At last night’s regular meeting of the Brossard municipal council, elected officials passed a number of resolutions that will, among other things, subsidize emergency assistance services for homeless citizens and recognize the Bois de Brossard nature reserve. Here’s a summary of the session’s highlights.
Draft By-law REG444: additional assistance for emergency rents
Any municipality located in a metropolitan area or census agglomeration with a rental unit vacancy rate recognized by the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ) of over 2% must adopt a municipal program complementary to this subsidy component. This program must also be approved by the SHQ.
By adopting this By-law, the City of Brossard will become eligible for Component 2 of the SHQ’s Emergency Rent Supplement and Subsidy to Municipalities Program, which consists in granting subsidies to eligible municipalities to cover a portion of the costs of emergency assistance services provided to homeless citizens.
Eligible expenses include temporary accommodation. The absence of a dwelling must be linked to a housing shortage or a major incident (fire, for example).
“This by-law is important for the members of the Board, as it will give us additional leverage to help those who suddenly find themselves without a home. We must do everything in our power to avoid the worst for those affected,” emphasized Doreen Assaad, Mayor of Brossard.
Bois de Brossard officially recognized as a nature reserve
The signing of this agreement by the City of Brossard will formalize the agreement reached between the Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MELCC) and the City of Brossard to preserve the 178-hectare Bois de Brossard nature reserve in perpetuity.
Please note that the nature reserve does not include lots where trail development is planned in the short to medium term in connection with the outdoor center. These can be integrated into the nature reserve once all the planned facilities have been installed.
“Finally, the Bois de Brossard will become one of Montérégie’s major protected areas. The presence of a nature reserve in a booming city like Brossard shows that it’s possible to combine development and protection of natural environments,” added the mayor.
To stay in touch with the board
Each council meeting is broadcast live on the City of Brossard’s YouTube channel and on council. The minutes of the last meeting will be available on this page of the website in the next few days.
Lower left corner: Bois de Brossard
