(Ottawa) The Bloc Québécois believes that tens of thousands of Quebecers are “forgotten” in Bill C-31 since they cannot benefit from additional assistance with the payment of their rent.
Posted at 6:15 p.m.
The party’s spokesperson for national revenue, Jean-Denis Garon, deplored on Monday the fact that Quebecers who spend less than 30% of their income on their rent will not be able to take advantage of the one-time $500 check offered by the government of Justin Trudeau.
“Quebec is the only province that has permanent social housing construction programs, which means that we have more HLMs, housing co-ops […] (and) that (some) people are going to be literally excluded from federal aid,” he said before going to question period.
He indicated that the Bloc Québécois was therefore going to propose amendments to C-31 to change that. He noted that the Parliamentary Budget Officer specified in a recent report that 86,700 Quebecers do not spend more than 30% of their income to pay their rent. Across Canada, that would be 118,000 Canadians.
The bill, in its current form, only makes eligible for rental assistance families earning less than $35,000 and allocating at least 30% of their adjusted net income to housing expenses. Single people whose adjusted net income is less than $20,000 and who spend the same portion of their income paying their rent should also be eligible.
During Monday afternoon’s appearance by Housing Minister Ahmed Hussen before the committee studying Bill C-31, Mr. Garon said that under current provisions, a “very poor” senior living only one who receives a federal pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement is ineligible since she has an annual income of $25,000.
“Is that your definition of fairness? “Launched the elected Bloc member.
Mr. Hussen did not comment on this specific case, but insisted on the general idea behind the proposed rental assistance, which is an addition to the already existing Canada Housing Benefit program.
“We know that it is increasingly difficult for many Canadians to pay rent. […] That is why we introduced a bill that will allow us to quickly pay $500 to 1.8 million Canadian tenants who are having difficulty paying their rent. This includes residents of Quebec,” replied the Minister.
The House of Commons health committee is scheduled to proceed to clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-31 on Monday evening. First of all, the deputies also heard the Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos.
The latter defended the merits of another part of the bill which concerns aid to cover the cost of oral care for children under 12 from low-income families.
Specifically, the government wants to pay up to $650 per child per year, depending on their household income.
On this second part of Bill C-31, the Bloc Québécois believes that Quebec will not get its fair share. The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates that $92 million will go to the province, or 13% of the amount that would be distributed across Canada. However, the Bloc Québécois would like Quebec to have the equivalent of 23%, that is, the proportion that Quebeckers represent within the Canadian population. In fact, he is calling for the application of a right of withdrawal with full compensation for Quebec.
Mr. Garon also argued that the measure is “anti-union” since the beneficiaries of group insurance related to their employment could not receive the federal benefit for dental care.
Questioned on this point, Minister Duclos said that Quebecers who have recourse to the public dental insurance plan of Quebec – which covers certain bills for children under 10 – will be able to benefit from federal assistance.
“This program complements the Quebec program (which) does not cover preventive care. And in health, we know how important preventive care is, ”he insisted.
Mr. Duclos took the opportunity to point out that the measure contained in Bill C-31 is only a first step towards a more comprehensive pan-Canadian dental insurance program. This file is a key element of the confidence agreement between the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party (NDP).