If you are receiving benefits under the Social Solidarity Program, you must promptly inform your local employment centre of your change of address. To do so, you can use the Service québécois de changement d'adresse. This service allows you to communicate your new address to several government departments and agencies at the same time.
If you wish to communicate your new address to the ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale only, you can contact the Centre de communication avec la clientèle or your local employment centre.
You must check with your local employment centre if your change of address requires your file to be transferred to another centre. If it is the case, you must go to your new local employment centre to request the transfer of your file.
The purpose of the Social Solidarity Program is to grant financial assistance to persons who have a severely limited capacity for employment and have trouble supporting themselves. A further purpose is to encourage such persons to engage in activities promoting their social and community participation.
Persons who are eligible for the Social Solidarity Program receive a basic monthly benefit to which other amounts may be added.
A person’s financial resources (e.g. work income, value of property, liquid assets) are taken into account in the calculation of the basic benefit to which the person is entitled.
Dependent child
A child who relies on his or her parents for subsistence and is in one of the following situations:
- he or she is under 18, single and has no dependent child;
- he or she is 18 or over, attends an educational institution and is neither the spouse of another person nor married and has no dependent child.
Family
A family can be one of the following:
- an adult who lives alone with one or more dependent children;
- a single mother or father and his or her child, even if the mother or father is under 18;
- two persons who are married or in a civil union with each other and who cohabit;
- two persons who live together in a de facto union and are the parents of the same child;
- two adults of the same or the opposite sex who live together in a de facto union and who, at any one time, cohabited for a period of not less than 12 consecutive months.
Independent adult
An independent adult is one of the following:
- a person who has no spouse or dependent children;
- a person of full age who is not considered a dependent child;
- an emancipated minor.
Full-time student
A student is considered to be pursuing postsecondary studies on a full-time basis if he or she:
- is enrolled in three or more courses or in courses giving entitlement to more than six credits or units per term;
- is enrolled in one or more courses giving credits or units corresponding to a total of more than 6 periods or hours of instruction per week, including laboratories and supervised practical work;
- is registered for more than 6 credits per term for a master's or doctoral thesis.
Clientele
This program is for persons who are:
- 18 or over;
- under 18 but emancipated by a court order or by marriage;
- under 18 and the parent of a dependent child.
Eligibility conditions
To be eligible for the program, a person must:
- have a severely limited capacity for employment (In the case of a family composed of two adults, only one adult must prove his or her severely limited capacity for employment.);
- prove that his or her financial resources (money, property, earnings, benefits, income, etc.) are equal to or less than the amounts fixed by regulation;
- be a resident of Québec;
- have exhausted all recourses available; for example:
- Employment Insurance,
- child support for a dependent child,
- compensation for a work-related or automobile accident,
- retirement pension from the Régie des rentes du Québec.
Note
Every application is studied by an officer at a local employment centre.
Basic benefits as at January 1, 2013
| 1 adult |
$918 |
$100 |
$918 |
| 1 spouse of a student |
$465 |
$100 |
$465 |
| 1 independent adult living in a shelter or required to live in an institution for social reintegration purposes or 1 adult who is a minor sheltered with his or her dependent child |
$196 |
$0 |
$196 |
Amounts added to the basic benefit
The following amounts may be added to the basic benefit:
- adjustments and allowances for dependent children;
- support allowances;
- special benefits granted to cover certain expenses related to a special need or a specific situation.
Payment
Benefits are paid at the beginning of each month. Recipients receive a cheque or notice of deposit (for those who are registered for the direct deposit service) by mail, along with the monthly statement and claim slip.
Benefit cheques and notices of deposit are mailed a few days before the first day of each month so that recipients can receive them on or around the first of the month.
The amount of the cheque or direct deposit is the benefit granted for the current month. It may include special benefits and allowances.
The Social Solidarity Program was established on January 1, 2007.
