At Project Genesis, we see the links between individual problems and broader social inequities. We provide services that help people resolve individual difficulties while also working collectively on their root causes.

INDIVIDUAL SERVICES

Our Individual Services provide one-on-one help – including providing legal information, advocacy, and referrals – for a range of problems.

Storefront

DAYS CLOSED
We close for several holidays, and occasionally for administrative purposes. Click here to check our closing days.

  • Extérieur du Storefront / Storefront exterior
  • Storefront / At the Storefront
  • Bénévole Càd consulte le personnel / HAS volunteer consulting a staff person
  • Dans le Centre de services individuels / In the Storefront
1234

Project Genesis’ Storefront offers free-of-charge, confidential help in areas such as housing, welfare, pensions, and family allowances (please see the full list below). Our services are available to everyone; for example, we do not refuse service based on immigration status, age, religion, country of origin, neighbourhood in which you live, income or housing situation.

We provide information to help people understand their legal rights and responsibilities. We also offer different types of assistance to ensure that people’s rights are respected and that they have access to the benefits and services for which they are eligible.

We offer both in-person and  telephone services with trained volunteers supervised by experienced and knowledgeable staff. In some cases, we are able to provide services in languages other than English and French; please call for more details.

Through the situations we see, we gain valuable insight on how social policies affect people’s day-to-day lives, which in turn informs Project Genesis’ community organizing work.

Storefront areas of intervention

We provide legal information, advocacy and support in the areas below. Click on each area to see common examples of what we do. For other areas, we may be able to refer to other resources. If you are unsure if we help with a particular issue or have questions about our services, feel free to call and ask. You may also find answers to your questions on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

  • Explain rights and obligations of landlords and tenants
  • Give information and help with the following:
    • Rent increases
    • Evictions
    • Repossessions
    • Lack of heating
    • Repairs
    • Mould
    • Vermin (such as bedbugs, cockroaches, mice, etc.)
  • *For Low Cost Housing applications, please refer to our Social Housing Workshops
  • Explain Welfare benefits, special benefits, and check eligibility
  • Apply for benefits, including filling forms and helping with supporting documents
  • Help with  the following types of problems:
    • Your application was refused, or benefit was cut
    • You have a debt to welfare
  • Explain government pensions and check eligibility
  • Apply for federal pensions (Old Age Security, Allowance, Allowance for the Survivor, Guaranteed Income Supplement), including filling forms and helping with supporting documents
  • Apply for Quebec pensions (Retirement, Survivor, Disability), including filling forms and helping with supporting documents
  • Help with problems, including eligibility and amounts
  • Explain family allowances and check eligibility
  • Apply for Canada and Quebec child benefits (CCTB and QCA), including filling forms and helping with supporting documents
  • Help with problems related to these benefits, including eligibility
  • Explain Shelter Allowance and check eligibility
  • Apply for Shelter Allowance (forms not provided)
  • Explain the programs and check eligibility
  • Apply for or renew Medicare, including filling forms and helping with supporting documents
  • Help with eligibility problems, including proving residence

Know your rights!

Storefront / At the Storefront

You have the right to refuse a rent increase!

An inside look at our Storefront work

Priscilla

Perseverance and helping others

Rodolfo (right)

Help with addressing financial difficulties

Estrelita

Encouragement and support through a long process

Brigitte

Opening new avenues of hope

Camille

Standing in solidarity with those in difficulty

Menachem

Solving problems

Participating in our Storefront work

Asma and service user

Our Storefront relies on well-trained volunteer receptionists and advisors who are supervised directly by our knowledgeable and experienced staff. Without these volunteers, we would not be able to provide services to thousands of individuals every year.

Our Home Advocacy Services provides our Storefront services to people in our neighbourhood who are home-bound.

If you speak English and French (any additional languages are an asset), enjoy interacting with people, you may be interested in being part of our team!

Internships: Each year, Project Genesis provides opportunities for law and social work students to gain invaluable on-the-ground experience while receiving academic credit. We accept a limited number of college-level and university-level students. If our work interests you and your school provides internship possibilities, consider applying for one of these positions through your school!

Want to get involved in the Storefront?

Check the box below that corresponds to your interest for more details and to be part of our pool of candidates! (To apply, you must fulfill all the criteria listed)

Home Advocacy Services

  • Bénévole de Càd / HAS volunteer

The Home Advocacy Services (HAS) program brings our Storefront services to individuals who live close to Project Genesis, but have difficulty coming to the Storefront due to reduced mobility or loss of vision.

