Quebec government flirts with guaranteed minimum income in $3 billion anti-poverty plan

QC government lays out anti-poverty plan Anti-poverty activists say the investment, $3 billion over five years, might not go far enough.

The Quebec government unveiled a $3 billion anti-poverty plan on Sunday, drawing criticism from advocacy groups who said it targets too narrow a group of people to truly make a dent.

Government officials said their aim is to raise 100,000 Quebecers out of poverty by 2023. Referring to the plan as “first steps towards establishing a basic income,” the government announced measures that it said would help people who have been unable to obtain employment do so.

Among the measures announced were:

In November, an expert committee tabled their report on guaranteed minimum income to the National Assembly.

The 220-page report included recommendations for Quebec to adopt a guaranteed minimum income, which was defined as “a guarantee of monetary resources for all, with the amount of these resources being related to a minimum threshold.”

The report also included recommendations to make it easier for eligible people to obtain benefits and navigate government bureaucracy, setting up bank accounts that would receive payments for people training to re-enter the labour market and improving support systems for the elderly and disabled.

Under the unveiled plan, Quebecers who are able to work but aren't would not be eligible for an increase in benefits.

Public Health Minister Lucie Charlebois said the plan would help all Quebecers who are in poverty.

"Thanks to this progress, we are demonstrating our concrete desire to act on the ground to better help the most vulnerable people in our society, including people with disabilities and those who are homeless,” she said. “We are proud to support the organizations that work with these people to improve their living conditions and promote their development."

Anti-poverty advocacy group the Collective for a Quebec Without Poverty criticized the plan, noting that its name - Government Action Plan for Economic Inclusion and Social Participation 2017-2023 - didn't initially include the word "poverty."

Spokesperson Serge Petitclerc said the initiative relied too much on work incentives and didn't do enough for those who are unable to work, such as the disabled.

As it stands, about 800,000 Quebecers cannot afford to meet their basic needs.

On their website, the CQWP lists several recommendations they say would drastically reduce Quebec's poverty rate. Included in those measures is an increase of the minimum wage to $15-per-hour and the implementation of a $17,716-per-year universal minimum income.

Adopting a guaranteed minimum income would “take a lot of people out of poverty,” said Sun Youth spokesperson Ann St. Arnaud.

“It would be beneficial for society in general because these people would buy more food, buy more clothing, they would buy more regular stuff and it would be good for the economy in general.”

St. Arnaud said her experience working with people at Sun Youth tells her government programs incentivizing people to go to work are unnecessary.

“The incentive to go back to work is the work itself,” she said. “People want to work. It’s the means to go about it that’s needed.”

Critics maintain that until there's a plan that helps a greater number of people, beyond their basic needs, poverty will not be erased.

- With files from The Canadian Press