Mélissa Gélinas

As part of a regional forum on the theme of food security under the 2024-2029 Government Action Plan to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion, the Honourable Chantal Rouleau, Minister responsible for Social Solidarity and Community Action, came to Gatineau to announce the investment of $1.4 million over a five-year period for the Urban Agriculture Laboratory.

Before attending the forum, Rouleau agreed to answer a few questions related to the funding for the laboratory as well as the many investments related to food security in Quebec, and in Gatineau.

Q: How will the investment in the Urban Agriculture Laboratory and funding for social development contribute to the fight against poverty in Quebec and in Gatineau?

A: The goal is to increase food security projects funded by the Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale by 30% over the next five years. I want this laboratory to be better known, because these are researchers who have developed a wealth of expertise in urban agriculture. These researchers will support and assist organizations, businesses and municipalities in carrying out agricultural projects. The idea is to bring food closer to people.

This will also help supply community kitchens. There is, for example, Moisson Outaouais, which is funded by the Alliance de l’Outaouais. The Alliance de l’Outaouais is a group of regional county municipalities (MRCs) in Gatineau or the sector that, based on consultation with the community, establishes the major priorities to work on. They will then call for tenders for the projects that are chosen by the organization. We provide funding to alliances that have the ability to deploy the projects. In addition, an amount of $5.2 million was distributed to the Outaouais Alliance to improve social development. We are very concerned about the state of the situation in the Outaouais region, but more particularly in Gatineau.

Q: The City of Gatineau is facing a major challenge in terms of homelessness. How do you think the government’s Action Plan to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion will support this issue?

A: In total, the Plan represents more than $4.3 billion in investment, including $141 million dedicated to food security and $3.5 billion to housing and combating homelessness. This also applies to the Outaouais region. My colleague Lionel Carman implemented a $280 million interdepartmental plan to combat homelessness in 2022. The amount currently stands at $410 million in investment. Recently, I represented the government in an announcement where the federal government added an amount of $50 million. A lot of money has been invested to combat homelessness, but also in the construction of supervised housing to bring people into support, social reintegration and employment.

Q: You recently modernized the social assistance system. Can you tell me more about it?

A: One of the central elements of the government’s action plan to combat poverty and social exclusion is the modernization of the social assistance system. The law has not been amended in 20 years. We have taken into account the situation we are experiencing today, but also events that may occur that we could not have foreseen, such as the pandemic, the explosion in the cost of living and the recent announcement by our American neighbour. The goal is to better support people to enable them to reintegrate the labour market. To do this, we will also allow them to commit to obtaining their high school diploma. Today, despite what we hear, there are far fewer people on the social assistance system than there were 20 years ago. Since then, needs have changed. In particular, to better adapt the system, a 25% increase in the income supplement will be established.