12 hours ago, andre md said:

Ouaip 11 milliards de $ de deficit.

La nation du quebec doit etre fier.

Comme dirait un certain Francois Legault.

Pour comparaison . L'Ontario prevoit un déficit de 6.2 millards de $ .

https://www.fao-on.org/en/Blog/Publications/EBO-WI2024#:~:text=Ontario's budget deficit is expected,than expected by the government.

J'espere vraiment que le gouvernement du Quebec se trompe en surestimant le déficit.

 

If this is a right of center government’s idea of how to manage public finances Lord help us if any of the other guys get elected. 

Interessant de noter que Porto aura sa ligne Rose un prolongement de quatre stations du métro pour €181m. Travaux entre 2019 et 2025.  Loin de moi d’être expert mais c’est pas mal moins dispendieux que le prolongement de la ligne Bleue.  Sûrement ça s’explique. 
 

https://pt.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linha_G_(Metro_do_Porto)

2 hours ago, KOOL said:

Si je ne m'abuse c'est zoné à seulement 65m. 

Yes t’as raison mais mon point était surtout qu’il y a pas mal de terrains à développer et un gros potentiel d’augmenter la population du CV. 

4 hours ago, Weka 29 said:

Cette liste montre à quel point il y an encore beaucoup de potentiel de développement pour de gros projets en plein centre-ville. Mais avec l'administration actuelle, le 20-20-20, les Amis de la Montagne, Héritage Montréal et compagnie, oubliez ça. Il faudra patienter encore un bon bout de temps.

Et ça c’est sans compter la demi douzaine (plus ou moins) de terrains entre Guy et Peel qui peuvent être développer, le terrain CF sur Peel à côté de l’ETS, quelques terrains à l’est de ça sur St. Jacques et l’énorme stationnement entre St. Maurice et St. Paul en face du 21e Arrondissement.  

C’est non négligeable le nombre de nouveaux résidents potentiels pour le CV. 

Quel contraste sur le ton comparer à Valérie et PM. 

https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/politique/2024-02-07/crise-du-logement/la-mairesse-fournier-voit-haut-quebec-dit-oui.php

Crise du logementLa mairesse Fournier voit haut, Québec dit oui

PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE

Catherine Fournier, mairesse de Longueuil

En retour d’un zonage plus flexible, Longueuil exigerait des promoteurs une contribution au logement à but non lucratif 

Publié à 0h50 Mis à jour à 5h00

CHARLES LECAVALIERLa Presse

(Québec) Le gouvernement Legault veut permettre aux maires de vendre aux promoteurs le droit de bâtir plus haut que le zonage permis en échange d’une compensation destinée au logement à but non lucratif, une idée proposée par la mairesse de Longueuil, Catherine Fournier.

CE QU’IL FAUT SAVOIR 

La mairesse Catherine Fournier veut avoir le droit de « vendre » aux promoteurs le droit de bâtir plus haut que ce que le zonage permet. 

Cette contribution serait dédiée à l’achat de logements privés au profit d’OBNL qui offrent des logements abordables. 

L’élue croit que cette mesure pourrait relancer la construction de logements privés à Longueuil, puisque les bâtiments qui ont plus d’étages sont plus rentables.

« J’accueille favorablement la proposition de la mairesse de Longueuil d’accorder une option supplémentaire de compensation en échange de l’utilisation du zonage incitatif », a affirmé la ministre des Affaires municipales Andrée Laforest dans un échange avec La Presse.

Cette idée inédite lui a été proposée par Mme Fournier, qui cherche un moyen de financer sa stratégie d’habitation.

« On veut pouvoir permettre que le promoteur puisse verser une contribution financière à la Ville en échange d’un bonus de zonage, et que cette contribution financière soit spécifiquement dédiée à un fonds pour le logement à but non lucratif », explique la mairesse de Longueuil, Catherine Fournier. 

Elle souhaite « partager les profits » que les promoteurs pourraient engendrer en bâtissant plus haut, ce qui entraîne des économies d’échelle et davantage de profitabilité.

Crise du logement

Longueuil, comme bien des villes de la région métropolitaine de Montréal, fait face à la crise du logement. Et uniquement construire plus de logements sociaux n’est pas la solution, indique la mairesse Fournier, qui cite le chercheur Steve Pomeroy de l’Université Carleton. 

