More families receiving social assistance in Quebec

Social assistance has registered an increase in the number of beneficiary families in Quebec for the second year in a row, attributed to the growing number of asylum seekers in the province.

• Read more: Unemployment rate unchanged in July in Quebec

In 2024, 267,008 Quebec families will receive social assistance, representing an increase of almost 4% compared to last year, according to data from the Ministry of Employment and Social Solidarity. 255,365 in 2023 and 240,465 in 2022.

In Montreal alone, 98,213 households receive this government assistance this year, an increase compared to 89,829 households in 2023.

The arrival of asylum seekers in the province may not be unrelated to this increase, as they can only rely on social assistance as a source of income when they do not have access to a work permit, explained Serge Petitlerc, spokesman for the federation. To a Quebec without poverty.

Thus, if we refer to the 15,544 asylum seekers who were receiving social assistance in 2022, 55,423 are currently using it.

Asylum seekers, however, pay the price of delays in obtaining an Ottawa-issued work permit, which can sometimes reach 10 months, noted Anaide Aleksanian, director general of the Immigration Assistance Center and Refugees in Montreal.

“This puts pressure on our institutions because we have a mission, which is to help all immigrants in their socio-economic integration, so it is difficult to compromise with this deadline,” he said.