Good day.
The Front commun des personnes assistées sociales du Québec includes 34 associations advocating for the rights of social assistance recipients from various regions of Quebec. I can tell you that poverty is seen as being nothing less than an impenetrable barrier. People living in poverty are excluded as citizens. That is what people experiencing this reality feel.
As a common front, we represent only 34 associations, but there are more than 400,000 people on social assistance in Quebec. However, we stand with many movements, including some that deal with women, for example the Fédération des femmes du Québec, the Fédération des associations de familles monoparentales et recomposées du Québec and the regroupement des centres de femmes du Québec—, the L'R des centres de femmes du Québec. We maintain contact with the Collectif pour un Québec sans pauvreté, a coalition of all kinds of community, union and other organizations, as well as with umbrella groups dedicated to working on the problems of homelessness and housing. I will not repeat what Mr. Saillant has said. We support him 100%. I want to emphasize that point.
We also have ties to non-union advocacy groups, some of whom have testified before this committee, as well as with the Civil Liberties Union. In fact, we believe that poverty is a structural reality that can be changed if we respect the broader rights of people, of the citizens of Quebec and of Canada. We know that rights are not prioritized and that they are indivisible. Rights are universal, deeply intertwined, interdependent and inextricably linked. If poverty denies people their rights, that means that people living in poverty are not full citizens, in Quebec and in Canada. We also work from this perspective.
The federal government has reduced its transfers for public services to the provinces, be it in health, education or social services. Its withdrawal from the Canada Assistance Plan has allowed the federal government to cut its transfers in half. It is clear that those who are most affected by this are those living in poverty. We know what the consequences of poverty are on health, education and so on. The federal government has a responsibility in this regard. We ask the federal government to fully reinstate this 50% in order to pay the real costs of public services.
There is also the whole story of employment insurance, which in reality is unemployment insurance. The government no longer invests in this. It uses these funds for purposes for which they were never intended. In our opinion, this is unacceptable. It is important that unemployment insurance be returned to its original purpose.
There is also the tax aspect. We are asking that taxation be made much more progressive than it actually is and that simple tax credits be replaced by refundable tax credits. Indeed, who benefits from tax credits? Those who pay taxes. But people living in poverty do not pay taxes, and they remain in a state of great poverty.
Furthermore, the federal government abolished the Court Challenges Program. For advocacy organizations, this program was a necessity. People can no longer assert their rights and defend them. It is therefore as though they have none. This program is also directly linked to the rights of people living in poverty.
We are also asking that the Women's Program return to the purpose for which it was created, which included supporting advocacy for women's rights and promoting equality.
Currently, the scope of this program is very limited.
Furthermore, it is obvious that if the federal government were to set a higher minimum wage, it would help increase the minimum wage in the provinces as well.
As far as the Canada Child Tax Benefit is concerned, it should be increased. Everyone knows that the amount allocated does not correspond to families' real needs. We also feel that funds should be invested into public transportation rather than into tax credits. I believe that it is people with money who can truly benefit from tax credits. Every time any such measure is implemented, we further isolate people living in poverty, and prevent them from participating in society.
The government has made international commitments. One of our prime ministers even said that we live in the most beautiful county in the world. If that is the case, we are very concerned about the world. The government must review these commitments, be honest and consistent in this regard. That is what we are asking for in the fight against poverty. If people do not have the conditions required to be able to experience and exercise their rights, they do not have any. Poverty is a barrier to exercising one's citizen rights.