Pendant qu’on construit une unité de logement social ou abordable, on va en perdre 17 sur le marché privé dans la région métropolitaine de Montréal.

 Catherine Fournier, mairesse de Longueuil

La mairesse a présenté sa solution en décembre : épauler des OBNL pour acheter des logements privés « à risque » de spéculation. Elle veut éviter ce qui arrive en ce moment : dans les quartiers pauvres de sa ville, des immeubles d’habitation « très abordables avec des locataires sur l’aide sociale » se font rénover, et les loyers peuvent augmenter à 1600 $ par mois, donne-t-elle en exemple. 

La Ville veut donc utiliser son droit de préemption pour mettre la main sur ces édifices, pour ensuite les revendre aux OBNL au prix coûtant. Ceux-ci pourraient les rénover tout en conservant un loyer à moindre coût. 

Pas d’argent

Le problème : ces organismes ne réussissent pas à boucler leur montage financier et auraient besoin d’aide financière. Ils se tournent donc vers la Ville. « Mais on n’en a pas, d’argent ! », s’exclame Mme Fournier. Et contrairement à ce qu’ont fait d’autres municipalités, elle ne « veut pas imposer de redevances aux promoteurs, parce qu’on ne veut pas nuire au marché de la construction ». 

Son administration vise la construction d’un minimum de 30 000 unités d’habitation de tous types d’ici 2041 « afin de répondre aux besoins démographiques en croissance, tout en visant le retour à un seuil d’inoccupation à l’équilibre ». Elle veut donc encourager l’érection de logements privés. 

Et c’est ici que Mme Fournier croit faire d’une pierre deux coups. Elle affirme que les promoteurs qu’elle a rencontrés sont intéressés par son idée, tout comme les groupes communautaires. La Ville pourrait à la fois épauler le logement à but non lucratif, permettre la construction de logements privés et encourager la densification. 

Mesure incitative à la construction

« Ça devient un incitatif à la construction. Les promoteurs calculent leur profit par porte. Avec tous les coûts fixes, dès que tu ajoutes des étages, c’est du profit beaucoup plus important. Ta rentabilité par porte est plus grande. Même si tu dois partager une portion du profit supplémentaire avec la Ville, ça demeure intéressant », dit-elle. 

PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE

Le secteur du métro Longueuil a un zonage qui permet la construction d’immeubles de 24 étages.

La mairesse n’aurait aucun « malaise » à autoriser, par exemple, une tour de 35 étages dans le secteur du métro Longueuil, qui a un zonage de 24 étages. Et à plus petite échelle, elle ne voit pas de problèmes à autoriser des bâtiments de cinq ou six étages à des endroits où on n’autorise que des trois ou quatre étages. 

Pour l’instant, les villes peuvent autoriser des étages supplémentaires grâce à un « zonage incitatif », mais il est circonscrit, notamment lorsqu’on inclut du logement social dans l’immeuble. 

Elle souhaite le rendre plus souple en l’autorisant lorsqu’une « contribution financière destinée à un fonds pour le logement à but non lucratif » est versée par le promoteur. 

Catherine Fournier espère que Québec pourra rapidement accéder à sa demande novatrice dans un projet de loi municipal. Elle a rencontré la ministre des Affaires municipales, Andrée Laforest, à ce sujet il y a moins d’un mois. 

Et la ministre lui ouvre la porte toute grande. « Je suis heureuse de l’intérêt généré par ce nouveau pouvoir auprès des municipalités. D’ailleurs, on invite l’ensemble des villes à se doter de cette règlementation », explique Mme Laforest. 

Mme Fournier mise gros sur ce pouvoir. Elle veut 20 % de logements locatifs à but non lucratif sur son territoire. Actuellement, il y a 4666 logements hors marché à Longueuil, soit 4,2 % du parc immobilier. Pour atteindre la cible de 20 %, il faudrait ajouter près de 17 500 logements.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-home-sales-prices-rise-in-montreal-area-in-january-amid-optimism/
 

Home sales, prices rise in Montreal-area in January amid optimism around interest rates

MONTREAL

THE CANADIAN PRESS

PUBLISHED 45 MINUTES AGO

The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says Montreal-area home sales jumped 18 per cent in January compared with the same month a year earlier.

