Quebec’s 2024-2029 government action plan against poverty provides $750 million over five years but the Collectif pour un Québec sans pauvreté says it should’ve been directed towards improving the incomes of those affected rather than in “patching up.”
The plan, which the community and social sector have been waiting on for months, was tabled last Friday and has practically gone under the radar.
The 2024-2029 plan announces the renewal of several existing or previously announced measures, such as affordable housing or support for food banks.
As for social assistance, the plan mentions that by 2029, Quebec intends to offer personalized support to 50,000 recipients towards an employment integration process or another form of “social participation.”
However, for the Collectif pour un Québec sans pauvreté, the anti-poverty plan fails to tackle the root of the problem: insufficient income.
“The solidarity tax credit should be made more generous, the minimum wage and the income of seniors and social assistance recipients should be increased,” said collective spokesperson Serge Petitclerc, in an interview on Tuesday.
In unveiling her plan, Quebec’s Minister of Social Solidarity and Community Action, Chantal Rouleau, noted that Quebec had the lowest low-income rate in Canada, at 6.6 per cent, compared to at 10.9 per cent in Ontario and 10.9 per cent in New Brunswick, for example.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews