Legault Announced A Plan To Give Quebecers Payments Of Up To $600
Here's who can expect them.💰
Quebec Premier François Legault. Right: Canadian banknotes.
In a press conference on October 26, Quebec Premier François Legault announced that the government will move forward with a plan to send payments of between $400 and $600 to most Quebec residents.
The measure will follow an initial round of up to $500 payments that went out to Quebecers in the spring of 2022.
Here's everything you need to know about the latest commitment.
When would the money go out?
The premier has been promising another one-time direct payment to Quebecers for months. Before the election, he said those sums would go out "by the end of 2022" if the CAQ was able to form another government.
On Thursday, he announced the payments as part of a package of proposed measures to counter the effects of inflation. Legault aims to present the measures in the first few days of the next National Assembly session, which begins November 29.
Who would get payments?
The premier said Thursday that payments of between $400 and $600 would go to Quebecers who make less than $100,000.
The CAQ previously estimated that 6.4 million residents — the majority of the Quebec population— would benefit from the measure.
According to an initial proposal, the $600 payments would be reserved for people who make under $50,000. Those who make between $50,000 and $100,000 would get $400.
We'll see if that's still the plan once the CAQ formally presents the proposal after November 29.
The full eligibility criteria aren't out either, but to receive the payments in the spring, a resident had to have been at least 18 years old on December 31, 2021 (or an emancipated minor or the parent of a child living with them); and to have paid income taxes in 2021.
How would the payments be distributed?
Legault didn't confirm that details of the distribution on Thursday.
Though the payments will presumably go out the same way they did last spring, when Revenu Québec automatically deposited the amounts in eligible residents' accounts using information from their 2021 tax returns.
What other inflation-fighting measures has Legault proposed?
Also on Thursday, Legault proposed payments of $2,000 for seniors over the age of 69 and a 3% cap on increases to public fees, including, the premier said, Hydro-Québec rates, driver's license fees, and school and daycare fees.
This article's right-hand cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.