The association says home sales in the region totalled 2,077 for the month, up from 1,766 in January 2023.

The median price of a single-family home in January was $535,000, up seven per cent from $500,000 a year earlier, while the median price for a condominium was $390,000, up five per cent. The median price for a plex was $722,500, up seven per cent.

Active listings for January jumped 16 per cent compared with a year earlier to 16,838, while new listings rose 22 per cent to 5,410.

QPAREB market analysis director Charles Brant says sales were up thanks to better prospects regarding interest rates, which are expected to fall this year as inflation cools.

But he says there are still “several headwinds” including a sharp slowdown in economic activity, which has raised uncertainties for prospective homebuyers.  

https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/grand-montreal/2024-01-23/mises-en-chantier/c-est-en-train-de-remonter-tranquillement-assure-valerie-plante.php
 

Je n’arrive pas à coller le contenu de l’article.  
 

On peut ajouter l’arrogance aux grandes qualités de VP.  Pas d’allure son approche.  

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-within-the-contradictory-december-jobs-report-the-downward-trends-in/
 

OPINION

Within the contradictory December jobs report, the downward trends in labour pressures remain

DAVID PARKINSON

PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO

FOR SUBSCRIBERS

Open this photo in gallery:

Construction workers toil inside the Barron Building as crews convert it from office space to residential apartments in Calgary on Dec. 12, 2023.JEFF MCINTOSH/THE CANADIAN PRESS

Friday’s Canadian employment report – the last for 2023 – wasn’t great. It also wasn’t awful. Mostly, it wasn’t particularly clear.

The report showed no job growth for December. Yet it also showed no increase in the unemployment rate.

Full-time work declined by 24,000 positions, which was made up for by a near-identical increase in part-time work. Yet the total number of hours worked rose by a healthy 0.4 per cent from November, despite a strike of Quebec public-service employees in December.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

Critically, average hourly wage growth surged to 5.4 per cent year over year, from 4.8 per cent in November. That’s a big step in the wrong direction for anyone connecting the dots between the labour market and inflation (I’m looking at you, Bank of Canada).

Still, make no mistake, this most certainly is a softening job market. Don’t let the contradictions in the December data throw you off course. It’s the broader trend that matters – and that trend is toward a loosening of labour conditions.

With the book now closed for 2023, the totals would, at a glance, suggest that the labour market had a pretty good year. Total employment rose by 430,000; that’s a total that, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, had been topped only twice in two decades. Wage growth was the strongest since 2006.

But a closer look at how things have evolved over the past 12 months tells a very different story.

The employment rate (the percentage of Canadians aged 15 and older who have a job) has been in decline since last spring, and it continued that decline in December; it’s now the lowest it has been in nearly two years. In the past six months, the working-age population has increased by a half-million, yet the national job count has risen by just 140,000.

For many economists, the employment rate is a much more valuable indicator of labour market strength than the more familiar unemployment rate; it points to the share of the entire pool of labour that is being used. A shrinking employment rate is a vital indicator both of growing slack in the labour market, and a sluggish economy more generally.

Meanwhile, the rise in the unemployment rate since spring has been widely noted. Unemployment was unchanged in December, at 5.8 per cent; but it has been rising steadily since last spring, when the rate was just 5 per cent.

The December lull looks likely to be a brief statistical pause in a continuation of that rising unemployment trend in 2024. Economists at the country’s six big banks forecast that the unemployment rate will rise, on average, to 6.6 per cent by the end of this year.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

So, what should we make of the inconsistencies within Statistics Canada’s December report?

Every once in a while, we get a head-scratching monthly release that reminds us that these data are derived from a survey of Canadian households. Like any survey, there are meaningful margins of error that can, sometimes, spit out inaccurate and misleading results.

As Statscan explains, its labour force survey covers a single week within each month – in this case, Dec. 3 through Dec. 9 – for which about 48,000 people were asked about their employment status. That’s 0.15 per cent of the working-age population, whose answers are relied on to represent the whole.

