Among Montreal’s muncipal politicians, those who own the largest number of residential units also currently hold seats, or recently sat, on the Commission on Economic and Urban Development and Housing, the standing committee tasked with, among other things, finding affordable housing solutions.

“I think the conflict of interest is really substantial,” said Margaret van Nooten, a social rights worker at Project Genesis, a non-profit organization that advocates for housing rights in the city’s Côte-des-Neiges borough. “I don’t think they’re going to be defending their constituents if they are stakeholders [in the housing market].”

At the end of each year elected officials in Montreal are required to declare their “pecuniary interests,” which includes real estate holdings on the island, companies they hold interest in or administrate that are likely to do business with the city, debts over $2,000 owed, or that are due to people outside of their immediate family or a financial institution.