Quebec Has A New Benefit That'll Give Between $275 And $400 To Households That Qualify

Make some room in your wallet. 3.3 million Quebecers are about to get some extra cash. Finance Minister Eric Girard has announced an "exceptional" new Quebec benefit program that will give $275 to single residents and $400 to couples who qualify for the solidarity tax credit.

The government's goal is to help middle and low-income Quebecers with a cost of living that's ballooning as the global economy recovers from the pandemic.

At a press conference, Girard said those payments will begin in January, 2022.

"The Quebec economy is currently experiencing an exceptional recovery thanks to the mobilization of Quebecers and a successful vaccination campaign," the minister said in a statement.

"The significant improvement in public finances allows us to help Quebecers cope with the cost of living and to take action to accelerate economic growth by addressing labour shortages and stimulating business productivity."

The benefit is part of a larger investment package that also includes money to help address the province's labour shortage, increase the refundable tax credit for child care expenses, create 37,000 new subsidized child care spaces and reduce the province's waitlist of surgeries.

Perhaps of particular interest to young Quebecers are scholarships that are part of the plan to address the labour shortage. University students in a three-year program in "health and social services, education, early childhood education and care, engineering, information technology, or construction" will be eligible to receive a $15,000 scholarship.

The scholarship increases to $20,000 for people in a four-year program. College students in similar programs will be eligible to receive $9,000.

Several factors determine eligibility for Quebec's solidarity tax credit, which aims to compensate for "the regressive nature of certain taxes," according to a document from the Ministry of Finance.

The credit is divided into three parts:

• a "component relating to the Quebec sales tax (QST);"
• a "housing component;"
• and a "component relating to residence on the territory of a northern village."

The ministry explains that the income cap for the first component is $50,645 for a person living alone and $55,912 for a couple.