People in these situations may be isolated, or may have a hard time accessing information and services.

By providing services in their homes, we support homebound service users in understanding and defending their rights, and having access to benefits to which they’re entitled.

The services of this small yet vital program are provided by volunteers and interns, working under the supervision of the program co-ordinator and Storefront staff.

To access these services, or for more specific information, please call Project Genesis and ask to speak with the Home Advocacy Services coordinator.

Our Home Advocacy Service Area

Our HAS program is available to those who qualify and live within our service area. Click below to see the the map delineating our service area, or call us and ask to speak with the HAS coordinator to find out if you are within our service boundaries.

Carte de la zone d'intervention Càd / HAS service area map
Carte de la zone d'intervention Càd / HAS service area map

An inside look at our Home Advocacy work

Djamel

Offering services for those with limited mobility

Dua

Increasing confidence for a Home Advocacy Services user

Bénévole Càd consulte le personnel / HAS volunteer consulting a staff person

Home Advocacy Services: The Heat is On!

Participating in our Home Advocacy Services

Bénévole Càd consulte le personnel / HAS volunteer consulting a staff person

Our Storefront relies on well-trained volunteer receptionists and advisors who are supervised directly by our knowledgeable and experienced staff. Without these volunteers, we would not be able to provide services to thousands of individuals every year.

Our Home Advocacy Services provides our Storefront services to people in our neighbourhood who are home-bound.

If you speak English and French (any additional languages are an asset), enjoy interacting with people, you may be interested in being part of our team!

Want to get involved in Home Advocacy Services?

Check the boxes below for more details and to be part of our pool of candidates! (To apply, you must fulfill all the criteria listed)

COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

Through our Community Organizing, we work together with local residents to counteract the causes of some of the problems they face.

Housing Rights community organizing

  • Présentation du Comité droit au logement / Housing Rights Committee presentation
  • Réduire les délais pour les locataires à la Régie du Logement / Reduce delays for tenants at the Rental Board
123

At Project Genesis, we often see people living with terrible housing conditions, spending most of their monthly income on rent. Often their landlords respect neither the rights of tenants nor the municipal housing code.

We believe that affordable, quality housing is a basic human right and we work to overcome the various barriers to decent housing faced by low-income households.

To achieve our goals, we work alongside local residents and volunteers who make up our Housing Rights Committee (HRC). We also work within coalitions with other housing organizations, directly with our local bureaucrats and elected officials, and with the general public.

Together, we fight for more social housing and better recourses for the effective defense of tenants’ rights.

Housing Rights Issues We’re Working On

Promoting social housing on Blue Bonnets

Pour le logement social sur Blue Bonnets / Promoting social housing on Blue Bonnets

For the last 20 years, Project Genesis, along with Côte-des-Neiges residents and community organizations, has been advocating for 2,500 social housing units to be built on the Blue Bonnets site.

Formerly a racetrack, this large plot of vacant land measures over 43 hectares and is located in the west of our neighbourhood, close to the corner of Décarie and Jean-Talon. Blue Bonnets is the last available site for large-scale development of social housing in Côte-des-Neiges.

It is estimated that 5000 to 8000 housing units could be built on the Blue Bonnets site. However, there are competing visions for the development of this land.

One proposal is for an internationally renowned, eco-friendly, state-of-the-art development that will attract middle-class families from the suburbs back to the island of Montreal. The main purpose of such a development would be to allow households to buy property on Blue Bonnets.

In Côte-des-Neiges, 41% of the population lives under the poverty line [1], and access to property is rarely an option for them. Furthermore, almost a quarter of households are dedicating over 50% of their income to rent [2], when the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation considers 25% of one’s income to be a healthy amount to pay for housing. Even worse, over 4,000 households pay more than 80% of their income for housing [3].

Meanwhile, only 3.1% of the housing stock in Côte-des-Neiges is social housing compared to 9% on average in Montréal [4]. The 2483 [5] households on the waiting list for low-cost housing in CDN-NDG wait an average of 5 years before getting access to housing they can afford.

Blue Bonnets: From Vision to Reality

Report of the Community Forum on Blue Bonnets

The planning underway for this site is generating great interest and constitutes a critical juncture for our neighbourhood. While the idea of an innovative project is laudable, one question proves critical: who will be able to live at Blue Bonnets?

To be inclusive, Blue Bonnets must be developed in continuity with the existing neighbourhood and constitute a response to the critical housing needs of low-income households in Côte-des-Neiges. Given the lack of available vacant land and the high levels of real estate speculation in the neighbourhood, local organizations are working to ensure that this project address the needs of current neighbourhood tenants.

