With less poverty, all of us stand to gain immeasurably.
Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale (CCLP)
Update
November 11th, 2011
New chair for Comité consultatif
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The Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale (CCLCPES) is pleased to announce that Jeanne Lavoie will serve as its interim chair until the Cabinet chooses a replacement for outgoing chair Damien Arsenault.
Damien Arsenault was appointed chair of the committee in September 2009. The members wish to thank him for his deep commitment and his conviction in conveying the committee’s messages and values.
Jeanne Lavoie, a volunteer, has been a voting member of the committee since 2006. She hails from the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region. On September 30, 2009, she was reappointed to represent community organizations for a three-year term of office.
November 8th, 2011
Indexation of social assistance benefits
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Bulletin no. 2 – November 2011
This is the second issue of the online bulletin published by the Comité consultatif de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale. This issue covers the indexation method for social assistance benefits.
According to the Comité, indexation should better reflect increases in the cost of the essential needs that benefits are intended to cover. In fact, during recent years, the cost of essential goods and services, such as food and housing, have tended to increase more rapidly than the All-Items Consumer Price Index. The recommended indexation method would make it possible to avoid the increased impoverishment, year after year, of individuals and families who receive social assistance benefits.
Full indexation of all benefits, which has been in effect since January 2009, is a good initiative and has been a provision of the Individual and Family Assistance Regulation since April 1, 2011, thus making annual indexation automatic. The Comité is of the opinion that the principle of full indexation must be made a provision of the Act so as to avoid its being called into question because of changes in general economic conditions.
June 18th, 2010
Ageing Alone. The Downward Spiral to Exclusion
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More and more Québeckers are ageing alone, and this increases their risk of poverty and exclusion. Nearly half of those whose income is below the low-income cut-off are single individuals. And the 45- to 64-year-olds in this group are the ones most likely to live in a situation of long-term poverty.
The Comité consultatif is proud to release its latest Advisory Opinion, which looks at the connection between ageing alone and poverty and social exclusion.
In the Advisory Opinion, the Comité consultatif proposes ways of:
- Improving the conditions of people who age alone and in situations of poverty and social exclusion;
- Being proactive so that future cohorts of single individuals who are more vulnerable can live in an environment that provides them with better support and that fosters active ageing and continued self-sufficiency.
The members of the Comité consultatif feel that even though strides have been made in terms of the material poverty of the elderly, much remains to be done to level the playing field. Just as society deemed it appropriate to invest in giving children in disadvantaged sectors better opportunities, so must it invest in more equality of opportunity at the end of life. When it comes to the fight against poverty and social exclusion, this is a major issue.
- Ageing Alone: The Impact on Poverty and Social Exclusion (PDF, 1500 KB)
- Highlights (French only, PDF, 138 KB)
