Rising costs make 'living with dignity' difficult for those with lower income

Over the past year, the rise in the cost of living has been most brutal for those with lower income, according to a new report.

The income needed to "live with dignity" has risen faster than inflation, according to a study by the Institut de recherche et d'informations socioéconomiques (IRIS).

"People living in poverty or on the edge of poverty have less room to manoeuvre," said researcher Eve-Lyne Couturier. "It's harder to arbitrate between different categories of expenditure, and the most important expenses, notably housing and food, are categories that are very sensitive to inflation."

In 2015, IRIS developed the "sustainable income" bracket as an alternative indicator to the poverty line.

This includes basic needs and the expenses required to "live with dignity," such as vacations, cultural outings and saving for emergencies.

IRIS measured the indicator in seven Quebec municipalities for three household profiles: a single person, a single-parent family and a family of four.

IRIS estimates that the sustainable income threshold has risen by between 6.2 per cent and 19.3 per cent over the past year.

To live with dignity, a single person would need between $30,738 (Trois-Rivières) and $43,609 (Sept-Îles).

The necessary income for a family of four is between $72,788 (Trois-Rivières) and $86,585 (Sept-Îles).

A family in Sherbrooke, for example, needs an income of $78,563 in 2024 to reach the sustainable income threshold.

This represents an increase of 15.3 per cent in one year.

A single person in Quebec City needs $35,395, up 13.8 per cent on last year.

IRIS has also revised its methodology, as it does every five years, to ensure that its data is "as reliable as possible."

For groceries, IRIS took price readings in all seven regions.

Previously, price readings were taken in Montreal and adjusted for the other regions using other data.

"The 2024 data is much more representative of the cost of groceries," she explains.

The IRIS report also shows that minimum wage is insufficient to lift people out of poverty, Couturier points out.

In Montreal, a single person working a minimum wage job for 35 hours a week only reaches 68 per cent of their sustainable income.

According to IRIS, this person would need to earn $27 an hour to reach a sustainable income.

The minimum wage will increase by 50 cents to $15.75 on May 1.

A 65-year-old senior who receives $16,000 from the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) in addition to the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and Old Age Security (OAS) pension, but who has no retirement savings, meets only 75 per cent of the minimum viable income.

"We can see that getting out of poverty is very demanding for people who are retired or working for low wages," emphasized the researcher.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 29, 2024.