Advocates for social welfare recipients and people living in poverty are calling on the Quebec government to modernize legislation around marital life (people who are considered to be a couple) and social assistance for people to have access to the support they need.
Steve Baird from the Front commun des personnes assistées sociales du Québec explained that there are various laws around marital status and social assistance that are “incredibly restrictive” and that more “tolerance” for people living in situations of poverty is required.
For example, if one person in a relationship loses their job – without access to unemployment benefits – but their partner is working a minimum wage job, that person is not eligible for social assistance and their partner is expected to support them, Baird says.
He noted that these laws do not meet today’s reality and some couples are forced to separate to make ends-meet.
Note: CIDI asked the Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity of Quebec but did not get a response before this story went to air.