[1] Statistiques Canada, census 2006
[2] idem
[3] idem
[4] CDC de CDN portrait statistique (Recensement 2006), p.21
[5] Office Municipal d’Habitation de Montréal, chiffres en date du 30 septembre 2013


Luie

“Blue Bonnets represents an incredible opportunity for our community to take care of its most vulnerable residents.

Furthermore, social housing puts pressure on local landlords to maintain their buildings…because when tenants have other options, they don’t need to put up with unsafe and dangerous housing conditions.”

Luie, Côte-des-Neiges resident and Housing Rights volunteer

Reducing delays for tenant cases at the Rental Board

Régie du lentement / Régie du lentement

When a landlord opens a case at the Rental Board for non-payment of rent by a tenant, the Rental Board will schedule an eviction hearing in an average of 6 weeks. But when a tenant has a serious repair problem — problems like vermin or mould infestations, water damage, etc. — they have to wait an average of 20 months before getting a first hearing (general category).

This disparity in treatment at the tribunal undermines the ability of tenants to defend their rights.

While waiting for their hearings, tenants have two choices: to continue to live in conditions that have serious consequences on their health and well-being, or to uproot themselves and move to another apartment which may be more expensive and/or turn out to be in equally bad condition. How can they exercise their rights when they must wait for longer than the length of an average lease for a hearing?

There are a number of housing groups fighting against these long waiting times. Even the Quebec Ombudsperson (an employee of the government) has denounced the Rental Board delays. As more and more people take a stand and speak out, the stronger we become.

Our experience has led us to to recommend that:

    • All  cases be heard on a first-come first-serve basis within 3 months.
    • All urgent cases that gravely impact health and safety be heard within 72 hours.
    • The Quebec government provide the Rental Board with the necessary resources to hire enough commissioners (Rental Board judges) to make this happen.

Project Genesis members work together with those of the P.O.P.I.R.-Comité logement to reduce waiting times for hearings at the Rental Board.


Rapport: L‘organisation d’une justice à deux vitesses

Rapport : l'organisation d'une justice à deux vitesses


A video exploring how delays affect the lives of tenants who turn to the Rental Board as a recourse for problems in their apartments.

Improving application of the Housing code

Au Conseil d'arondissement / At a Borough council meeting

The City of Montreal’s municipal inspectors are the most immediate public resource for tenants when they have a problem that affects their health or safety. Inspectors can be called to enforce the municipal housing code for any problem that affects the health or safety of the tenant.

The housing code itself is quite powerful; it is a potentially effective mechanism to ensure that tenants’ housing rights are respected. However, many of the powers given to the borough and the city are either underused or inconsistently applied.

Because there are very few affordable apartments available for rent in the neighbourhood, tenants often have to put up with an apartment in poor repair. The high demand for apartments means that there is less incentive for landlords to keep their apartments in good repair.

Every day, Project Genesis sees people who are facing dire housing problems. The most common problems found in the Côte-des-Neiges-NDG borough’s rental housing units are vermin infestations (cockroaches, mice, rats or bedbugs), inadequate heating, and mould, to name only a few.

Membres du Comité droit au logement / Housing Rights Committee members

Although the housing code is a powerful and potentially effective mechanism to ensure that tenants’ housing rights are respected, many of the powers given to the borough and the city are either underused or inconsistently applied.  At the same time, in our borough we have between 4 and 6 inspectors for 52 430 housing units[1].  Thus, even though the CDN-NDG borough responds to hundreds of complaints every year, tenants still struggle for decent housing.

Through lobbying and advocacy work we fight for a better application of the housing code on a local level.

[1] Statistics Canada, Census 2006


Daren

“Tenants, who are the majority, often don’t know what to do or who to turn to.

So it’s up to we, who do know, to make things better, to help protect tenants.

Teach people to stand up for themselves. Give people confidence. People helping people.”

Daren, Housing Rights and Anti-Poverty committees volunteer

Maintaining subsidies for social housing

Défendons nos logements sociaux / Preserve social housing

The federal government had planned to terminate the subsidies which it has paid out to support social housing constructed before 1994. These subsidies largely serve to reduce the rents of low-income households.

Project Genesis is advocating that these subsidies be maintained.

These cuts would affect approximately 127,000 cooperative, not-for-profit and Low-Cost Housing (HLM) units in Quebec – roughly 85% of Quebec’s total stock of social housing. Canada-wide, this 1.7 billion dollar cut would affect 600,000 social housing units.

