Quebec cities to document urgent issues in municipalities

Djeneba Dosso

The new project launched by Montreal in collaboration with Quebec cities will get off the ground later this year, in November.

Gatineau has joined a new initiative launched by the City of Montreal which aims to document solutions to urgent issues faced in municipalities. The proposed solutions will focus on social economy. This includes tackling housing affordability, methods of waste management and the offer of local services.

Social economy offers solutions that are based on citizen participation and innovation, according to Luc Rabouin, Chairman of the Executive Committee and responsible for finance, economic development and higher education. This approach promotes problem-solving on a local level and in turn helps municipalities address challenges independently based on their urgent needs.

“The social economy is a natural ally for cities that want to meet people’s expectations in an increasingly complex context,” he said in a press release. “Whether it is to respond to the housing crisis, accelerate the ecological transition or support our local economy, non-profit organizations and cooperatives offer innovative solutions that must be used by cities.”

Béatrice Alain, general manager of the Social Economy Construction Site believes this partnership will enrich entrepreneurs and municipalities alike.  “By documenting the sectors where the social economy offers immediate and convincing solutions to collective challenges, the Cities and Social Economy project heralds a new phase of great collaboration between social economy enterprises and Quebec municipalities.”

These municipalities include Montreal, Gatineau, Laval, Lévis, Longueuil, Quebec, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Sherbrooke. While details on how cities plan to document solutions in social economy have yet to be released to the public, representatives of each city gathered virtually for the first time to lay the foundations of their new collaboration on April 18.

The Cities and Social Economy project will culminate next November with the organization of a day of exchanges between experts, key players in social economy and representatives of the eight municipalities. “By mobilizing all major cities with the Social Economy Site, we are giving ourselves the means to improve our practices and accelerate our responses to common priorities,” added Rabouin.