Economic update: Quebec boosts assistance for low-income seniors

QUEBEC — Following up on those pre-Christmas cheques for millions of Quebecers, the Legault government now is coming to the aid of seniors struggling with the cost of living.

But the government is warning the days of Quebec’s record economic growth are coming to an end as the full effects of a worldwide slowdown take hold. That will mean higher unemployment in 2023.

Tabling his fall economic update Thursday, Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard confirmed previously announced plans to increase the maximum amount of the refundable senior assistance tax credit from $411 a year to $2,000.

The measure applies to seniors 70 and older who already receive this tax credit as well adding more to the list of eligible recipients, Girard said. The news means an additional 398,500 seniors will have access to the credit for a total of 1.1 million seniors.

A key election promise of the Coalition Avenir Québec, the money is the final phase of the party’s so-called anti-inflation shield. A total of 65 per cent of the assistance will go to seniors with an annual income of less than $25,000. The measure will cost Quebec a total of $8 billion.

If you add all the previous measures announced for the year 2022, the total relief for eligible seniors living alone will be $3,100. For a couple, the amount is $2,200.

“The significant increase in the cost of living is impacting the lives of Quebecers, particularly seniors and low-income individuals,” Girard said while releasing Quebec’s new financial forecast for 2022.

“The government has chosen to help them quickly by protecting their purchasing power using the anti-inflation shield. This strong measure, combined with adequate funding for the government’s main missions and a prudent and disciplined financial framework, has positioned us well to face the economic uncertainty that is plaguing Quebec and the global economy.”

But one day before the National Assembly recesses for Christmas, Girard’s update confirmed some of the things he has been saying for weeks: Quebec’s economy is slowing down.

“The economic outlook for Quebec and Canada has deteriorated,” the update states.

As a result, Quebec’s economic growth is expected to slow from 3.1 per cent in 2022 to 0.7 per cent in 2023. In his March 2022 budget, Girard had predicted two-per-cent growth for 2023.

Job creation will also slow down, resulting in what Girard says will be a temporary rise in unemployment for an average of five per cent in 2023.

Despite the slowdown, Girard’s budgetary deficit for 2022-2023 is lower than he said it would be in the March budget. It is lowered from a projected $6.5 billion to $5.2 billion. Quebec is still on track to balance its books by 2027-2028.

The update represents a followup to a series of other measures promised by the CAQ during the election campaign to help Quebecers deal with inflation.

Up first were cheques of between $400 and $600 for citizens who earned less than $100,000 a year in 2021. A Revenu Québec spokesperson told the Montreal Gazette Thursday that more than half of the amounts — in the form of direct deposit or actual paper cheques — have already been sent.

Two promised cost-of-living bills have also been tabled by the CAQ and should be adopted before the legislature recesses Friday. Bill 1 slaps a three- per-cent ceiling on government fee increases while Bill 2 imposes a similar three-per-cent ceiling on hydro rates.

The government has also promised to lower income taxes in its 2023 annual budget, which is usually tabled in March.

pauthier@postmedia.com

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