These cuts have not yet been implemented in many units. However, in those which no longer receive subsidies, some tenants have seen rents rise by $200 to $300 per month.

In the case of HLMs, as the federal government retracts its financial support, the task of making up the difference has fallen on the provincial government. However, this support may decrease or end, and the government of Quebec could eventually decide to raise the rents of tenants.

Pour les subventions fédéraux des logements sociaux / Supporting federal subsidies for social housingOver the coming years, the number of social housing units which will be deprived of federal subsidies could increase sharply. Households who had escaped from precariousness by having access to affordable housing could join the ranks of those already in need of affordable housing.

Eliminating subsidies has a direct impact on those living in, or waiting for, a unit of social housing. Rather than making cuts, by investing in maintaining existing social housing and the development of new units, governments would be concretely supporting low-income households and those living in sub-standard housing.


Nola

“Project Genesis never backs down.

We go to Ottawa, to Quebec City – we go everywhere for social housing, and we stand together and make sure that people’s rights are not trampled upon. We all want the same thing: we want social housing for everyone.

I don’t give Genesis a hundred percent – I give Genesis a hundred and ten! Anyone can come here and we won’t turn you away. I am proud to be a member of Project Genesis.”

Nola, Housing Rights volunteer

Participating in our community organizing: Housing Rights Committee

Action à la Régie du logement / Rental Board action

Our Housing Rights Committee connects community residents and allies who want to fight together for better housing for all!

We meet regularly to identify how best to put forward our demands and share information. Together, we organize actions and assemblies, advocate with our local elected officials and do popular education on a variety of solution-oriented campaigns.

Want to get involved in our Housing Rights Committee?

Do you or did you experience housing problems? Is your curiosity piqued? Check the box below to find out more and leave your name!

Our ongoing Housing Rights work

Outreach

Emil, Outreach volunteer

Project Genesis’ Outreach work consists of going out into the community and giving Côte-des-Neiges residents information on tenants’ rights and responsibilities, hearing their concerns, and referring them to our Storefront for further services when appropriate.

In addition to door-knocking in apartment buildings, during the warmer months, our teams meet residents in local parks and by participating in outdoor neighbourhood events.

Équipe porte-à-porte dans un parc / Outreach in a parkSometimes our Outreach teams visit the buildings of tenants who have come to our Storefront with particularly glaring examples of landlords who do not respect the law, or who refuse to carry out essential repairs.

In these cases, our teams help ensure that all the tenants of the building are informed on their rights and are aware that they can come to Project Genesis for further assistance.


Mark

“Through our targeted goal to share information about rent increases, we helped countless residents understand their rights and encouraged them to stand up to their landlords.

Each time a tenant can stop themselves from being victimized, it is a victory; these individual victories contribute to the ideal of a society that is accessible for everyone.”

Mark, Outreach volunteer

Participating in our Outreach work

Outreach team/ Équipe Porte-à-porte

Our Outreach volunteers work in teams to give tenants information and inform them of our services.

We are particularly interested in volunteers who can speak various languages, enjoy going into the community and are typically available in the evening. Does this sound like you?

Want to get involved in Outreach?

If you’re interested, please check the box below to leave your contact information! (To apply, you must fulfill all the criteria listed)

Social housing workshops

Project Genesis’ Social Housing workshops (also known as Social Housing clinics) are information sessions where we explain the various types of social housing and help people apply. Our workshops are free of charge and are given in French and English. Click on the links to find out more, or call us to register to attend.

Social Housing Workshops

Do you want to apply for low-cost housing ?

Click for more information!

Low Cost Housing workshop

During our Low-Cost Housing clinics, we answer questions regarding eligibility for Low Cost Housing (HLM in French), which documents are required to apply, how the process works, wait times, and any other questions you may have. We can provide applications and help you fill them if needed.

Our workshops are free of charge and are given in French and English. Click on the link to find out more, or call us to register to attend.

Social Housing Workshops

Interested in living in cooperative or non-profit housing?

Click for more information!

Co-op and non-profit housing workshop

In our worskhop on co-ops and non-profit housing, we explain the difference between these types of housing and Low-Cost Housing (HLM in French), and how to apply.

Our workshops are free of charge and are given in French and English. Click on the link to find out more, or call us to register to attend.

Anti-poverty community organizing

  • Membres du Projet Genèse / Project Genesis members
123

Our Anti-Poverty work builds on our perspective that everyone has the right to the financial means to provide for a decent quality of life.

