People on social assistance will benefit from better support this year, faith of Chantal Rouleau, who is committed to reopening the law this fall and to developing an action plan by the end of 2023.
In office for six months, the Minister of Social Solidarity and Community Action says she is preparing a major social assistance reform that will result from the consultations she has already undertaken throughout Quebec. She says in an interview with The Canadian Press that the law on social assistance must be modernized, in order to adapt it to the new reality of 2023, by being “less punitive, more supportive”.
Mme Rouleau gives a concrete example: a person on social assistance currently receives $770 a month, and is only allowed to earn $200 more, which is equivalent to working no more than three hours a week.
This falls into the category of “punitive”, since after $200, the person is “penalized”, which is far from being an “incentive to go to work, to get involved”, according to her. “This person is like, ‘OK, I can work three hours a week, but for what?’ I want to see this again. Is it gonna be $500, […] a percentage, a number of hours? I don’t know,” said the minister.
One thing is certain, the portrait has changed a lot over the past 20 years in Quebec, notes the Montreal MP for Pointe-aux-Trembles. The percentage of recipients went from about 10.12% in 2003 to 4.8% this year. Mme Rouleau wonders “how to make the balance” between these 270,000 people and the job market, in a context of severe labor shortages in Quebec.
“These are people who are far from the labor market, who may have severe permanent or temporary employment restrictions, people who don’t have a lot of education, who may be of a certain age. Now, “literature says so, […] it is employment that is the most rewarding solution for every human being, it is through employment that we improve our living conditions”, according to the minister.
Reduction of bureaucracy
Moreover, it wants to double the number of people who participate in the Aim for Employment Program. In this spirit, it does not intend to drop the liberal reform of 2016, although all its components will be examined. In 2016, the Couillard government passed Bill 70, which cuts benefits for new applicants deemed able to work who refuse to begin a job search process.
This same government also introduced a basic income program, which came into effect in January this year, and which is generally appreciated.
Minister Rouleau agrees that there are conditions attached to social assistance, a “last resort” aid which will continue to be indexed, not a “salary”, she specifies. “There may be cuts because people don’t respect the conditions. We will help you, but everyone has to do their part. If we break the conditions, well there may be penalties,” she said.
However, she insists that her reform will aim to better support people on social assistance, by focusing on consensual measures, in particular the reduction of bureaucracy. For example, the implementation of a guaranteed minimum income does not have consensus within society, according to her.
About the bureaucracy, she says: “There are 1000 forms. The problem is that providers […] can sometimes tick the wrong box and that will have consequences. “Several reductions would therefore be expected as part of this “important” reform to come.