Affordable housing

By Trevor Greenway

Local Journalism Initiative

It was made very clear last week that La Pêche residents care about affordable housing and low-income families. 

When one resident suggested at a Feb. 20 zoning meeting that low-income families should be pushed outside the village cores in both Wakefield and Masham, residents stood up to argue the opposite – asserting how artists, families, elders and single people make the area diverse, rich and unique. 

“What’s the scope of this? What’s the trigger of this? Who is asking to have affordable houses here?” asked a resident during the second pre-consultation on the municipality’s urban plan (PU). “In Lac-des-Loups, compared to the village, the further you go, it’s going to be a bit cheaper because the lots are cheaper, so what is the scope to have affordable housing in a limited space, as Wakefield, where you are struggling with parking, but now you are thinking about bringing almost blocks. Why not elsewhere, outside the city,” asked the resident, referring to block housing, like container villages. 

“Well, because there is none,” added Wakefield resident and business owner John Batten, sitting a few seats over.

La Pêche urbanism director Jalloul Salah, who hosted the meeting, said he has heard from residents that Wakefield is becoming more expensive, making it harder for younger couples, single families, artists, service workers and elders to stay in the village. 

“People say that Wakefield is getting a bit expensive, and they want to continue living here,” he told the crowd. “So, what you are saying is gentrification, so let’s push people out.”

The resident, who did not share his name, said that people move to Wakefield for “its status” and suggested that village cores remain that way. 

But La Pêche residents Rink de Lange and his partner, Leanne Olson, disagreed. 

“I think it’s a surprise that you are even asking the question,” said de Lange. “If you don’t have housing for people with low income, then nobody will be able to live in Wakefield anymore, and we will lose our quaint village of Wakefield. It should be in every municipality’s goal to supply housing for people who are not that rich.”

Olson further described how Wakefield has become a “gig economy” full of artists, musicians and struggling families working multiple jobs to make ends meet. 

“People have four different jobs, they work all over the place; and they are the artists, they are the musicians, they are the people that add life to this village; and if we don’t support them, then a lot of wealthier people move in, and they all move out, and we’ve lost the heart of the village,” she said. “And if we don’t sustain that and encourage that and make sure they can stay because they can have affordable housing, then we lose a large part of the community.”

Wakefield councillor Claude Giroux praised the municipality’s partnership with Cohabitat Wakefield. This local non-profit housing cooperative just secured 2.5 acres of land through a donation from La Pêche for its 41-unit cooperative housing complex that will be built just off Maclaren street at the north end of the village. 

The cost of housing has become a big issue in the Des Collines, with the region’s social development roundtable Table de développement social des Collines-de-l’Outaouais (TDSCO) stating that in 2021, close to 3,000 residents in the MRC des Collines were spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing. The 30 per cent income-to-housing ratio is the threshold the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Company (CMHC) uses to consider a home as “affordable.” 

Some residents suggested that the old Wakefield Elementary School on Caves Road should be converted into affordable housing units. However, the property is privately owned by Toronto resident Eric Mah. Mah once tried to turn the building into a language school but lacked the funds. The building has become an eyesore and a dangerous hangout for local teens, who consistently break into it to host parties, explore and start fires. 

Coun. Giroux told the crowd that the municipality is now considering expropriating the property. However, that process has not officially begun yet.  

Other items discussed at the pre-consultation included: La Pêche’s plan to preserve and maintain heritage buildings throughout Wakefield, plans to preserve the village’s rail heritage at Turntable Park and the addition of segregated bike lanes that could take riders from Masham to Wakefield along Hwy 366. 

The latter seemed to spark some chatter among the dozen or so attendees, with de Lange questioning why La Pêche didn’t integrate bike lanes two summers ago when it redid the paving along Hwy 366. 

La Pêche staffers told the crowd that the municipality is developing a trail network that will connect riders along the highway to Masham. However, it wasn’t clear when those paths would be completed. 

The purpose of the meeting was to gather input from the community that will be integrated into the PU before it is adopted. This was the fourth PU meeting after staffers held similar meetings in Masham and Lac-des-Loups earlier this year. The PU is being renewed to align with the MRC des Collines’ master plan adopted last year. If you missed the meeting but want to have your voice heard, email opinion@villelapeche.qc.ca. The next round of consultations have not yet been announced.