Statscan states that, statistically speaking, December’s estimated monthly employment total is considered accurate to within plus or minus 30,700 jobs, 68 per cent of the time. If you want to increase that to a 95-per-cent confidence level, then the range is plus or minus 61,400 jobs.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

The unemployment rate itself has an accuracy of plus or minus 0.1 percentage point at the 68-per-cent confidence level, and 0.2 percentage point with 95-per-cent confidence.

Easy to see, then, how a single survey could produce a substantial statistical head fake. As Statscan cautions in the report itself, “monthly estimates will show more variability than trends observed over longer time periods.”

Still, the increase in the annual wage-growth rate was large enough to raise eyebrows. As the Bank of Canada considers interest-rate cuts in 2024, it has been adamant that it needs to see downward momentum in wage growth (among other things) to be convinced that inflation is headed sustainably toward the bank’s 2-per-cent target. The December jump may be a one-off, but the bank won’t breathe easier until it sees that upward blip reversed.

Yet it’s notable that average wages actually declined in December, 2022, the month against which the December wages were compared to calculate the rate of increase. That certainly exaggerated the size of the increase.

Within the December data, there may be some signs of easing wage pressures to come. For example, the goods-producing industries – which led the way in wage gains in 2023, with an average of 6.2 per cent – are also the sectors showing the sharpest slowdown in employment. Goods employment actually fell by more than 200,000 jobs over the second half of 2023. The implication is that, for these workers, the labour supply-and-demand dynamics, and hence bargaining power, have deteriorated rapidly.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

It’s another reason to believe that the path still leads to lower interest rates. Don’t let one hazy employment report distract you from the trend.

Well this is not welcome news.   
 

https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/entreprises/2024-01-03/la-brasserie-t-annonce-sa-fermeture-immediate-entrainant-130-mises-a-pied.php

La Brasserie T! annonce sa fermeture immédiate, entraînant 130 mises à pied

PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, ARCHIVES LA PRESSE

La Brasserie T! du Quartier Dix30

Liberal government policies are typically presented with firm commitment to action but in the end c’est de la poudre aux yeux.  Plus I truly believe they’re not that smart and definitely not competent.  Trudeau and his clown show government will become legendary for it.  
 

Sign is up for the pasta bar.  
 

Un autre avis d’alléger la réglementation.  
 

La grue est prête. 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-new-high-frequency-rail-ceo-says-project-could-include-direct-link/
 

New high frequency rail CEO says project could include direct link between Toronto and Montreal

BILL CURRYDEPUTY OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF

OTTAWA

PUBLISHED 5 HOURS AGOUPDATED 1 HOUR AGO

FOR SUBSCRIBERS

Open this photo in gallery:

Mr. Martin Imblaut, CEO of the federal high frequency rail team in his Montreal office on Oct. 18, says the project may include a line linking Toronto and Montreal that will bypass Ottawa and incorporate high-speed segments.ROGER LEMOYNE/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

LISTEN TO ARTICLE

Martin Imbleau, the new CEO of the federal high frequency rail team that is aiming to build 1,000 kilometres of dedicated Via Rail passenger service between Quebec City and Toronto, is well aware of the problems with large rail projects.

But he says his office has a pre-emptive plan to ensure cost and timeline projections prove reliable.

By bringing in global rail and construction leaders into the detailed planning stages, he said the goal is to have potential issues identified early on by the companies that will ultimately build the new lines.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

“Fundamentally, it’s don’t go out too soon and provide calendars and cost estimates without having done your homework,” he said. “You’ll make a nice announcement, but you’ll regret it.”

In his first English-language interview as chief executive officer, Mr. Imbleau told The Globe and Mail that the ultimate cost of the multibillion-dollar project needs to be considered with a long-term view.  

“This is a service for the next generations,” he said, describing young urban Canadians as far less car-dependent than their parents.

“We will be the link between the new commuting systems being developed in the cities,” he said.

The VIA HFR team operates as an arm’s-length subsidiary of VIA Rail and is a dedicated project office.

The project, which has not yet received final funding approval from the federal cabinet, envisions a new dedicated passenger rail line that would be more than 1,000 kilometres in length. It would connect Quebec City and Toronto, with stops in Trois-Rivières, Montreal, Ottawa and Peterborough. It would run north of the tracks currently used by Via Rail. The current route is primarily owned by CN Rail CNR-T, which gives priority to freight traffic.