Week after week, we see the effects of extreme poverty on many people who come to Project Genesis for services. We believe that no one should be forced to live in poverty, least of all in a society as rich as our own.

We work to overcome the root causes of poverty in our community through community mobilization, awareness campaigns, interactions with public officials, and coalition work.

Our Anti-Poverty Committee (APC) is made up of local residents who bring their passion and experience to this issue.

The Dignity Support Action Group is made up of individuals whose personal experiences with welfare have inspired them to take collective action against poverty.

Anti-Poverty Issues We’re Working On

Increasing welfare rates

Dignité pour toutes et tous / Raise the rates

Welfare rates need to be raised to levels that allow people to live with dignity, The current rates do not allow people to cover living expenses such as rent, food, and their basic daily needs.

In 2013, those receiving the base category welfare rate of $604 per month did not have enough to cover even half of their basic expenses, according to data made available by the Quebec government.

People receiving welfare, regardless of the category, live well below the poverty line and struggle to afford their rent, groceries, heating and other essential expenses.

Combat poverty, not the poorMembers of Project Genesis’ Dignity Support Action Group are an integral part of our Anti-Poverty work. Through facilitating meetings, writing letters, and participating in educational activities, they shed light on the financial hardship faced by those receiving welfare and work collectively towards the goal of increasing welfare benefits.

Dismantling myths and prejudices towards people receiving welfare is one of the ways we work towards achieving positive change. Our members and volunteers take part in various creative activities to increase awareness of the realities of life on welfare, such as participating on a community radio show, and creating an art exhibit that was displayed at various locations in our neighbourhood.


Aissatou

“I find all my work on the Anti-Poverty Committee inspiring and fulfilling, but a particularly fond memory is of our “Snakes and Ladders” game which highlights the vicious cycle that is life on welfare; no matter what one does, one does not have sufficient income at the end of the month. It garnered a great deal of interest (when we presented it to a wider audience) – people were really drawn to it.

Through our committee, we continue to work towards a solution – and I think there is one out there. We need to ensure that people are treated with dignity.”

Aissatou, Anti-poverty committee volunteer

Improving access to welfare

Journée pour l'élimination de la pauvreté / Day for the elimination of poverty

Applying for welfare and accessing benefits has become increasingly complicated. Improvements are needed to make this process more direct and humane, and responsive to the needs of applicants.

Since 2008, Project Genesis’ Storefront staff has seen a notable increase in the number of people seeking support in their application for welfare. We have been documenting and denouncing the progressive depersonalization and dehumanization of services taking place at local welfare offices (Centre local d’emploi, or CLE).

Rencontre / MeetingIn partnership with other community organizations working with people receiving social assistance, we are calling for much-needed improvements to make the welfare system more accessible.

These include re-establishing the possibility of direct telephone contact between applicants and welfare agents, reducing the number of documents required to prove eligibility for benefits, and the possibility of applicants requesting a face-to-face meeting with an agent to explain their situation.

Comité Anti-Pauvreté / Anti-Poverty Committee


Chris

“As I think back, a big thing that sticks out for me is how members of the Anti-Poverty Committee forcefully brought their demands straight to the attention of those in positions of power as well as into the public spotlight. Our members met with our MNA’s office, participated in and asked questions during several local candidates’ debates during the election and wrote an opinion piece on what Quebec’s budget should look like, which was published in a local paper.

All of these important actions, a few amongst the many which we accomplished, were undertaken to meet an enormous challenge: breaking the silence surrounding poverty in our community and putting this issue front and centre.”

Chris, Project Genesis community organizer

Supporting a social rate for public transit

Pour un tarif social du transport en commun / For a social rate for public transit

Many people living in poverty rely on public transit for getting around. However, the high price of transit tickets and monthly passes can mean limiting trips to only those which are absolutely essential, such as going to medical appointments and buying groceries.

For some, even these have to be done on foot. Not being able to get around easily is an obstacle to those seeking to improve their social and economic situation. Supporting a social rate for public transit fares provides opportunities for people in poverty to participate in their communities, decrease isolation, volunteer, and access public services such as libraries and job-search centres.

Project Genesis is a member of and supports the work of the Mouvement collectif pour un transport public abordable (the Collective Movement for Affordable Public Transit).

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD BASIC PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN ONE’S LIFE?

