Protesters decry changes to Quebec welfare program
New law will see monthly income tied to participation in job training program
Anti-poverty groups staged a demonstration on Tuesday against changes to Quebec’s welfare program that will require new recipients to participate in employment training.
The program, called Objectif emploi, aims to help people find work by undergoing job training, learning how to find work and developing social skills. The program took affect on April 1.
But anti-poverty groups say the new law will cut up to $224 from their $648 monthly income if they fail to participate in the program after being on welfare for three months.
Cathy Inouye, a community organizer at Project Genesis, said the new law is introducing more reasons to cut welfare cheques, which she said do not cover living expenses to begin with. “The average rent in Montreal is over $700 and welfare is only $648 (monthly),” she said.
Participants who can’t attend training sessions for a few days because of illness (theirs or their child’s), could be penalized and see their welfare cheques cut, she said.
“The people who are the most vulnerable will be hurt,” she said. “The decision (on whether to cut payments) is at the discretion of the agents and that is why we are very nervous. It is not clearly laid out.”
The new law also allows for financial incentives for first-time welfare recipients who sign up for the employment-integration program. The bonus could go as high as $260 a month if newcomers to social assistance take part in an evaluation session and choose a 12-month course. The courses involve: studying to obtain a professional qualification; researching how to find work; or developing social skills for those who are not ready to return to work or study because of various problems, such as drug abuse.
Although there will be exemptions for people with diagnosed mental and physical illnesses, many young people with difficult upbringings or with undiagnosed mental illnesses may be penalized if they can’t participate in training programs, said Gabriel St-Jean, who works with marginalized youth and young adults in Montreal.
“Young people who have grown up in youth centres sometimes lack social skills and the independence to work,” he said. “There are other young people who are borderline mentally ill but have not been diagnosed.”
There are about 400,000 Quebecers on welfare. Inouye said the government needs to remove barriers in the welfare system that keep people from working.
“When you start working, they cut your welfare cheque — you are only allowed to make $200 on welfare,” she said. “They also need to allow people to go back to school. They cut people off as soon as they go back to school.”
With files from Presse Canadienne