ACT TO COMBAT POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION. Click here. We could just follow the French system and also the amounts paid to the French but right across Canada in Canadian dollars and model our programs accordingly. This would satisfy all of our obligations.

 

ACT TO COMBAT POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION. Click here.

on October 26, 2019

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L-7 - Act to combat poverty and social exclusion

  

Updated to 1 March 2019

This document has official status.

Full text

chapter L-7

ACT TO COMBAT POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION

PREAMBLE

WHEREAS according to the principles set out by the Charter of human rights and freedoms, respect for the dignity of human beings, equality of women and men, and recognition of their rights and freedoms constitute the foundation of justice, liberty and peace;

WHEREAS poverty and social exclusion may constitute obstacles to the protection of and respect for human dignity;

WHEREAS the effects of poverty and social exclusion impede the economic and social development of Québec society as a whole and threaten its cohesion and equilibrium;

WHEREAS the fight against poverty and social exclusion is a national imperative within the spirit of a universal movement which seeks to enhance the social, cultural and economic development of all human beings;

WHEREAS persons living in poverty and social exclusion are the first to act to improve their situation and that of their families, and whereas such improvement is linked to the social, cultural and economic development of the entire community;

WHEREAS it is appropriate to affirm the desire of Québec society as a whole to act in a coordinated manner and pursue a course of action designed to combat poverty and social exclusion;

THE PARLIAMENT OF QUÉBEC ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:

CHAPTER I

OBJECT AND DEFINITION

1. The object of this Act is to guide the Government and Québec society as a whole towards a process of planning and implementing actions to combat poverty, prevent its causes, reduce its effects on individuals and families, counter social exclusion and strive towards a poverty-free Québec.

To that end, this Act establishes a national strategy to combat poverty and social exclusion. It also establishes an advisory committee on the prevention of poverty and social exclusion and an observatory on poverty and social exclusion which shall assume the functions assigned to them by this Act to achieve the goals set out in the national strategy.

This Act further provides for the creation of the Fonds québécois d’initiatives sociales, dedicated to combatting poverty and social exclusion.

2002, c. 61, s. 1.

The second sentence of the second paragraph of this section is in force to the extent that that provision applies in respect of the advisory committee on the prevention of poverty and social exclusion; Order in Council 821-2005 dated 31 August 2005, (2005) 137 G.O. 2, 3919. In any other respect, the above provision will come into force on the date to be fixed by the Government (2002, c. 61, s. 70).

2. For the purposes of this Act, “poverty” means the condition of a human being who is deprived of the resources, means, choices and power necessary to acquire and maintain economic self-sufficiency or to facilitate integration and participation in society.

2002, c. 61, s. 2.

CHAPTER II

NATIONAL STRATEGY TO COMBAT POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION

3. For the purposes of this Act, a national strategy to combat poverty and social exclusion is established.

2002, c. 61, s. 3.

4. The national strategy is intended to progressively make Québec, by 2013, one of the industrialized nations having the least number of persons living in poverty, according to recognized methods for making international comparisons.

2002, c. 61, s. 4.

5. The national strategy shall consist of a set of actions implemented by the Government, its socio-economic partners, regional and local communities, community organizations and other social stakeholders to counter poverty and facilitate social inclusion. In that respect, the Government shall solicit citizen participation, particularly the participation of persons living in poverty.

The actions must address both the causes and the consequences of poverty and social exclusion to ensure that all persons concerned may obtain the support and encouragement their situation requires and may, on their own, achieve self-sufficiency, and participate actively in the life and advancement of the community.

2002, c. 61, s. 5.

6. The goals of the national strategy are

(1)  to promote respect for and protection of the dignity of persons living in poverty and combat prejudices in their regard ;

(2)  to improve the economic and social situation of persons and families living in poverty and social exclusion ;

(3)  to reduce the inequalities that may be detrimental to social cohesion ;

(4)  to encourage persons and families living in poverty to participate in community life and social development ;

(5)  to develop and reinforce the sense of solidarity throughout Québec so that society as a whole may participate in the fight against poverty and social exclusion.

2002, c. 61, s. 6.

7. In order to achieve the goals set out in the national strategy, the actions taken by Québec society as a whole and the Government, to the extent provided for by law or on the conditions determined by the Government, must be oriented along the following five axes:

(1)  preventing poverty and social exclusion, with a focus on developing the potential of individuals;

(2)  strengthening the social and economic safety net;

(3)  promoting access to employment and increasing the attractiveness of work;

(4)  promoting the involvement of society as a whole; and

(5)  ensuring consistent and coherent intervention at all levels.

Those actions must also, in their conception and implementation, take into account realities specific to women and men, in particular through gender-based analysis, as well as the greater incidences of poverty in certain regions or areas and the specific needs of certain groups in society having particular difficulties, particularly because of their age, ethnic origin or an impairment or disability.

2002, c. 61, s. 7.

The government mandate the Minister Responsible for Seniors and Informal Caregivers to cooperate with the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social solidarity for the development and implementation of any action related to seniors. Order in Council 1322-2018 dated 31 October 2018, (2018) 150 G.O. 2 (French), 7427.

