Minimum Income Proposal in Québec

Abstract

In 2002 the Government of Quebec enacted Bill 112, known as An Act to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion. It has also instituted an advisory committee whose role is to advise the government on policies that may have a direct or indirect impact on poverty and social exclusion. The Committee published a series of recommendations in 2009 that more or less amount to a Guaranteed Minimum Income scheme. We investigate the likely consequences of the recommendations on employment and income of all individuals residing in the Province of Quebec. We do this through the use of a behavioural micro-simulation model. Our results show that the proposed recommendations would have a large negative impact on hours of work and labor force participation – and mostly so among low-income workers. The recommendations would involve outlays in the order of $2.2 billion per year.