By Oumou Diakité
In Quebec, many thousands of people hold down a job while receiving social assistance. This phenomenon, sometimes called the “working poor paradox,” raises a fundamental question: how can it be possible to work — sometimes part-time, sometimes irregularly — and still remain below the poverty line?
Public programs are not static. Since January 1, 2023, a new basic income program has been in effect. Presented as a major step forward by the Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity, this program aims to provide more stable support to those experiencing persistent poverty. However, on the ground, many community workers believe that these reforms still leave too many people in the system’s blind spot.
So, does the current system truly allow people to escape poverty… or does it merely administer it?
Not Poor Enough
Every morning, Claire (not her real name) counts the minutes before dropping her children off at school. The bus stops on the way to the call center. The seconds between rings. She also counts the hours worked, the expenses, the twenty-dollar bills discreetly slipped into her pocket after a cleaning job paid in cash. Everything is calculated. Except for the unexpected.
With a part-time contract and reduced social assistance benefits, Claire lives in a precarious situation. Work a little, but not too much. Earn, but not too much. Declare income, but at the risk of losing it. “I wanted to do things right, but every time I get a little closer to better, I end up with less,” she murmurs, her gaze downcast.
Like her, thousands of Quebecers trapped between precarious employment and social assistance try to walk a tightrope. The program meant to help them escape poverty sometimes traps them in a maze with no way out. The slightest hour worked can cause their benefits to plummet. The slightest receipt can tip the balance. So, she makes do. She adapts. She does the best she can and she manages fairly well. “Fairly well,” she would certainly say, but it’s not enough. She still has a few hundred dollars left at the end of each month, and her children have everything they need. So, in a way, she’s providing for her family.
Narrow Line
In theory, this program allows you to combine employment and social assistance. In practice, the line is narrow. Only the first $200 of monthly income isn’t deducted from the benefit. After that, every dollar earned is subtracted. “It doesn’t make me happy not to declare everything, but life is hard, and I don’t have all the resources in the world,” says Claire, her voice calm but weary.
She has no RRSP, no savings, no insurance. Her only security is being able to juggle three statuses: part-time worker, social assistance recipient, and informal worker. A fragile, exhausting balance. “When you work but don’t earn enough to live on, you don’t really have a safety net. You’re just juggling the fear of falling.”
According to available data, more than 50,000 people receive social assistance while employed. Many of them are in situations similar to Claire’s. The rules, considered too rigid, create what some call “poverty traps”: income thresholds that discourage declared work because efforts are rarely rewarded.
Photo: John McArthur on Unsplash
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