8. Preventive action must be aimed at, in particular,

(1)  recognizing the family as the basic unit of personal and social development and, while respecting the role of parents, supporting families with dependent children that are at risk of long-term poverty through early and integrated intervention aimed at giving the families access to a range of services and programs adapted to their needs and to those of their children;

(2)  promoting school success and facilitating school and social integration of young persons, particularly the disadvantaged;

(3)  improving basic education and access to continuing education to enable adults to complete and update their occupational qualifications, facilitating recognition of their experience and promoting access to information and communication technologies;

(4)  supporting volunteer and community actions that contribute to the social inclusion of persons living in poverty;

(5)  recognizing the contribution of the elderly to society and supporting those living in poverty to provide them with access to a variety of services and programs adapted to their needs; and

(6)  promoting, for persons living in poverty, access to culture, recreation and sports.

2002, c. 61, s. 8.

The government mandate the Minister Responsible for Seniors and Informal Caregivers to cooperate with the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social solidarity for the development and implementation of any action related to seniors. Order in Council 1322-2018 dated 31 October 2018, (2018) 150 G.O. 2 (French), 7427.

9. Action to strengthen the social and economic safety net must be aimed at, in particular,

(1)  raising the level of income granted to persons and families living in poverty, having regard to their particular situation and the resources at their disposal to meet their essential needs ;

(2)  encouraging low-income workers to enter or remain on the labour market, especially through work income supplements ;

(3)  providing persons living in poverty or social exclusion with health, social and educational services that are adapted to their specific needs ;

(4)  facilitating dignified access, for persons and families living in poverty, to a food supply that is both sufficient and nutritious, at reasonable costs, and to simple and reliable information enabling those persons and families to make enlightened dietary choices ;

(5)  facilitating the availability of decent and affordable housing through housing assistance measures or the development of social housing for the socially disadvantaged, including the homeless, and strengthening community support for those persons.

2002, c. 61, s. 9.

10. Within the scope of its action to promote access to employment and increase the attractiveness of work, the Government must act in concert with its various labour market partners and community organizations, in particular

(1)  to intensify employment assistance so as to better support the communities in their efforts to create employment and, particularly in high-poverty areas in which employment assistance measures and services must be adapted to the needs of the groups identified as being more affected by poverty ;

(2)  to favour an approach centred on community-based intervention and the integration of social and economic development ;

(3)  to favour, in the workplace, the social and occupational integration of persons who have particular difficulty entering the labour market, in particular persons who have an impairment or disability ; and

(4)  to enhance the quality of jobs so that the workers receive an income adequate to provide an acceptable standard of living, in comparison with the income of Québec workers generally, enjoy better employment protection against the risks of exclusion and benefit from measures enabling them to achieve a better balance between family and work.

2002, c. 61, s. 10.

11. Action to promote the involvement of society as a whole must provide for the inclusion of stakeholders representative of the broader Québec community. For that purpose, such actions must, in particular,

(1)  favour citizen participation, particularly that of persons living in poverty and social exclusion and the organizations representing them ;

(2)  support specific local and regional initiatives for the achievement of the goals set out in the national strategy ;

(3)  recognize the social responsibility of enterprises and include the labour market partners ; and

(4)  recognize the contribution of volunteer and community action.

2002, c. 61, s. 11.

12. Within the scope of its action to ensure consistent and coherent intervention at all levels, the Government must, in particular,

(1)  ensure that the policies and measures intended to help in the fight against poverty and social exclusion are complementary and coherent ;

(2)  devise means of measuring the progress achieved and improving knowledge on poverty issues, in particular through the development of research networks, and provide for accountability and coordination mechanisms designed to ensure consistent intervention ;

(3)  support in a durable manner innovation and adaptation of programs and services on the regional and local levels, develop coordinated action and collaboration and provide for a procedure for disseminating innovative experiments carried out ;

(4)  remain abreast of and examine innovative approaches taken by other countries and participate in international forums ; and

(5)  with the representatives of the native nations, discuss ways in which the actions may be adapted to the particular needs of the native peoples.

2002, c. 61, s. 12.

CHAPTER III

GOVERNMENT ACTION PLAN

13. To implement the national strategy to combat poverty and social exclusion, the Government must, before 5 May 2003 establish a government action plan setting forth a set of activities the Government plans on carrying out to achieve the goals pursued, and make it public.

2002, c. 61, s. 13.

14. The Government shall, within the scope of the action plan, set targets to be reached, in particular to improve the income of recipients under the Employment-Assistance Program established under the Act respecting income support, employment assistance and social solidarity (chapter S-32.001), and the income of persons working full-time or on a sustained basis who live in poverty according to the indicators used by the Government.

2002, c. 61, s. 14.

15. The action plan must also propose amendments to the Employment-Assistance Program, to the extent provided for by the Act respecting income support, employment assistance and social solidarity (chapter S-32.001), in particular

(1)  to eliminate the reductions of benefits resulting from the application of the provisions of that Act as regards shared housing and minimum lodging costs ;

(2)  to introduce the minimum benefit principle, a threshold below which benefits cannot be reduced by reason of the application of administrative penalties, setoff or a combination of both ;

(3)  to enable adults and families to own property and liquid assets of a value greater than the value allowed at the time the action plan is established, in order to encourage self-sufficiency or take into account transitory economic difficulties ; 

2002, c. 61, s. 15.