Towards the end of 2014, the STM announced hikes in its fare structure. Since 2004, the single ride has been increased by 20% and the regular monthly pass by 40%. We doubt that the average rider’s income has increased that much over the same period of time. In fact, in Montreal, there are today over 400,000 of people living under the poverty line [1]. That’s why we are against any hike, PERIOD. For instance, a single person on welfare is getting $610… and is not eligible for a reduced fare!

This high cost of public transportation makes it difficult for the ones who most need public transport to use it, the ones for whom it’s their only means of transport. Not being able to afford a bus ticket presents a tremendous obstacle to look for a job outside of one’s immediate neighbourhood for people on welfare. For people living in poverty, it could even be difficult to go to a food bank [2], hard to get involved in the community or to volunteer for a community organization where people could gain work experience, impossible to get around for basic services and medical appointments, not to mention to attend free cultural activities. People can’t take advantage of food bargains in the circulars from grocery stores. When you can’t afford a bus ride, you’re stuck!


Pour un tarif social du transport en commun / For a social rate for public transit

Anti-Poverty comittee volunteers

“When you can’t afford a bus ride, you’re stuck!”


Pour un tarif social du transport en commun / For a social rate for public transit


When you cannot visit a relative or a friend because you can’t afford the bus ride, but your dignity prevents you to ask them to pay for it, they may just stop calling to invite you.

Why is it that when we see every year increase in fares and reduction in services, STM executives receive big salary increases (9.4% since 2012)? Obviously, the budget priorities make no sense at STM: why it takes so much time to accommodate the needs of people for disabilities? Why hi-tech projects have priority above a social fare for people with a low income?

As members of Project Genesis, we decided to be part of the campaign called ‘Right to Ride’. This campaign is an initiative of different Montreal non-profit organizations and it is gaining momentum. One of the first groups that came with the idea of a social fare is Projet PAL, a Verdun-based group working with people who had a lot of trouble keeping much needed doctors’ appointments because of the cost of the bus ride.


We are not dreaming in Technicolor because such places where transit is cheaper or even free for certain categories of people do exist… such as Stephen Harper’s riding of Calgary where there is a low-income pass. Closer from us, municipalities from the South Shore of Montreal offer free transportation for all, some as Longueuil offers free transportation for seniors.

If you want to join the collective movement for an affordable public transit, please visit the FB page: https://fr-fr.facebook.com/pages/Mouvement-collectif-pour-un-transport-public-abordable/354248271356786

Leroy Wedderburn, Alexander Rudavin, Myrtle Anderson, Lady May, Susan Fitch, Daren Laine

Members of Project Genesis Anti-Poverty Committee

(This letter was published in the Suburban and in the Montreal Gazette).


Pour un tarif social du transport en commun / For a social rate for public transit


_____________________________________

[1] According to Statistics Canada 2006 Census, 413 875 Montrealers live in a low-income household (after taxes).

[2] According to the ‘Bilan-faim 2014’, 140 706 Montrealers are being helped every month by Moisson Montreal, the equivalent of 7,8% of Montrealers).

Opposing hydro increases

Contre les hausses de Hydro Québec / Against Hydro increases

People living in poverty often face difficult choices when trying to make ends meet on a very tight budget. For some, reducing or turning off the heat in winter is a strategy for decreasing their electricity bill to an affordable level. It is unacceptable that anyone would need to live in a freezing apartment because otherwise they simply cannot afford to pay electricity costs.

Project Genesis has decided to join the Coalition opposée à  la tarification et la privatisation des services publics (Coalition opposed to the tarification and privatization of public services) in opposing the recently proposed Hydro Quebec rate increases.

At its founding as a public utility, Hydro Quebec had a mission to supply electricity to Quebec households at the lowest rates possible while still remaining profitable. Since then, the Quebec government has modified this mission to allow the utility to post significant profits, which have become a substantial source of revenue for the province.

As a result of its regular increases, Hydro Quebec has amassed significant profits at the expense of consumers. Increasing the costs of public services is a regressive way to boost government finances, since it has such a disproportionate impact on the poorest of our society.

Participating in our community organizing: Anti-Poverty Committee

Our Anti-Poverty Committee brings together people who, through personal experience and conviction, are committed to eliminating the structural causes of poverty in our society.

We learn about the issues, share our opinions and experiences, and take action, through engaging in public awareness campaigns, advocating for positive change with elected officials, and joining with other groups across the province.

Want to get involved in our Anti-Poverty Committee?

If you have been affected by the low welfare rate, high bus fare, or increasing hydro bills, and are interested in participating, please check the box below to find out more and leave your name!