Sylvie Blanchard, general director (DG) of the L’Entraide Plus organization in Chambly, received an unpleasant surprise when Ottawa withdrew from a grant of approximately $570,000, previously approved.
Last March, Sylvie Blanchard received notice of conditional approval of funding from Ottawa. The envelope came from the federal “Aging Well at Home” initiative. The project she proposed would have made it possible to provide small jobs at various seniors’ homes in the region. However, at the end of May, the situation was reversed. Sylvie Blanchard read that her organization, like others, must obtain prior authorization from the Quebec government before being able to conclude a funding agreement with the Government of Canada. Ottawa is no longer “able to follow up on your funding request,” reads the DG.
“I find it unworthy of a country that calls itself civilized. They (Quebec and Ottawa) are using seniors to make political capital,” said Ms. Blanchard angrily. The DG blames the bad faith that reigns between the two levels of government. “They say that it is therefore important to age well at home, in Quebec, in the community. You arrive with a solid project for the good of seniors and they argue among themselves over who decides how to manage the funds,” she complains.
“They use the elders to gain political capital.” – Sylvie Blanchard
Response from the MP
“Since 2022, we have been trying to reach an agreement with the federal government to ensure that Quebec’s areas of jurisdiction are respected. This is important to ensure that services are well coordinated across the territory and to reduce bureaucracy,” said Jean-François Roberge, MNA for Chambly. The Minister of Canadian Relations added that “the federal government knows that it cannot act unilaterally and enter into agreements as it did in areas that fall under Quebec’s jurisdiction. It was not within its rights to display a non-compliant program and to give false hope to organizations when it had not followed up on the agreement proposal that we provided to resolve this situation and allocate the funds. The Government of Canada therefore bears full responsibility for this misunderstanding in this matter.”
By creating physical space and hiring staff accordingly, Sylvie Blanchard had begun the process of hosting the small work at home project. In the meantime, these are seniors who cannot receive help, in particular, to install a door handle, change a light bulb or attach a shower pole to their home.