Mr. Imbleau also commented on details of the plan, saying it may include a line linking Toronto and Montreal that bypasses Ottawa and incorporates high-speed segments. High-speed trains in Europe can travel 300 kilometres an hour or more.

“This is an option to be considered,” he said. “Of course, the link between Montreal and Toronto would be faster if you don’t go through Ottawa. But the cost and the scope is significantly different.”

STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

Earlier estimates had said the project would bring travel times between Montreal and Toronto to around four hours, including a stop in Ottawa. Current travel times are a little more than five hours. The project also promises significantly more daily trips.

While the project was originally pitched as an alternative to driving, Mr. Imbleau said the increasing congestion in and around airports could see flyers making the switch to rail as well.

“The journey time that we’re targeting, which is Montreal-Toronto below four hours, that’s a game changer,” he said. Driving between Canada’s two largest cities generally takes about six hours. Flights take about an hour, but travellers must account for travel to and from the airport and the need to arrive early.

Via is currently replacing its aging trains with new Siemens Venture trainsets, which can travel at a speed of up to 200 kilometres an hour, but the current class of track limits top speeds to 160 km/h. Mr. Imbleau said different trains may be needed if high-speed segments are included in the final plan.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

The government announced Mr. Imbleau’s appointment as the first CEO of VIA HFR Inc. on July 31 and it took effect Sept. 8. His expertise is in managing large infrastructure projects, though he does not come from a rail background.

His is the former president and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority. Prior to that, he was a vice-president at Hydro-Québec.

The current sharing of rail lines with freight is the main reason cited by Via for why its routes struggle to stay on time and why it is not able to add more frequent trips. Cities along that route – such as Belleville, Kingston, Saint-Hyacinthe and Drummondville, would continue to be served by passenger trains that operate on shared lines with freight.

The federal government announced on Oct. 13 that it launched a request for proposals for the project. Earlier in July, Ottawa announced three finalist consortiums that will be allowed to participate in the process.

The three consortiums now have until the summer of 2024 to submit detailed plans. Each group must submit two options: one that only involves high-frequency rail using traditional trains and tracks at top speeds of about 200 kilometres an hour, as well as a second option in which higher speeds are reached on some segments.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

The government said this process will allow for a “rigorous assessment of the costs and benefits of incorporating high-speed rail on each segment of the corridor.”

When Via was promoting the idea in 2017, it pegged the cost at between $4-billion and $6-billion. Former transport minister Omar Alghabra speculated in 2021 that the project could cost between $6-billion and $12-billion.

The recent decision to potentially include high-speed segments would likely drive the total price higher. High-speed rail is more expensive because it requires full-grade separation at road crossings and straighter routes.

Variables that will affect the cost include how many new bridges will be built, how many safety features will be included, and how the trains will enter and exit cities.

“There is no way I could have a credible evaluation of the cost today because the scope of the project is not even defined,” Mr. Imbleau said.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

Pierre LeFevre, who was a former senior adviser to the VIA CEO until 2019 and has studied the issue extensively, said high-speed rail is typically three to five times more expensive. He said extensive studies of high-speed rail have persuaded him that the added costs are not worth the potentially marginal increase in ridership.

“I think the government is going about it the right way, saying, ‘Okay, let’s see what you creative private guys can come up with.’ “ he said.

“But as somebody who studied the corridor intently for five years, and all the other train systems that look like it around the world, I’ll be very curious to see if somebody is going to come up with something that’s going to justify the cost of changing the model.”

Encore ici coin Ottawa et du Séminaire.

Après les travaux de réaménagement de rue et trottoir cette été (avec sans doute des highs fives de la part de l’arrondissement) travaux qui ont perturbés la circulation we get this fresh piece of roadwork.  

Deux photos pour illustrer l’absurdité de travaux à Montréal.  
 

Sur Richmond entre Lionel Groulx et St. Jacques avec aucune activité depuis ces enseignes et cônes ont étés mise en place il y a deux semaines.  

There’s grue coming.  I know this because there’s a door that says Magil.  

Keste opening soon Notre Dame près de des Seigneurs.