Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois is once again opposing the 30%, or $30,000-plus per year, pay increase for MPs that the Coalition Avenir Québec and the Liberal Party supported last June. By the end of his term, he will donate the entire amount to organizations fighting food insecurity. He urges other elected officials to do the same.
Posted at 4:13pm.
In the spring, the leader of Quebec Solidaire (QS) promised not to touch a cent of the increase in his salary and to publicly announce what he would do with the money. Mr. Nadeau-Dubois reveals that he gave an initial check for $10,000 to La Petite-Patrie Community Resource and Action Center (CRACPP) in Montreal so that he could urgently purchase a new compressor for his refrigerator. This amount corresponds to what he will receive as additional compensation until the end of 2023.
” [Les organismes] They work wonders with few resources, as community groups in Quebec have been chronically underfunded for years. “It’s phenomenal the work they do in a context where needs are exploding,” he says.
Without this equipment, CRACPP can no longer carry out several activities while the food it receives – both that distributed as food aid and that cooked to prevent losses – passes through its cold storage.
Each year, Mr. Nadeau-Dubois will regularly announce the donations he makes to organizations fighting food insecurity until his raise is exhausted. He reiterated that all MEPs in his group would also disclose the amounts they paid. However, they are not obliged to repay 100% of their salary adjustment, but can do so in the ratio they choose.
crying needs
In an interview with La Presse, CRACPP’s Maggie Lebeau and Émile Boucher testify to the urgent needs of organizations fighting food insecurity. Figures from Quebec food banks released last year show they respond to 2.2 million requests for food assistance each month and that 34% of beneficiaries are children.
“Sometimes people call us and say they need a basket now, but our options are not endless. Sometimes you have to postpone it for a few days. We would like to give them more, but with donations falling and demand increasing, we are less able to meet people’s needs,” says Mr Boucher.
In recent years, “demand has doubled,” Ms. Lebeau adds. If an unexpected error occurs, such as a compressor giving out, everything collapses.
“We don’t have the capacity to have emergency resources in case something happens. We all have to flip through drawers and do financial gymnastics to find resources. We don’t have enough money to live on [tous les] unforeseen. We always have to make more of the minimum,” she says.
Make it a priority
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, who last week accused Prime Minister François Legault of ignoring the needs of people who shop at Dollarama, is coming forward again to face the charges. “What’s happening in Quebec is keeping me awake. I don’t understand why this doesn’t keep CAQ MPs awake,” he said.
Since 2019, the proportion of households applying for food assistance despite having a job as their main source of income has increased by 37%. According to food banks, 42% of households seeking assistance are families with children.
“We have no right to accept this. The Prime Minister who says education is his priority, education starts with not being hungry in the morning. The fact that it is not at the top of our shared priority list blows my mind,” says Mr Nadeau-Dubois.
“These are welfare recipients. People who work part-time. Students, seniors, workers, families who cannot feed their children. This is a violation of the social contract. If you work, you should live with dignity, eat right and feed your children. The cost of living crisis has added fuel to the fire that was already burning,” he added.
According to CRACPP’s Émile Boucher, food banks only have access to part of the problem because there is still a stigma attached to asking for food help.
“It is not uncommon for people to wait until they have nothing left after two or three days have passed since they have eaten anything [chercher de l’aide]. They feel guilty about making the request. They tell themselves that others have greater needs than they do. Some apologize for asking for help,” he says.