You can use the Service québécois de changement d'adresse to notify your local employment centre (CLE) of your change of address. Thanks to the Service québécois de changement d'adresse, you can notify many government services of your new address in a single, secure operation.
You must check with your local employment centre to see whether your change of address requires transferring your file to another centre. If so, you must go to the new local employment centre to ask for a transfer.
Former beneficiary who has changed addresses during the year
The CLE does not make a change of address in the file of a person who is no longer a beneficiary of the program. The RL-5 slip, which you will need in order to file your income tax return, is mailed to the address that was indicated in your employment assistance file when you were a beneficiary. To receive the RL-5 slip, you must, during tax season,
- telephone the Bureau des renseignements et plaintes of the ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale;
- write or go to the CLE that was in charge of your file; or
- have your mail forwarded (apply to Canada Post, which charges a fee for this service).
The purpose of the Social Assistance Program is to grant financial assistance to persons who do not 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 entry into the labour market and their social and community participation.
Persons who are eligible for the Social Assistance Program receive a basic monthly benefit to which other amounts may be added.
A person’s financial resources (e.g. work income, parental contribution, value of property, liquid assets) are considered in calculating the basic benefit to which the person is entitled.
Note
Persons who have a severely limited capacity for employment that is not temporary may be eligible for the Social Solidarity Program. In the case of a family composed of two adults, only one adult must prove his or her severely limited capacity for employment in order for the family to be eligible for this program.
Dependent child
A dependent child means:
- a minor who depends on an adult for his or her basic needs and does not have a dependent child;
- a person of full age attending an educational institution full time who depends on an adult for his or her basic needs.
Family
A family means:
- 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 one year.
Independent adult
An independent adult means:
- a person who is not part of a family;
- a child who is not the dependant of another person (even if the child still lives with his or her family), is 18 or over and is not attending an educational institution.
Full-time student
A student is considered to be studying 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;
- has more than six periods or hours of instruction per week;
- has more than six periods or hours of instruction per week, including laboratories and supervised practical work;
- is registered for more than six credits per term for a master’s or doctoral thesis, regardless of the number of hours spent writing the thesis.
Clientele
This program is for persons who are:
- 18 or over;
- under 18 and are married, have been married or are the parent of a dependent child.
Restrictions
The following persons are not eligible for the program:
- persons whose employment was terminated following a work stoppage due to a strike or lock-out;
- persons who are incarcerated;
- persons who are studying on a full-time basis.
Eligibility conditions
You are eligible if you:
- do not have a severely limited capacity for employment;
- prove that your financial resources (money, property, earnings, benefits, income, etc.) are equal to or less than the amounts fixed by regulation;
- are a resident of Québec;
- have exhausted all recourses available in your situation; for example:
- Employment Insurance,
- child support (dependent child),
- compensation for a work-related or automobile accident,
- pension from the Régie des rentes du Québec,
- parental contribution.
Basic benefit as at January 1, 2012
Independent adult and spouse of a student
| 1 adult, no limited capacity |
$589 |
$0 |
$200 |
| 1 adult, temporarily limited capacity |
$589 |
$126 |
$200 |
| 1 independent adult or required to live in an establishment for its social rehabilitation or minor person sheltered with her child |
$191 |
$0
|
$200 |
| 1 spouse of a student, no limited capacity |
$163 |
$0 |
$200 |
2 adults in same situation
| 2 adults, no limited capacity |
$913
|
$0 |
$300 |
| 2 adults, temporarily limited capacity |
$913
|
$126
|
$300 |
2 adults in different situations
| 1 adult with no limited capacity |
$913 |
$126
|
$300 |
Note
The basic benefit is reduced for a person who lives with his or her parents.
Amounts added to the basic benefit
The following amounts may be added to the basic benefit:
- the Return to Work Supplement;
- the temporarily limited capacity allowance;
- the adjustment for the Québec sales tax (QST) credit;
- the adjustments and allowances for dependent children;
- income support granted by Emploi-Québec;
- special benefits granted to cover certain expenses related to a special need or a specific situation:
- special benefit for a pregnancy,
- special benefits for health needs,
- special benefits for exceptional circumstances,
- special benefit for transportation and living expenses,
- special benefit to compensate for losses suffered in a fire or natural disaster,
- special benefit for funeral expenses,
- special benefit for breastfeeding,
- special benefit for the purchase of infant formula.
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 (Form SR-7) and claim slip (prescription drug card).
Benefit cheques are mailed 4 to 5 days before the first day of each month. This way, recipients can receive them for the first of the month or for the working day preceding the first of the month if the first of the month is a holiday or a non-working day. The working day preceding the first day of January is the day when government offices are open.
Direct deposit payments are made on the first of the month or on the working day preceding it if the first falls on a legal holiday or non-working day.
The amount of the cheque or direct deposit is the benefit granted for the current month. It may include special benefits, allowances or adjustments.
Note
In the following cases, the local employment centre will send the benefits by cheque rather than deposit them directly in the person’s bank account:
- the person failed to return the monthly statement within the prescribed time;
- the assistance officer in charge of the person’s file wants to meet with the person to obtain or verify information.
The Social Assistance Program was established on January 1, 2007.
