislator to speed up public works. Intensifying this activity will obviously benefit the Quebec economy. It is time to innovate, for example, by freeing up a certain amount for companies at the start of the work and by respecting a payment schedule every 30 days, ”maintains Jean-François Arbor, ing., President of the ACQ.
“We believe that the bill as a whole responds to the urgency of the situation and will help to stimulate the recovery. By betting on construction to boost the economy, the government is right. However, we believe that additional steps should be taken to stimulate residential and commercial construction, ”said Carl Cloutier, Acting President and CEO of IDU.
For an immediate and lasting recovery
While the economic recovery following the health crisis promises to be difficult in the context of a recession and the availability of housing is threatened, the partners of the alliance recommend, during this parliamentary committee, to think of economic recovery in two stages. On the one hand with measures which can be implemented relatively quickly, sometimes on a temporary basis, and which aim to increase the level of activity in the short term and on the other hand with measures at regulatory level for a sustainable recovery in order to create a more agile context to facilitate and accelerate the completion of new projects.
Thus for a rapid economic recovery the alliance recommends, among others:
- To amend Bill 61 so as to integrate into good public administration practices the rapid payment within 30 days of construction companies dealing with the government;
- Introduce a 20% tax credit on all residential renovation work carried out by owner-occupiers and owners of rental buildings and increase this tax credit to 30% in the case of energy-efficient renovation works ;
- Support access to property for households by reimbursing part of the transfer tax to first-time buyers. To this end, we suggest that the Government of Quebec fully reimburse the equivalent of the first two installments (0.5% and 1.0%) of the tax;
- Amend section 35.1 so that it only applies when owners and tenants are eligible for Canadian Commercial Rent Assistance and the owner has refused to participate in the program;
- Increase the pace of construction of social housing by increasing investment in social housing (AccèsLogis) through a Canada-Quebec agreement.
In addition, the alliance recommends measures for a sustainable recovery, namely:
- Set up a dedicated group (MEI-MAMH) to accelerate private investment;
- Include in the bill the possibility of subjecting certain private strategic projects;
- Implement a Québec-municipalities agreement providing for the freezing of municipal taxes for three years and full compensation to municipalities for the loss of tax revenue related to COVID-19;
- Maintain until December 31, 2021 the contribution rate of 80% of the royalties for the REM ($ 10 / square foot);
- Extend the transitional period provided for the application of the building code affecting the accessibility of new housing by twelve months;
- Make funds available to municipalities so that they can launch their own renovation support programs, corresponding to local priorities, as the federal government does.
Speeding up the pace in the construction industry is a proven way to revive the economy. Given its importance and the fact that its supply chain is overwhelmingly made up of local businesses, this sector has a remarkable capacity to create jobs, in all regions of Quebec. Thus, through this bouquet of measures, the alliance of real estate partners invites the government to act on all fronts and not only on 50% of the industry represented by the public sector, but on 100% of the construction industry.