(Quebec) Minister Chantal Rouleau is dusting off Quebec’s social assistance system to make it “more humane” and less “punitive.” Quebec wants to provide more support to vulnerable clients, but in return will push more recipients to return to work. The Collectif pour un Québec sans pauvreté calls the reform a “missed opportunity.”
What you need to know
Minister Chantal Rouleau tabled her reform of the social assistance system on Wednesday, expected since 2023.
This summer, Minister Rouleau tabled her Quebec plan against poverty, which plans to offer personalized support to 50,000 beneficiaries towards a process of employment integration or another form of “social participation” by 2029.
The reform presented on Wednesday is not accompanied by new budgets since the additional measures will be financed from the current envelope, the minister specified.
The Minister responsible for Social Solidarity tabled Bill 71 in the National Assembly on Wednesday, which aims to improve support for individuals and simplify the social assistance system.
“The last major changes to the program were made 20 years ago,” Mr.me Rouleau at a press conference. “The reality at the time was quite different. In 2004, smoking was still allowed in bars and restaurants, the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan was not yet available and the minimum wage was $7.45,” she illustrated.
However, the reality of social assistance recipients has also changed, the minister pointed out. If we exclude asylum seekers, the number of adult beneficiaries has fallen by 40% over the past 20 years, from 386,771 in 2004 to 232,964 in 2024. Quebec sees this as a signal that the current system is no longer suitable.
Employment is essential, we must move towards employment, but what we see is that there is a gap between certain providers and the job market. And what we have just confirmed [avec le projet de loi]is to integrate these people into social participation, which did not exist.
Chantal Rouleau, Minister responsible for Social Solidarity and Community Action
The new system will provide each claimant with an individualized intervention plan to help them resolve difficulties in returning to work. For those “who are very far from the job market,” a new component of the social assistance and support programs will also be created. That is, a person could receive benefits if they do volunteer work, for example.
Expanded employment objective
On the other hand, Quebec will expand the Objective Employment Program, which is currently reserved for people who are making a first request for social assistance. M’s reformme Rouleau predicts that those who return to welfare and who do not have work constraints will be directed a second time to this program.
This means that Quebec will push more beneficiaries into the labour market to prevent them from ending up on social assistance, which should be a “last resort”.
“What allows you to escape poverty is employment. […] “This is where we can improve our economic condition, our living conditions. The Objectif emploi program is effective, it works very well,” explained the minister. About 60% of participants get a job, it was reported on Wednesday.
If a recipient refuses to participate in the program, they will only receive a basic benefit. Conversely, their benefit could be increased by $70 per week if they are actively looking for work. Other components provide for the payment of allowances ranging from $370 to $475 per week for training. However, failure to comply results in penalties of up to $240 per month.
Mental health
In its reform, Quebec is also reviewing the concept of “employment constraint” to replace it with “health constraint”, which broadens the program. For the time being, an employment constraint can be granted by a doctor to justify a work limitation. The bill wants to allow other professionals, such as social workers, to make a medical assessment.
“We want to take better account not only of medical constraints, but also improve the recognition of psychosocial constraints,” explained the minister.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, THE PRESS
Chantal Rouleau, Minister responsible for Social Solidarity and Community Action
We didn’t talk about it before […] and I think the pandemic has had a definite impact on mental health. […] With the old regime, let’s say that we had difficulty recognizing mental health issues.
Chantal Rouleau, Minister of Social Solidarity
The legislation also “humanizes” certain parameters of the current system. Quebec now provides for the payment of one check per adult rather than one check per household to “avoid situations of co-dependence.” The parental contribution for young people who no longer live with their parents is also being abolished, which could increase their benefits.
According to the Collective for a Quebec without Poverty, Quebec is “giving birth to a mouse” while most of the changes are “cosmetic”. The group believes that the minister is “missing the crux of the problem, namely the clear inadequacy of the income that this system guarantees to people” by not providing for an increase in benefits.
The Legault government also says it is “acting on over-indebtedness” by reducing the time limit for establishing a debt in cases of false declaration from 15 to 5 years. Furthermore, Quebec is reviewing the concept of “false declaration” so that “the intentional nature is clearly demonstrated.”
There will also be an “education supplement” leading to the obtaining of a high school diploma and a graduation bonus. The value of these incentives is not known at this time and will be determined by regulation.
Minister Rouleau assures that the expansion of programs will be done at zero cost. The budget for the entire current system is $3.3 billion per year. “The exercise was done extremely rigorously to have a financial framework where there would be no additional costs,” promised the minister.
It is believed that it will be possible to free up financial room for manoeuvre by merging the social assistance programme with the social solidarity programme, also provided for in the minister’s reform.