Contribution to the 2nd action plan consultation for the fight against poverty in Quebec
The committee firstly highlights that fighting against poverty demands the greater respect of human rights. This is because people living in poverty often tell us that they feel their dignity is diminished, and that they do not feel respected by other people. They are often subject to prejudices. Affirming the dignity of all individuals demands a change in personal attitudes, but also collective government-led action. In the Charter of the rights and liberty of the individual in Quebec, greater weight should be given to articles concerning economic and social rights. Moreover, the governments of Quebec and Canada should take more seriously their joint engagements to the International Pact for economic, social and cultural rights (ICESCR)
The committee next reiterates the three major demands voiced in the petition “Collective mission: building a poverty-free Quebec”, which was supported by 100,000 signatories, a thousand organisations and delivered by over a thousand people in May 2009 to the Quebec National Assembly. The petition states that all men and women should have access to high quality universal public services, to a minimum wage allowing to escape from poverty, and to a last recourse aid which would guarantee an income to safeguard individuals’ dignity and health. The Consultative committee for the fight against social poverty and exclusion (CCFSPE) has discreetly but insistently carried out significant work since its creation in 2006, setting out a series of recommendations for fighting more effectively against poverty and social exclusion. Through Réjeanne Pagé, who is a member of both the Consultative committee for the fight against poverty and the ATD Fourth World legal committee, we were able to closely follow this work. As a whole, the CCFSPE’s 61 recommendations, which were published over a series of four announcements, are valid and deserve the government’s adherence. One disappointment: we would have liked to see more strongly recommended the increase of the minimum financial support level. The goal should be to cover 100% rather than 80% of the Market Basket Level (MBL).
A dozen recommendations in the legal committee’s text go on to address a variety of issues: the right for two hearing aids for people with poor hearing, speedier complaints processing by the housing department, the fight against substandard housing, accessibility to the Éconologis programme, the difficult of groups in accessing preschool centers, increasing energy costs, the abolition of forced employment categories for last recourse aid, etc.
The ATD Fourth World movement sent a copy of its contribution to the Minister for Employment and Social Solidarity, Mr Sam Amad, as well as to the heads of the opposition parties.
