Seniors at the heart of a dispute between Quebec and Ottawa

(Ottawa) Quebec seniors who need help at home to change their light bulbs, install a grab bar in their bathroom or install an air conditioner during this heatwave are finding themselves left behind. They are stuck despite themselves in a conflict between Quebec and Ottawa. Community organizations saw the money that the federal government had promised them disappear overnight.

“What a phenomenal disappointment!” », exclaims in an interview the general director of the Entraide Plus Community Center in Chambly, Sylvie Blanchard. “We say to ourselves: “no, you can’t take elders hostage like that!” »

Potentially millions of dollars from the federal Aging Well at Home program are being lost to Quebec. The Entraide Plus community center expected to receive nearly $600,000 from this envelope to provide odd jobs for seniors in Montérégie.

The project had been accepted by Ottawa, interviews to hire a project manager had already been conducted, and premises had been vacated. “Everything had been put in place so that as soon as we received the funds, we would start the project,” she explains.

Then at the end of May, she received the fateful email.

“We regret to inform you that Employment and Social Development Canada is unable to respond to your funding request. »

Same scenario at the MRC de l’Assomption Volunteer Action Center which received the same response, a few months after the approval of its project. “I do not accept being collateral damage in a federal-provincial dispute when next to me, I have people who are suffering and who need this help,” the agent is indignant. of development, Sylvie Hamel. “We receive lots of calls and it’s a lot of distress. »

She expected to get up to $300,000 to provide odd jobs for seniors. They are essential so that they are able to stay in their home, particularly those who cannot afford an apartment in residence.

For someone else, installing an ergonomic grab bar in the bathroom can make the difference between getting help from the CLSC or not. “As long as the bar is not installed, this person will not be able to receive their baths for their safety and for the safety of the family assistant who will go there,” explains M^me Hamel.

Skills dispute

Ottawa attributes the withdrawal of funds to the Quebec government which decided not to authorize applications for this program because it falls within one of its areas of jurisdiction. “Unfortunately, the Quebec government has been clear: it does not want these funds to go to organizations that do this work for seniors,” said Seniors Minister Seamus O’Regan in writing. However, he remains hopeful that the Legault government will reverse its decision.

The Bloc Québécois spokesperson for Seniors, Andréanne Larouche, accuses the Trudeau government of “lacking sensitivity” and of “blackmailing” at the expense of seniors.

The Quebec government would have liked to distribute the envelopes through its already existing programs, namely Quebec Friendly to Seniors and the Support Program for Community Organizations, according to an email from the Ministry of Health and Social Services that The Press was able to consult.

“We have, as of September 2022, called on the federal government to conclude a bilateral agreement allowing Quebec to obtain a transfer of its fair share of the sums,” indicated Thomas Verville, press secretary to the minister responsible for Canadian Relations, Jean- François Roberge.

“After more than 18 months of waiting, the federal government finally informed us in February 2024 that it could not consent to the transfer request due to “lack of time”. The inaction shown by the federal government has the effect of depriving Quebec organizations of available funds,” he added.

In Quebec, under the Act respecting the Ministry of the Executive Council, also known as law M-30, the federal government cannot distribute checks directly to organizations. He must first conclude an agreement with the Quebec government. It is a way of regulating the federal spending power to prevent Ottawa from injecting funds where it sees fit while ignoring Quebec priorities. Alberta recently became the second province to adopt similar legislation to counter the interference that has increased under Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.