Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
The Quebec government’s anti-poverty action plan for 2024-2029 provides $750 million over five years, but the Quebec Without Poverty collective says that’s money that should have gone to improving the incomes of those affected rather than to “repairs.”
The plan, which the community and social services have been waiting for for months, was put on the table last Friday and practically went under the radar.
The 2024-2029 plan announces the renewal of several existing or previously announced measures, such as affordable housing and support for food banks.
Regarding social assistance, the plan states that by 2029, Quebec intends to offer personalized support to 50,000 recipients in their efforts to integrate into the workforce or some other form of “social participation.”
However, for the Collectif pour un Québec sans pauvreté, the anti-poverty program fails to address the root of the problem: insufficient income.
“We need to make the solidarity tax credit more generous, and raise the minimum wage and the incomes of the elderly and welfare recipients,” collective spokesman Serge Petitclerk said in an interview on Tuesday.
In unveiling her plan, the Minister of Social Solidarity and Community Action, Chantal Rouleau, noted that Quebec has the lowest income rate in Canada, 6.6 percent, compared to 10.9 percent in Ontario and 10.9 percent in New Brunswick, for example.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 25, 2024.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/collective-criticizes-quebec-anti-poverty-action-plan-1.6940511
